National Dex [AG] Y U Gotta B Like That (1k, Peaked 1817)

[lotiasite]

Y U Gotta B Like That

​

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome to my first RMT and my 1,000th post. I've been on this site for over 4 years at this point, and when I originally joined to post for the Trivia room where I was a Voice, I never imagined I'd be a part of the GP team and involved in a number of different sections on the site. I first joined the Anything Goes room on Showdown in December 2016, right after Generation 7 came out, and I stole a team from chat and laddered Pokebank Anything Goes for the first time. I was promoted to Voice in January of 2017 (so yes, I've been a Voice for over 3 years). I've played AG ever since then, and I've teetered between average and good for the most part. I like to think I'm a decent builder and player, but I'm nowhere near some of the great players I've faced. I'm probably better at tournaments than ladder (I'm really really bad at ladder), but I've still got a ways to go.

I don't actually like National Dex AG all that much; I'm quite looking forward to the DLC in June and November and our switch back to regular AG. I think the power creep of Dynamax + Megas + Z-Moves and all that makes it incredibly difficult to build this gen, especially building something like stall. Furthermore, I'm finding it personally difficult to keep up with all the meta trends that keep showing up, with things like Zacian-C, Yveltal, and Mega Rayquaza changing all the time and continually catching me off guard. Yveltal on its own is a big deterrent because it literally destroys everything, but it's admittedly fun to use. I've always liked AG for its ability to just use the most broken Pokemon ever imagined, and this gen is no different. Stall is actually not that great in the meta at the moment for this precise reason, as you can tell from the massive threatlist at the bottom. But as an avid stall lover, I just had to try, and I think I've had some great success with this team.

In terms of my time on this site, I think being part of the GP team community has been absolutely fantastic, even if I'm not one of the most active or involved members. The GP team has some of the nicest, funniest, and most hardworking people I've ever met; despite the generally niche area of Smogon that we cover, the GP team is a community I've come to greatly appreciate. Also, learning grammar has gotten me payment from friends, so that's a big plus.

Proof of Peak

Ignore my bad W/L and GXE; I started using this team around ~1600 with a 100-40 record, so I went 35-4 with this. Because I rarely play ladder, I would constantly decay 30-40 points between my playing sessions. I had to get this RMT out kinda quickly, so I unfortunately didn't get to ladder too much more above this.

Now, onto the team!

Teambuilding Process

This team was built during AGLT playoffs R1, and I was preparing for my R1 match against Guardsweeper. I knew I wanted to build stall. In particular, I wanted to try Guillotine Gliscor after using thimo and pichus's Shedinja stall to qualify for AGLT, so naturally, that was what I started with. Gliscor takes advantage of Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, defensive Necrozma-DM, and defensive Zygarde-C for free Guillotines, which is just incredible in this meta. It is also a way more reliable Defogger against Primal Groudon than Ho-Oh.

Then I added some stall staples. Ho-Oh works great as a physical wall and Defogger, and Chansey works great as a special wall and cleric. Between the two, I cover basically all special attackers and passive mons with Ho-Oh + Heal Bell.

Next, I need a good Zacian-C check. Rocky Helmet Necrozma-DM is the best counter there is. It also gives me a Stealth Rock setter, which is really nice.

Arceus-Ground is a natural next choice. Refresh Arceus-Ground fills so many roles on this team, but most importantly it checks offensive Zygarde-C. It also beats Ho-Oh, absorbs status, beats physical Yveltal, checks Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza, and survives a hit from almost anything. In this meta, a lot of teams are running some combination of Primal Groudon / Zacian-C / Zygarde / Ho-Oh / Mega Rayquaza / Necrozma-DM and just have no way of switching into this thing.

Lastly, I need a catch-all for sweepers. Ditto is fantastic, providing me with a win condition and a way to discourage any sweepers from setting up. It severely punishes Yveltal for Dynamaxing, since Ditto just comes in afterwards and Dynamaxes itself. It's also probably the best deterrent to Mega Rayquaza on this team and also manages to absolutely murder Zacian-C more than this team already does.


