Oh my bad, sorry. I changed the numbers in the previous post. Thanks for pointing out the mistakes!
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Resource AG Viability Rankings [Update @ Post #59]
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My understanding is that the main reason eleki is not ranked is that it gets completed blanked by the omnipresent tinglu and groundceus. While it can, sometimes, break through them with tera ice tera blast, doing so generally isn't worthwhile since you had to expend your tera and you'll just get revenge killed. Realistically, you don't even beat offensive groundceus (252+ SpA Tera Ice Regieleki Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Arceus-Ground: 204-242 (53.5 - 63.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) and then either get setup on or ohkoed back (252+ Atk Earth Plate Arceus-Ground Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Ice Regieleki: 352-415 (96.7 - 114%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO). Eleki is also plagued by an inability to switch into anything and a general lack of firepower, since it doesn't get any important ohkoes (252+ SpA Transistor Regieleki Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Ho-Oh: 240-284 (57.8 - 68.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, 252+ SpA Regieleki Ancient Power vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Ho-Oh: 164-196 (39.5 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO). I don't think anything has changed in the meta since the last vr update that would make eleki a more viable pick.UR-—>D/D-
ok, so this little lightbulb is unranked? that's something I never known. My arguments: this thing, has the ability that makes him hit nearly equal as an adabtability-boosted move ((1.5*1.3/2=0.975 times). It has also the ability to be paired with e-terrain, which means a thunderbolt can go up to 152.1 bp before STAB. Plus, it has a wide range of support moves, such as volt switch to get out a bad situation, thunder cage to trap and get a good position, rapid spin to clean out the hazards, and even owning the two walls can make it a wall setter(I believe no one would use this). Indeed it has a poor, or extremely poor coverage (normal, electric, rock, flying), but it gained the possibility to tera ice to check out any ground type (that's a pre-dlc 1 comment). the high speed advantage it has can let it easily run adamant/modest if not needed for max speed (e.g. web team). It can also hold magnet to rise electric type power.
here's an example set:
After all, I thinks that this lightbulb needs a rise on the ranking.Alert: this set might not be very accurate to a high ladder
Lightbulb (Regieleki) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Transistor
Tera Type: Ice/water (basically anything to counter ground)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch/Thunder Cage/Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt/Thunder Cage
- Rapid Spin
- Tera Blast/Ancient Power
Eleki is too frail and weak to really be worth spending a team slot on just for its ability to provide spinblocked hazard control. Literally any team would rather run another offensive mon and maybe another boots or two.
Hopefully this made sense & welcome to the vr thread.
ok, so this little lightbulb is unranked? that's something I never known. My arguments: this thing, has the ability that makes him hit nearly equal as an adabtability-boosted move ((1.5*1.3/2=0.975 times). It has also the ability to be paired with e-terrain, which means a thunderbolt can go up to 152.1 bp before STAB. Plus, it has a wide range of support moves, such as volt switch to get out a bad situation, thunder cage to trap and get a good position, rapid spin to clean out the hazards, and even owning the two walls can make it a wall setter(I believe no one would use this). Indeed it has a poor, or extremely poor coverage (normal, electric, rock, flying), but it gained the possibility to tera ice to check out any ground type (that's a pre-dlc 1 comment). the high speed advantage it has can let it easily run adamant/modest if not needed for max speed (e.g. web team). It can also hold magnet to rise electric type power.
here's an example set:
After all, I thinks that this lightbulb needs a rise on the ranking.Alert: this set might not be very accurate to a high ladder
Lightbulb (Regieleki) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Transistor
Tera Type: Ice/water (basically anything to counter ground)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch/Thunder Cage/Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt/Thunder Cage
- Rapid Spin
- Tera Blast/Ancient Power
In my opinion, Regieleki is not good in the slightest. It gets absolutely shut down in every way by any ground type, and gives them opportunity to do whatever they want. eg: groundceus to set up cm/dd or lu to set up spikes. It might provide rapid spin, but that's literally all it does. If you want hazard control that badly, you can just use Giratina-O, whcich also provides utility in shadow sneak for revenging, will-o-wisp for criplling status and dragon tail which can stop sweeps. Besides that, (other than rapid spin) Regieleki is completely and thoroughly outclassed by scarf miraidon.
