Hi! Here's a team with a very simple premise- cheese the hell out of your opponent. It's surprisingly consistent, but definitely has a few issues I'll go over later. Also yes I don't have a Zacian on this team, and yes that's Deliberate. Opposing Ditto would be a big issue if I did and it honestly doesn't offer much that is needed.
Eternatus @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Cosmic Power
Here's the star of the show and usually the mon on the field when the game ends. This Eternatus can either set up Cosmic Power against defensive presences like Corsola, or be the team's best option for recieving a SmashPass from Polteageist. Once that boost is obtained the game can often just be over- with two Cosmic Power boosts, this set is easily capable of stalling out opposing Eternatus' Dynamax Cannon (a safer gamble thanks to Pressure cutting it down to 4 uses). The set lacks a Dragon move in order to be effectively Ditto-proof, which is absolutely worth it.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
I've changed my mind, this is absolutely my favourite Dark-type in Ubers. This set packs invaluable utility that can allow for easy wins with Ditto via Swaggering a Zacian and then copying it, Gothitelle by providing Screens for easier setup or paralysis to outspeed Eternatus, and Polteageist with dual screens support and a paralysis chance that can allow for setting up a Substitute in a pinch. You can also just ParaFuse opponents to death sometimes. That's fun.
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Rest
- Taunt
- Stored Power
Another major wincon! If you trap something that can't switch or comfortably 2hko it, then you've probably won. Unless they have a Tyranitar or Grimmsnarl, in which case you might have a few problems to deal with. Taunt means you can even do stupid stuff like successfully trapping and setting up to +6 on Whirlwind Hippowdon, can deny hazards and generally makes dealing with any defensive mon a lot easier. Denying setup is also neat. The rest of the moves are fairly self-explanatory. The provided Speed lets Gothitelle outrun 4 Speed Mandibuzz and therefore Taunt and PP stall it while setting up, as well as outrunning paralyzed Eternatus.
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
Issa Ditto. It copies stuff and helps us not just lose to certain threats, which is cool. Funnily enough, Ditto can function as a countermeasure to opposing Ditto as our Polteageist is mono Shadow Ball, meaning it can stall out all 5 by spamming Transform. If you Swagger a Zacian or Excadrill you may also just win with it. I usually lead with Ditto versus teams with a Webs setter to get my own up and it usually works out.
Excadrill @ Heavy Duty Boots / Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Substitute / Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Hazard control is appreciated by Polteageist greatly, especially to avoid having White Herb activated by Sticky Web, and also helps Gothitelle and Eternatus stick around better. Excadrill is consistent at this role and also provides the team with a greatly appreciated immediate offensive presence. Swords Dance or Substitute ease your complete lack of function against Corsola and provides potential for a sweep with Rapid Spin or Sand boosting Speed, but if you want your own hazards they can replace it I guess. Boots notably let you avoid the Sticky Web drop which can be massive for sweeping or just getting to spin. On the other hand Focus Sash provides a safety net for some big threats in some scenarios, but definitely isn't reliable.
Polteageist @ White Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
This tea tastes like cheese... Anyway, the premise here is simple. Ideally you get the required screens up with Grimmsnarl and possibly status the opponent, then attempt to set up. Fishing for a Substitute versus a statused opponent can let you completely bypass Ditto, so it can be absolutely worth it to try. If it's lategame and the opponent doesn't have an answer left, great! Polteageist can probably sweep on its own. If not, you can pass the smash to Eternatus who usually just wins from there. In some scenarios, such as versus Quagsire, you can Baton Pass out into Gothitelle for free and win from there. If you have a Substitute up or Ditto is removed then Excadrill can also make great use of the pass. Basically you have options. Cursed Body is preferred for avoiding the accidental White Herb activation and preserving bulk as you outrun pretty much everything anyway. The EVs provide enough Speed for Crowned Zacian at +1 and the rest is put into phys def to better tank hits from behind Reflect, making setup surprisingly reliable. Coverage is ditched as it's mostly irrelevant and you aren't beating TTar with this anyway.
So what does the team struggle with? No Johns, the majority of my losses with this team come down to crits that weren't in odds (anyone who was on Discord with me yesterday can verify because I was complaining about it every few minutes). It struggled hard with Corsola until I added Swords Dance to Excadrill which deals with it fairly effectively, and also could struggle with Webs sometimes until I added the Boots. But there definitely are flaws. The major issue, as is the case for many teams, is opposing Zacian. the team has 0 defensive counterplay to sword doggo outside of lucking it with Grimmsnarl, and the only offensive response we have is Ditto. With careful play this can be enough, but you will often just lose a mon to it if it's in (especially if you don't have a Reflect up). If anyone has suggestions on how to combat this issue without compromising the team's effectiveness I'd absolutely love to hear. Tyranitar and Excadrill can also be awkward to pivot around, but the former enables your own mole and the latter can provide potential setup opportunities to Polteageist.
Sorry if the formatting sucks, I wrote this on my phone. Enjoy the team and let me know how you'd improve it!