Hello as an avid AG player, my team actually uses a Regieleki! It's my least used pokemon on my team however. Being blanked by Ting-Lu and ground-plate Arceus and even the rarer Groudon hurts a lot. A ice tera blast just is not strong enough to drop them, unless you want to run choice specs. This pokemon basically requires reads to get the best use of. I like using it to revenge kill some impossible pokemon without a scarf, such as Calyrex-shadow, Miraidon, and Deoxys. Being the naturally fastest pokemon in the game that also has a way to trap+chip in a good stab move alongside hazard removal is nice, but its usually not a team slot nice. It has nothing going for it other then that and revenge killing, there's almost no move it resists besides a Miraidon electric move that destroys it on the swap anyways. Hard to get an entry and hard to use once it's in, I wish Regieleki was better. It's just the pokemon I end up sacking the most RN.
you need either specs or sash without sash it doesnt live 1 hit without specs it doesnt hit hard
specs regieleki is just an excuse for literally everything in the tier to set up after they see what move ur locked into
exactly why regieleki isnt on the viability rankings
hi!
rockceus UR -> B-
Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment
Rockceus compresses a ton of utility into one mon, switching freely into most ekillers and ho-ohs, while also breaking effortlessly through a lot of hard stall cores with taunt and judgment. There are a bunch of mons that force rockceus out, notably Zacian-C and Koraidon, but they can't come in on it without risking getting willowisped. Rockceus can be used over, or in addition to fairyceus to provide a more durable check to ho-oh that resists its STABS rather than taking neutral damage, which helps its recovers to last longer. Additionally, it checks ekiller reliably, even if ekiller teras fire, something that fairyceus notably fails to do. Rockceus also has the notable advantage over groundceus of OHKOing Ho-Oh, which lets it force it out reliably. Since Rockceus doesn't need defensive investment to check ekiller or Ho-Oh, it can run max speed, which lets it 1v1 fairyceus with taunt and willowisp physical arcs since they're always adamant. Tera Water is probably the best option so that if Zacian-C does come in, it can still be willowisped, but really Rockceus shouldn't tera most of the time. It also completely blanks hard stall in a way that other support arcs don't, since most of them have to dedicate a moveslot to a move for Ho-Oh, while Rockceus has space for taunt.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2174282600 - hard stall just folds. Rockceus and Miraidon combine to keep the stall off-balance and block any recovery on their checks, leading to a completely winning endgame before the opponent leaves
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173668545-jj27x330zhfvbb9wd24jhag2vrlx3lfpw - Rockceus cripples a key offensive Pokemon and makes a lot of progress against RL's fat core
e - found another replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173399133-71rhnzue72clkp69u8fvn0sslv4tqu8pw - Rockceus willos half the team lol
I could have sworn I had more replays for this but tl;dr rockceus is cool and a lot better than most of the garbage in C so it should probably be in B- but I guess I could see it in C as well. Thanks!
rockceus UR -> B-
Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment
Rockceus compresses a ton of utility into one mon, switching freely into most ekillers and ho-ohs, while also breaking effortlessly through a lot of hard stall cores with taunt and judgment. There are a bunch of mons that force rockceus out, notably Zacian-C and Koraidon, but they can't come in on it without risking getting willowisped. Rockceus can be used over, or in addition to fairyceus to provide a more durable check to ho-oh that resists its STABS rather than taking neutral damage, which helps its recovers to last longer. Additionally, it checks ekiller reliably, even if ekiller teras fire, something that fairyceus notably fails to do. Rockceus also has the notable advantage over groundceus of OHKOing Ho-Oh, which lets it force it out reliably. Since Rockceus doesn't need defensive investment to check ekiller or Ho-Oh, it can run max speed, which lets it 1v1 fairyceus with taunt and willowisp physical arcs since they're always adamant. Tera Water is probably the best option so that if Zacian-C does come in, it can still be willowisped, but really Rockceus shouldn't tera most of the time. It also completely blanks hard stall in a way that other support arcs don't, since most of them have to dedicate a moveslot to a move for Ho-Oh, while Rockceus has space for taunt.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2174282600 - hard stall just folds. Rockceus and Miraidon combine to keep the stall off-balance and block any recovery on their checks, leading to a completely winning endgame before the opponent leaves
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173668545-jj27x330zhfvbb9wd24jhag2vrlx3lfpw - Rockceus cripples a key offensive Pokemon and makes a lot of progress against RL's fat core
e - found another replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173399133-71rhnzue72clkp69u8fvn0sslv4tqu8pw - Rockceus willos half the team lol
I could have sworn I had more replays for this but tl;dr rockceus is cool and a lot better than most of the garbage in C so it should probably be in B- but I guess I could see it in C as well. Thanks!
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why should it be used over darkceus and since darkceus is B Rockceus shouldnt be rankedhi!
rockceus UR -> B-
Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment
Rockceus compresses a ton of utility into one mon, switching freely into most ekillers and ho-ohs, while also breaking effortlessly through a lot of hard stall cores with taunt and judgment. There are a bunch of mons that force rockceus out, notably Zacian-C and Koraidon, but they can't come in on it without risking getting willowisped. Rockceus can be used over, or in addition to fairyceus to provide a more durable check to ho-oh that resists its STABS rather than taking neutral damage, which helps its recovers to last longer. Additionally, it checks ekiller reliably, even if ekiller teras fire, something that fairyceus notably fails to do. Rockceus also has the notable advantage over groundceus of OHKOing Ho-Oh, which lets it force it out reliably. Since Rockceus doesn't need defensive investment to check ekiller or Ho-Oh, it can run max speed, which lets it 1v1 fairyceus with taunt and willowisp physical arcs since they're always adamant. Tera Water is probably the best option so that if Zacian-C does come in, it can still be willowisped, but really Rockceus shouldn't tera most of the time. It also completely blanks hard stall in a way that other support arcs don't, since most of them have to dedicate a moveslot to a move for Ho-Oh, while Rockceus has space for taunt.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2174282600 - hard stall just folds. Rockceus and Miraidon combine to keep the stall off-balance and block any recovery on their checks, leading to a completely winning endgame before the opponent leaves
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173668545-jj27x330zhfvbb9wd24jhag2vrlx3lfpw - Rockceus cripples a key offensive Pokemon and makes a lot of progress against RL's fat core
e - found another replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173399133-71rhnzue72clkp69u8fvn0sslv4tqu8pw - Rockceus willos half the team lol
I could have sworn I had more replays for this but tl;dr rockceus is cool and a lot better than most of the garbage in C so it should probably be in B- but I guess I could see it in C as well. Thanks!
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darkceus can't goob Ho-Oh in a single hit, and the replays have show its utility over other arcs to hit things that are immune to wisp.
so... maybe... caly-s can grass knot 1ko rockceus? plus rock has such a pitiful defensive position, even running offensive rockceus makes more sense(still get outplayed by groundceus tho)hi!
rockceus UR -> B-
Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment
Rockceus compresses a ton of utility into one mon, switching freely into most ekillers and ho-ohs, while also breaking effortlessly through a lot of hard stall cores with taunt and judgment. There are a bunch of mons that force rockceus out, notably Zacian-C and Koraidon, but they can't come in on it without risking getting willowisped. Rockceus can be used over, or in addition to fairyceus to provide a more durable check to ho-oh that resists its STABS rather than taking neutral damage, which helps its recovers to last longer. Additionally, it checks ekiller reliably, even if ekiller teras fire, something that fairyceus notably fails to do. Rockceus also has the notable advantage over groundceus of OHKOing Ho-Oh, which lets it force it out reliably. Since Rockceus doesn't need defensive investment to check ekiller or Ho-Oh, it can run max speed, which lets it 1v1 fairyceus with taunt and willowisp physical arcs since they're always adamant. Tera Water is probably the best option so that if Zacian-C does come in, it can still be willowisped, but really Rockceus shouldn't tera most of the time. It also completely blanks hard stall in a way that other support arcs don't, since most of them have to dedicate a moveslot to a move for Ho-Oh, while Rockceus has space for taunt.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2174282600 - hard stall just folds. Rockceus and Miraidon combine to keep the stall off-balance and block any recovery on their checks, leading to a completely winning endgame before the opponent leaves
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173668545-jj27x330zhfvbb9wd24jhag2vrlx3lfpw - Rockceus cripples a key offensive Pokemon and makes a lot of progress against RL's fat core
e - found another replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2173399133-71rhnzue72clkp69u8fvn0sslv4tqu8pw - Rockceus willos half the team lol
I could have sworn I had more replays for this but tl;dr rockceus is cool and a lot better than most of the garbage in C so it should probably be in B- but I guess I could see it in C as well. Thanks!
B -> A-/Amy lil' webber ribombee in B is kinda underranked. first look at its stats: 124 speed, which is right above arceus, a popular taunt user. even if it's facing overspeeded taunt (e.g. mirai/korai), it can just 1ko both of them with one single moonblast. It survives also a full surging strike with water tera. it is also a good counter for smeargle, as it's immune to sleep with sweet veil.
252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 32 Def Tera Water Ribombee on a critical hit: 216-258 (82.7 - 98.8%) -- approx. 2HKO
absolute nightmare (Ribombee) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Shield Dust
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 32 Def / 224 SpA / 252 Spe (spa ev instead of hp for 100% 1ko for mirai/korai)
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stun Spore
- Moonblast
- U-turn
Ability: Shield Dust
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 32 Def / 224 SpA / 252 Spe (spa ev instead of hp for 100% 1ko for mirai/korai)
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stun Spore
- Moonblast
- U-turn
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Surging strikes is never used in high level play because urshifu is complete garbage in ubers. miraidon takes a moonblast from full easily as well, or maybe its not taunt and you wasted your lead...
my lil' webber ribombee in B is kinda underranked. first look at its stats: 124 speed, which is right above arceus, a popular taunt user. even if it's facing overspeeded taunt (e.g. mirai/korai), it can just 1ko both of them with one single moonblast. It survives also a full surging strike with water tera. it is also a good counter for smeargle, as it's immune to sleep with sweet veil.