(Edit: removed Toxic from Excadrill, thought it was a clever last minute change and it'd be way better than Swords Dance or Substitute but it's kinda just not legal)
Eternatus @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Cosmic Power
Here's the star of the show and usually the mon on the field when the game ends. This Eternatus can either set up Cosmic Power against defensive presences like Corsola, or be the team's best option for recieving a SmashPass from Polteageist. Once that boost is obtained the game can often just be over- with two Cosmic Power boosts, this set is easily capable of stalling out opposing Eternatus' Dynamax Cannon (a safer gamble thanks to Pressure cutting it down to 4 uses). The set lacks a Dragon move in order to be effectively Ditto-proof, which is absolutely worth it.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
I've changed my mind, this is absolutely my favourite Dark-type in Ubers. This set packs invaluable utility that can allow for easy wins with Ditto via Swaggering a Zacian and then copying it, Gothitelle by providing Screens for easier setup or paralysis to outspeed Eternatus, and Polteageist with dual screens support and a paralysis chance that can allow for setting up a Substitute in a pinch. You can also just ParaFuse opponents to death sometimes. That's fun.
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Rest
- Taunt
- Stored Power
Another major wincon! If you trap something that can't switch or comfortably 2hko it, then you've probably won. Unless they have a Tyranitar or Grimmsnarl, in which case you might have a few problems to deal with. Taunt means you can even do stupid stuff like successfully trapping and setting up to +6 on Whirlwind Hippowdon, can deny hazards and generally makes dealing with any defensive mon a lot easier. Denying setup is also neat. The rest of the moves are fairly self-explanatory. The provided Speed lets Gothitelle outrun 4 Speed Mandibuzz and therefore Taunt and PP stall it while setting up, as well as outrunning paralyzed Eternatus.
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
Issa Ditto. It copies stuff and helps us not just lose to certain threats, which is cool. Funnily enough, Ditto can function as a countermeasure to opposing Ditto as our Polteageist is mono Shadow Ball, meaning it can stall out all 5 by spamming Transform. If you Swagger a Zacian or Excadrill you may also just win with it. I usually lead with Ditto versus teams with a Webs setter to get my own up and it usually works out.
Excadrill @ Heavy Duty Boots / Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Substitute / Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
Hazard control is appreciated by Polteageist greatly, especially to avoid having White Herb activated by Sticky Web, and also helps Gothitelle and Eternatus stick around better. Excadrill is consistent at this role and also provides the team with a greatly appreciated immediate offensive presence. Swords Dance or Substitute ease your complete lack of function against Corsola and provides potential for a sweep with Rapid Spin or Sand boosting Speed, but if you want your own hazards they can replace it I guess. Boots notably let you avoid the Sticky Web drop which can be massive for sweeping or just getting to spin. On the other hand Focus Sash provides a safety net for some big threats in some scenarios, but definitely isn't reliable.
Polteageist @ White Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
This tea tastes like cheese... Anyway, the premise here is simple. Ideally you get the required screens up with Grimmsnarl and possibly status the opponent, then attempt to set up. Fishing for a Substitute versus a statused opponent can let you completely bypass Ditto, so it can be absolutely worth it to try. If it's lategame and the opponent doesn't have an answer left, great! Polteageist can probably sweep on its own. If not, you can pass the smash to Eternatus who usually just wins from there. In some scenarios, such as versus Quagsire, you can Baton Pass out into Gothitelle for free and win from there. If you have a Substitute up or Ditto is removed then Excadrill can also make great use of the pass. Basically you have options. Cursed Body is preferred for avoiding the accidental White Herb activation and preserving bulk as you outrun pretty much everything anyway. The EVs provide enough Speed for Crowned Zacian at +1 and the rest is put into phys def to better tank hits from behind Reflect, making setup surprisingly reliable. Coverage is ditched as it's mostly irrelevant and you aren't beating TTar with this anyway.
Eternatus @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Cosmic Power
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Rest
- Taunt
- Stored Power
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
Excadrill @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
Polteageist @ White Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Cosmic Power
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
Gothitelle @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Rest
- Taunt
- Stored Power
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform
Excadrill @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
Polteageist @ White Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
So what does the team struggle with? No Johns, the majority of my losses with this team come down to crits that weren't in odds (anyone who was on Discord with me yesterday can verify because I was complaining about it every few minutes). It struggled hard with Corsola until I added Swords Dance to Excadrill which deals with it fairly effectively, and also could struggle with Webs sometimes until I added the Boots. But there definitely are flaws. The major issue, as is the case for many teams, is opposing Zacian. the team has 0 defensive counterplay to sword doggo outside of lucking it with Grimmsnarl, and the only offensive response we have is Ditto. With careful play this can be enough, but you will often just lose a mon to it if it's in (especially if you don't have a Reflect up). If anyone has suggestions on how to combat this issue without compromising the team's effectiveness I'd absolutely love to hear. Tyranitar and Excadrill can also be awkward to pivot around, but the former enables your own mole and the latter can provide potential setup opportunities to Polteageist.
Sorry if the formatting sucks, I wrote this on my phone. Enjoy the team and let me know how you'd improve it!
(Edit: removed Toxic from Excadrill, thought it was a clever last minute change and it'd be way better than Swords Dance or Substitute but it's kinda just not legal)
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