252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 32 Def Tera Water Ribombee on a critical hit: 216-258 (82.7 - 98.8%) -- approx. 2HKOabsolute nightmare (Ribombee) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Shield Dust
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 32 Def / 224 SpA / 252 Spe (spa ev instead of hp for 100% 1ko for mirai/korai)
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stun Spore
- Moonblast
- U-turn
252 SpA Ribombee Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Miraidon: 222-264 (65.1 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
smeargle is very rarely used, so its not really viable.
it enables webs, but webs isn't really everything in AG for Ribombee to be ranked higher.
caly does not oneshot rockceus with grass knot unboosted, and even with specs its a roll not in your favor.
252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Arceus-Rock: 400-472 (90 - 106.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
it also has good matchup into some top tier mons so that's also a plus.
New VR UPDATE!
Arceus 
: A+(1) --> S(3)
Arceus-Fairy
: A+(2) --> S-(2)
Miraidon
A+(3) --> S-(3)
Kyogre
A(3) --> A+(2)
Zacian-C
A(2) --> A(1)
Landorus-Therian
: A(4) --> A(2)
Calyrex-Ice
C --> B
Ditto
: C --> C+
Blissey
: C --> C+
Kingambit
: C --> C+
Alomomola
: D --> C
Arceus-Rock
UR --> C
Garganacl
UR --> C
Iron Treads
UR --> C
Skarmory
UR --> C
Rayquaza
D --> C-
Palkia-O
D --> C-
: A+(1) --> S(3)Arceus-Fairy
: A+(2) --> S-(2)Miraidon
A+(3) --> S-(3)Kyogre
A(3) --> A+(2)Zacian-C
A(2) --> A(1)Landorus-Therian
: A(4) --> A(2)Calyrex-Ice
C --> BDitto
: C --> C+Blissey
: C --> C+Kingambit
: C --> C+Alomomola
: D --> CArceus-Rock
UR --> CGarganacl
UR --> CIron Treads
UR --> CSkarmory
UR --> CRayquaza
D --> C-Palkia-O
D --> C-Ho-Oh 
: S+(2) --> S(2)
Ting Lu
: S(2) --> S-(1)
Arceus-Ground
A+(3) --> S-(2)
Eternatus
: S-(3)--> A+(3)
Arceus-Water
: A(1) --> A (3)
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
: S-(1) --> A-(1)
Deoxys-Speed
A-(1) --> A-(2)
Gliscor
: B+ --> B
Glimmora
B+ --> B
Deoxys-Attack
B+ --> B-
Arceus-Dark
: B --> C
Arceus-Ghost
C --> C-
Skeledirge
C --> C-
Toxapex
C --> C-
Kyurem-B
C --> C-
Groudon
C --> D
Lunala
C --> UR
Arceus-Poison
C --> UR
Arceus-Grass
D --> UR
Great Tusk
C --> UR
Basculegion-M
D --> UR
Arceus-Steel
D --> UR
: S+(2) --> S(2)Ting Lu
: S(2) --> S-(1)Arceus-Ground
A+(3) --> S-(2)Eternatus
: S-(3)--> A+(3)Arceus-Water
: A(1) --> A (3)Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
: S-(1) --> A-(1)Deoxys-Speed
A-(1) --> A-(2)Gliscor
: B+ --> BGlimmora
B+ --> BDeoxys-Attack
B+ --> B-Arceus-Dark
: B --> CArceus-Ghost
C --> C-Skeledirge
C --> C-Toxapex
C --> C-Kyurem-B
C --> C-Groudon
C --> DLunala
C --> URArceus-Poison
C --> URArceus-Grass
D --> URGreat Tusk
C --> URBasculegion-M
D --> URArceus-Steel
D --> UR Arceus-Ghost C- --> UR/DThere is no rapid spin for you to block, Calyrex-Shadow is better offensively, and Arceus-Fairy and Arceus Water is better defensively. It's simply outclassed in what it does in every way, and I see no reason to use it over tier staples.
's main job is to switch into Koraidon. 's main job is to switch in to Koraidon.After
switches into Koraidon, it sits there and cries while Ting-Lu and Ho-Oh wall it.After
switches into Koraidon, it exherts a lot of pressure, with Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Power Gem and Super effective Judgement to hit Ting Lu. Completely outclasses , bar switching into Sunsteel Strike or Behemoth Blade .
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Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water / Ground / Normal / Poison / Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Judgment
- Earth Power
- Recover
(alt set for lead, swap earth power and calm mind for stealth rock and taunt)
Arceus-Fairy completely outclasses every pokemon in S- and S, it should be top of S minimum, With it's good bulk, typing, damage, and the combination of fairy judgment and earth power hitting almost every pokemon for massive damage, and the combination of Calm mind and Recover allowing it to setup on any pokemon that can't hit it for more than 50%, and if the pokemon is a special attacker, even that may not be enough! It has no checks aside from Zacian Crowned (More on that later) and no Counters aside from Calyrex-Shadow. Speaking of Calyrex-Shadow, it also compliments it very well, as it wins against dark types. Arceus-Fairy can also induce teras early, allowing astral barrage to sweep without worry. Complimenting the best, almost essential for every team, pokemon in the tier means a deadly combination of win conditions, and I feel working with Calyrex-S is a very important consideration for viability. Another consideration of viability is beating Calyrex-Shadow, and while it can't do that 1v1, if you setup some calm minds before hand, it can tank astral barrages and 2HKO Calyrex-S.
The fact that I can get from 1300 to 1600+ elo, top 200 in AG (and climbing!) with just this team should speak for itself, here's one battle https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2262498961-tucll06mj91q9v3l0z8ty404vvubw5spw (Though my opponent did make a misplay with the terrain, they did get some lucky low rolls, and maybe I could've beat muk and dondozo with Astral barrage as well if they poison jabbed, unless they had tera normal) I've also beaten a team containing ho-oh with Arceus-Fairy. But I just started saving replays. Even in the battles I lose, it's due to several misplays on my part rather than my team getting countered.
Let's start with it's weaknesses, which are few, It's ability to hit anything that can damage it super effectively with super effective damage itself, combined with it's speed, and the fact that there are no poison flying types legal in AG, and the only flying steel types are coviknight and skarmory, which are both uncommon and have poor atk stats, even then, Arceus-Fairy can beat them with Recover + Calm mind, unless it's max atk, 252+ Atk Corviknight Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Arceus-Fairy: 186-222 (48.8 - 58.2%) -- 95.3% chance to 2HKO.
The only pokemon that resist Arceus-Fairy's attacks, Ho-Oh, only beats Arceus with Brave bird Max atk (as other sets can be setup-ed on), in which the recoil and damage will put it far into range of Calyrex-S's Astral barrage or Psyshock. 252 SpA Pixie Plate Arceus-Fairy Judgment vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Ho-Oh: 63-75 (16.6 - 19.7%) -- possible 6HKO + 252+ Atk Ho-Oh Brave Bird 48.2 - 56.9% (16 - 18.8% recoil damage) x2 = 64% damage taking the lowest rolls, or 38% remaining. 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Psyshock vs. 104 HP / 0 Def Ho-Oh: 171-202 (45.1 - 53.2%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO and 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Astral Barrage vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Ho-Oh: 160-190 (42.2 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO Getting a grim neigh on a psyshock can be a very big threat on choice sets if the opposing team has no dark types or high def psychic resists, which is common due to most teams preparing for Astral Barrage with normal types and teras and Arceus Fairy removing dark types.
The only other pokemon I noticed as a threat during my games was the previously mentioned Zacian Crowned, with it's high atk, speed, and high power Steel Stab move, it can OHKO Arceus-Fairy before it can move, however, Tera Fire can improve the match up for potential setup and hitting back with earth power for a 2HKO.
The final small weakness are pokemon that can take attacks and hit Arceus-Fairy super effectively. Specially bulky poison or steel types and pokemon who run poison or steel as coverage can do a lot of damage, however Arceus-Fairy is usually bulky enough to either setup or KO them first, with the notable exception of Deoxys-Attack, however, stealth rock can make it easily die to Calyrex-S.
Now let's get into it's strengths, which there are many, it destroys every pokemon in S- and S, koriadon can't hit it for neutral damage with it's stab, and is 4x weak to judgment, Arceus can survive an electro drift from Miradon, and OHKO it with judgment, plus a common tera type for Arceus- Fairy. Ground, is immune to it. Ting lu is murdered by Taunt, stopping it from using spikes, Arceus can easily recover from ruination, resists payback, and judgment is a 2 hit KO. Ekiller can be stopped with either chip as it sets up and then Calyrex, or Will-o-Wisp, which puts it into a catch with Calyrex-S, If it teras into fire, astral barrage will kill it, and if it doesn't, it gets burned. Also, none of these pokemon got far when I played them, koriadon reaching the highest at 1400 elo. Granted, I probably wasn't using them to their full potential, but the fact remains it proves that all of these pokemon have weaknesses that stop them from destroying everything, but Arceus-Fairy simply doesn't, so that's why it should go in high S.
Although i do agree with this tier change, i would like to mention that zac-c is not the only fairyceus check. NDM and Ho-Oh (if it lacks power gem) great Fairyceus checks. I also believe that earth power could be spent on a different move slot, like power gem or will-o-wisp since everything earth power hits, combined, is not as common as ho-oh and does not have as much utility as will-o-wisp. Ho-Oh can also phaze cm sets, and does not need to be offensive. Tera Normal do not make sense to me, as calyrex-s encores you either way, and taking less from korai is much more important. Also keep in mind, ladder is also not a good tool for testing teams or pokemon. (They also played very badly). The other problem with that set is it isn't a korai in, as it gets 2hkoed by flare blitz even before spikes.Arceus-Fairy from S- to S
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Water / Ground / Normal / Poison / Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Judgment
- Earth Power
- Recover
(alt set for lead, swap earth power and calm mind for stealth rock and taunt)
Arceus-Fairy completely outclasses every pokemon in S- and S, it should be top of S minimum, With it's good bulk, typing, damage, and the combination of fairy judgment and earth power hitting almost every pokemon for massive damage, and the combination of Calm mind and Recover allowing it to setup on any pokemon that can't hit it for more than 50%, and if the pokemon is a special attacker, even that may not be enough! It has no checks aside from Zacian Crowned (More on that later) and no Counters aside from Calyrex-Shadow. Speaking of Calyrex-Shadow, it also compliments it very well, as it wins against dark types. Arceus-Fairy can also induce teras early, allowing astral barrage to sweep without worry. Complimenting the best, almost essential for every team, pokemon in the tier means a deadly combination of win conditions, and I feel working with Calyrex-S is a very important consideration for viability. Another consideration of viability is beating Calyrex-Shadow, and while it can't do that 1v1, if you setup some calm minds before hand, it can tank astral barrages and 2HKO Calyrex-S.
The fact that I can get from 1300 to 1600+ elo, top 200 in AG (and climbing!) with just this team should speak for itself, here's one battle https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9anythinggoes-2262498961-tucll06mj91q9v3l0z8ty404vvubw5spw (Though my opponent did make a misplay with the terrain, they did get some lucky low rolls, and maybe I could've beat muk and dondozo with Astral barrage as well if they poison jabbed, unless they had tera normal) I've also beaten a team containing ho-oh with Arceus-Fairy. But I just started saving replays. Even in the battles I lose, it's due to several misplays on my part rather than my team getting countered.
Let's start with it's weaknesses, which are few, It's ability to hit anything that can damage it super effectively with super effective damage itself, combined with it's speed, and the fact that there are no poison flying types legal in AG, and the only flying steel types are coviknight and skarmory, which are both uncommon and have poor atk stats, even then, Arceus-Fairy can beat them with Recover + Calm mind, unless it's max atk, 252+ Atk Corviknight Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Arceus-Fairy: 186-222 (48.8 - 58.2%) -- 95.3% chance to 2HKO.
The only pokemon that resist Arceus-Fairy's attacks, Ho-Oh, only beats Arceus with Brave bird Max atk (as other sets can be setup-ed on), in which the recoil and damage will put it far into range of Calyrex-S's Astral barrage or Psyshock. 252 SpA Pixie Plate Arceus-Fairy Judgment vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Ho-Oh: 63-75 (16.6 - 19.7%) -- possible 6HKO + 252+ Atk Ho-Oh Brave Bird 48.2 - 56.9% (16 - 18.8% recoil damage) x2 = 64% damage taking the lowest rolls, or 38% remaining. 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Psyshock vs. 104 HP / 0 Def Ho-Oh: 171-202 (45.1 - 53.2%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO and 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Astral Barrage vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Ho-Oh: 160-190 (42.2 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO Getting a grim neigh on a psyshock can be a very big threat on choice sets if the opposing team has no dark types or high def psychic resists, which is common due to most teams preparing for Astral Barrage with normal types and teras and Arceus Fairy removing dark types.
The only other pokemon I noticed as a threat during my games was the previously mentioned Zacian Crowned, with it's high atk, speed, and high power Steel Stab move, it can OHKO Arceus-Fairy before it can move, however, Tera Fire can improve the match up for potential setup and hitting back with earth power for a 2HKO.
The final small weakness are pokemon that can take attacks and hit Arceus-Fairy super effectively. Specially bulky poison or steel types and pokemon who run poison or steel as coverage can do a lot of damage, however Arceus-Fairy is usually bulky enough to either setup or KO them first, with the notable exception of Deoxys-Attack, however, stealth rock can make it easily die to Calyrex-S.
Now let's get into it's strengths, which there are many, it destroys every pokemon in S- and S, koriadon can't hit it for neutral damage with it's stab, and is 4x weak to judgment, Arceus can survive an electro drift from Miradon, and OHKO it with judgment, plus a common tera type for Arceus- Fairy. Ground, is immune to it. Ting lu is murdered by Taunt, stopping it from using spikes, Arceus can easily recover from ruination, resists payback, and judgment is a 2 hit KO. Ekiller can be stopped with either chip as it sets up and then Calyrex, or Will-o-Wisp, which puts it into a catch with Calyrex-S, If it teras into fire, astral barrage will kill it, and if it doesn't, it gets burned. Also, none of these pokemon got far when I played them, koriadon reaching the highest at 1400 elo. Granted, I probably wasn't using them to their full potential, but the fact remains it proves that all of these pokemon have weaknesses that stop them from destroying everything, but Arceus-Fairy simply doesn't, so that's why it should go in high S.
That being said, I also agree with moving Arceus-Fairy from S- to S.
provides immense defensive utility and is one of the only korai switchins in the tier, and thus finds itself on to the majority of teams. It also has incredible set diversity, with options like cm|willo|twave|pgem, making it very difficult to switch in to without knowing it's set. Additionally, also provides a valuable scale shot immunity in the HO matchupedit: Fixed typo
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I see, I'm not that knowing of the meta, so I'll take your word that power gem or will-o-wisp are better options. I'm not sure what you mean by "zac-c is not the only calyrex-s check" tough, I never mentioned checks for calyrex-s. The last part of your post is only showing in the reply window, whats that about? anyway, what do you mean by "phaze"? it's not a move. And about ho-oh not being offensive, if it isn't offensive, it wouldn't be able to deal enough damage to outpace Fairyceus recover and get setup-ed on. (unless this "phaze" thing stops that?)
I've been thinking about NDM being a check, and I realized something, behold:Although i do agree with this tier change, i would like to mention that zac-c is not the only fairyceus check. NDM and Ho-Oh (if it lacks power gem) great Fairyceus checks. I also believe that earth power could be spent on a different move slot, like power gem or will-o-wisp since everything earth power hits, combined, is not as common as ho-oh and does not have as much utility as will-o-wisp. Ho-Oh can also phaze cm sets, and does not need to be offensive. Tera Normal do not make sense to me, as calyrex-s encores you either way, and taking less from korai is much more important. Also keep in mind, ladder is also not a good tool for testing teams or pokemon. (They also played very badly). The other problem with that set is it isn't a korai in, as it gets 2hkoed by flare blitz even before spikes.
That being said, I also agree with moving Arceus-Fairy from S- to S.
The fairyceus Necrozma-Dusk-Mane check
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 244 Def / 252 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Overheat / Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment / Taunt
The given EV spread outspeeds the fastest necrozmas, and always survives a sunsteel strike. Foul Play plus Overheat is a guaranteed 2HKO, where as will-o-wisp allows for possible setup and Foul play is a guaranteed 2HKO after burn. The 4th slot isn't really important
Tera water stops necrozma from doing any amount of damage to fairyceus after burn, turning necrozma into setup folder, Meanwhile, Tera fire, while being weak to earthquake, that one-time resist to sunsteel strike is all you need, it's good to keep fairyceus healthy and have a chance at beating zac-c if your opponent has one, it even has a small chance at OHKOing necrozma!
Calcs:
252+ Atk Arceus-Fairy Foul Play vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 160-189 (47.7 - 56.4%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Arceus-Fairy Foul Play vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 160-189 (47.7 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
252+ SpA Arceus-Fairy Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 204-241 (60.8 - 71.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Tera Fire Arceus-Fairy Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 306-361 (91.3 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. 0 HP / 244 Def Arceus-Fairy: 290-344 (76.1 - 90.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Also, I figured out you were referring to ho-oh's whirlwind with phazing, not much to prevent that but there's power gem so its fine.
no.I've been thinking about NDM being a check, and I realized something, behold:
The fairyceus Necrozma-Dusk-Mane check
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Fire / Water
EVs: 244 Def / 252 SpA / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Overheat / Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Judgment / Taunt
The given EV spread outspeeds the fastest necrozmas, and always survives a sunsteel strike. Foul Play plus Overheat is a guaranteed 2HKO, where as will-o-wisp allows for possible setup and Foul play is a guaranteed 2HKO after burn. The 4th slot isn't really important
Tera water stops necrozma from doing any amount of damage to fairyceus after burn, turning necrozma into setup folder, Meanwhile, Tera fire, while being weak to earthquake, that one-time resist to sunsteel strike is all you need, it's good to keep fairyceus healthy and have a chance at beating zac-c if your opponent has one, it even has a small chance at OHKOing necrozma!
Calcs:
252+ Atk Arceus-Fairy Foul Play vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 160-189 (47.7 - 56.4%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Arceus-Fairy Foul Play vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 160-189 (47.7 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
252+ SpA Arceus-Fairy Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 204-241 (60.8 - 71.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Tera Fire Arceus-Fairy Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 306-361 (91.3 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. 0 HP / 244 Def Arceus-Fairy: 290-344 (76.1 - 90.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Also, I figured out you were referring to ho-oh's whirlwind with phazing, not much to prevent that but there's power gem so its fine.
on a more serious note, ndm isn't very common. I don't see a need for overheat since it only hits ndm and zac-c, which aren't that common, and judgement also is not optional, as you need to hit lu and korai. You also need physdef to be a korai switchin. I would just remove overheat and make it physdef willo powet gem/cm/twave recover judgement, since foul play also only really hits ndm and other moves have more value in that slot.
I would like to request a few changes
C- to C+
I like using rayquaza, deep physical and special coverage, functions pretty well as a suicide lead with Stealth Rocks+Thunderwave, it has a120 STAB that hit’s Koraidon for super effective, and hits the rest of the tier pretty hard. It’s a great partner for Zacian as they perfectly cover each other’s weaknesses. Dragon dance helps boost its attack and speed helping its main weakness. It’s also a great Espeed abuser as Tera gives it stab, allowing to hit harder than Arceus with Extreeme Speed.
Of course, it’s not as good as it’s held back by its speed and having a bad matchup against a lot of the top threats, but I think C+ gives it justice.
B- to C-
Not too much to say here, if you want a dark type defensive mon, just use Ting-Lu. It’s not completely overshadowed because of defog but there isn’t much that Mandibuzz can do that Ting-Lu doesn’t.
I like using rayquaza, deep physical and special coverage, functions pretty well as a suicide lead with Stealth Rocks+Thunderwave, it has a120 STAB that hit’s Koraidon for super effective, and hits the rest of the tier pretty hard. It’s a great partner for Zacian as they perfectly cover each other’s weaknesses. Dragon dance helps boost its attack and speed helping its main weakness. It’s also a great Espeed abuser as Tera gives it stab, allowing to hit harder than Arceus with Extreeme Speed.
Of course, it’s not as good as it’s held back by its speed and having a bad matchup against a lot of the top threats, but I think C+ gives it justice.
Not too much to say here, if you want a dark type defensive mon, just use Ting-Lu. It’s not completely overshadowed because of defog but there isn’t much that Mandibuzz can do that Ting-Lu doesn’t.
Ting lu does not outclass mandibuzz. Mandibuzz is arguably stall's best caly-s check, and it not only has roost but also defog and knock off. Stalls with Ting-Lu over mandibuzz lack mandibuzz's roost recovery and lose to caly-s much more rapidly.
Rayquaza is not a good suicide lead. If you want a rocks and twave setter lead, deo-s is simply better with spikes and superior speed tier. As for dragon dance, the best defensive arc form in arceus fairy, easily lives a +1 dragon ascent and ohkoes back after lorb chip. Alternatively, it can choose to willo/twave rayquaza. Similarly, waterceus can phaze or status ray quite easily. On top of this, it is easily revenge killed by scarf korai/caly and ekiller after some chip.
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Arceus-Fairy: 298-351 (67.5 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Pixie Plate Arceus-Fairy Judgment vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rayquaza: 330-390 (94 - 111.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
Tera also boosts when you tera into the same type, so arceus will hit harder than rayquaza with extreme speed when you tera normal
252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Arceus Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Blissey: 988-1165 (151.7 - 178.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Blissey: 871-1027 (133.7 - 157.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
On Ray:
As far as a suicide lead goes, outclassed by deo-s. I’m not sure why you’d use Ray over deo-s. It’s too slow to do anything meaningful, idk what it sets a dragon dance up on besides ting Lu but even that just whirlwinds you out anyway. Espeed from Ekiller hits harder (and Ekiller is a way better Mon in general) and you’re more likely to sink your Tera into Ray to boost Espeed (though honestly I think Tera flying or dragon to boost its stabs and deal meaningful damage is probably better). Ray just isn’t a good Pokémon in this meta, and honestly C- might even be generous for it.
On Mandibuzz:
Pretty much echo what Jaishy said with the caveat that mandibuzz really only has a place on stall, as you want the role compression of ting Lu on balance teams to make room for more offensive threats. But I think that it being the best caly check in the game and being good on stall archetypes justifies B-