The Team In-depth


Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Guillotine
- Sand Tomb

This team started with Guillotine Gliscor. Gliscor is fantastic on stall because Guillotine makes it the only Pokemon capable of offensive pressure, which it does magnificently. Gliscor uses Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, defensive Zygarde, and defensive Necrozma-DM as free food, and if you get lucky enough you can shred entire teams with this. You don't have to be that lucky; killing just one or two mons can make them unable to break the rest of the team. Gliscor is also the best Defogger against Primal Groudon because they like to run Stone Edge a lot now, but just be careful of offensive variants with Fire Blast and stuff. Sand Tomb is great to trap things and fire off Guillotines one after another, but do be careful because Gliscor is really weak. Things can set up in front of Gliscor if you don't hit Guillotine. Also, don't play stupid with it until Toxic Orb activates; don't be switching into Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire, Necrozma-DM's Knock Off, etc. I do both of these things in a replay later but broken Gliscor stays broken and still manages to heal back up.


Ho-Oh @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Defog
- Protect
- Toxic

Ho-Oh is probably my favourite mon in Gen 8 AG. Heavy-Duty Boots just made this thing even more unkillable than it already was in the last two gens. Ho-Oh is absolutely mandatory on stall because Regenerator stays broken. The best Defogger in the tier, checks literally everything with Sacred Fire + Toxic, heals for free, amazing typing. Chloe recommended Protect to me and it's become my favourite fourth slot on this set, because you scout, stall out Dynamax, rack up Toxic damage, just a whole set of boons that it gives. You do give up Whirlwind, which can be problematic, but most setup sweepers aren't really a problem either way because of Ditto. Don't feel compelled to remove Stealth Rock straight away by switching into Necrozma-DM, because the team is barely affected by Stealth Rock anyway. You'd be worse off switching into Knock Off and losing Boots. Be careful with Sacred Fire PP. Ho-Oh is usually a great lead with this team to scout with Protect and just absorb any one hit.


Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Confide

The fat blob itself. Another necessity on stall, Chansey is the best special wall in the game for good reason. Chansey usually runs 252 Def / 252 SpD, but on this team I need all the Special Defense I can get to unfailingly beat Xerneas and Kyogre. With this spread, Chansey avoids the 2HKO from +2 Max Starfall from Xerneas and +1 Water Spout from Primal Kyogre (but only if Kyogre takes Stealth Rock damage). Chansey also beats Calm Mind Arceus formes because Ho-Oh has no Whirlwind and Ditto loses to them. The core of Ho-Oh + Chansey beats all special Yveltal, the most broken mon of all time. Even if they have Taunt, once they are burned with Sacred Fire, Regenerator + Chansey takes hits like a champ and actually beats Yveltal. Once they Dynamax, Chansey takes any hits and Soft-Boiled's for life. For this reason, physical Yveltal can be a problem, but we'll get to that later. Chansey is also necessary as a cleric with Heal Bell; because of Chansey, you can trade Toxic with Ho-Oh and heal later if necessary.


Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Morning Sun

By this point, my team gets absolutely rocked by Zacian-C and needs Stealth Rock. All hail the second-greatest mon in Gen 8 AG, Necrozma-DM. Rocky Helmet Necrozma-DM is the best Zacian-C counter that could ever exist, and if they have Swords Dance and kill you, Ditto's waiting in the back to reverse sweep. Knock Off is wonderful for Ho-Oh, Zygarde-C, and Ferrothorn that want to switch into you. Necrozma-DM is also a decent check to Mega Rayquaza because it switches into Choiced variants on Dragon Ascent and even takes +1 LO Earthquake like a champ. In my opinion, this Pokemon is absolutely necessary on any serious bulky team by virtue of how much it offers. Necrozma-DM is actually a decent defensive Dynamaxer, but you usually want to save Dynamax for Ditto.


Arceus-Ground @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Refresh
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Max Defense Arceus-Ground reliably checks a lot of physical attackers, including offensive Necrozma-DM, Mega Rayquaza, and Primal Groudon. Most importantly, Arceus-Ground stops this team from getting 6-0ed by Dragon Dance Zygarde. You can get worn down by Dragon Tail, but if you play right and waste PP effectively, you shouldn't lose to Zygarde. However, do be wary of Zygarde Dynamaxing if Arceus-Ground gets low. Refresh is a great tech this gen to beat Ho-Oh and destroy Primal Groudon even more and generally just be a huge nuisance to everything. Arceus-Ground is also the team's primary defensive check to Mega Rayquaza. Arceus-Ground on its own handles a lot of cookie-cutter cores involving Necrozma-DM / Mega Rayquaza / Primal Groudon / Ho-Oh / Zygarde / Zacian-C, making it fantastic in this meta.


Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Transform

Lastly, Ditto. Ditto is a monster this generation because of Dynamax, which lets you reverse sweep with the utmost ease. Ditto gives this team an actual win condition that's not just Toxic stalling (kind of), revenge killing Mega Rayquaza, Zacian-C, Yveltal, and more. Using up opposing Yveltal's Dynamax with Ho-Oh + Chansey and then using Ditto's Dynamax afterwards to deal huge damage is a fantastic way to utilise Dynamax on this mostly defensive team. A lot of sweepers like SD Mega Rayquaza, SD Zacian-C, and DD Ultra Necrozma could literally 6-0 this team if not for Ditto. Ditto should never really be brought in defensively; only bring it in if one of your other mons dies and you need to force out a sweeper.

Threatlist

When building stall, you generally aim to try and cover as many threats as possible. Even then, there are some Pokemon that absolutely demolish this team.


Mega Rayquaza is probably the biggest threat to this team. SD in particular can be a huge menace, only really checked offensively by Ditto. Choice variants aren't really too much of a problem unless you play really badly, because Protect Ho-Oh + a number of Pokemon that can take hits gives you some leeway. Arceus-Ground is a good enough check to Dragon Dance variants, but something like SD Mega Rayquaza + DD Zygarde would win pretty quickly.


Speaking of Zygarde, DD variants can get quite dangerous, especially since the only real check is Arceus-Ground. Without Whirlwind, Ho-Oh is free setup bait, as are Chansey, Necrozma-DM, and Gliscor. Arceus-Ground can quickly be worn down if the opponent spams Dragon Tail as Arceus-Ground attempts to switch in, weakening it to the point where +1 Max Quake will beat it. To play around it, you need to waste Dragon Tail PP by switching into things other than Arceus-Ground and kind of just hope Arceus-Ground comes out. If Arceus-Ground faints, there's really no point trying to continue.

Substitute / Glare / Coil variants can also cheese through Arceus-Ground with parahax, and if that happens it's completely over. Thankfully every time I face one of these my Arceus-Ground seems to be immune to full paralysis, so I haven't lost to it yet, but it's been close every time.


Primal Kyogre isn't that much of a threat because of Chansey. Calm Mind Life Orb regular Kyogre, on the other hand, 6-0es this team on the spot. Chansey will fold to +1 LO Origin Pulse / Max Geyser and at that point it's over. Choiced variants, on the other hand, are no threat, but do be careful of playing too passively and being taken advantage of by double switches. Liberally use Protect on Ho-Oh to scout if they bring Kyogre in and make sure Stealth Rock is off.


Yveltal is the most broken Pokemon in any iteration of AG ever, but this team is actually relatively well insured against Yveltal compared to most teams. Ho-Oh + Chansey + Arceus-Ground is pretty good defense against most Yveltal sets, but the bigger issue lies with determining what set the Yveltal actually is. Ho-Oh scouts pretty well whether it's regular special, physical, or mixed, but if you get the set wrong you can lose on the spot. For example, switching Chansey into Knock Off and losing to Kyogre late-game.

• Against special, Chansey wins. Ho-Oh can hit with Toxic or burn with Sacred Fire, and you can switch between the two to stall out Life Orb recoil. Even if it's last move Taunt, Ho-Oh does decent damage with Sacred Fire, even better if you get a burn, and Yveltal does so little damage to Chansey that switching between Chansey and Ho-Oh is enough to stall it out. If it's Rock Slide, you might just lose.
• Against Choice Band, Arceus-Ground avoids the 2HKO from Knock Off and basically walls it. When it Dynamaxes, that can be a problem. You might have to sack Gliscor, which can take two physical Max Darknesses to stall out Dynamax until Arceus-Ground can wall it again.
• Against mixed, it can be very difficult. You basically need to take a hit with Ho-Oh and hit it with Sacred Fire or Toxic and you can beat it from there, but it's very punishing to find out that it's mixed. Dynamaxed mixed Yveltal will usually get at least two kills, probably two of Chansey, Ho-Oh, and Gliscor.

It's not uncommon to lose a mon to Yveltal, but it usually has to Dynamax to do so. Ditto can come in afterwards, Dynamax itself, and do a lot of damage.


Gothitelle 6-0es stall, including this team. There's no going about it. It traps 4/6 Pokemon on this team, and the only way to beat it is if they're stupid enough to try and trap Gliscor and you kill it with Guillotine. I haven't actually seen a Gothitelle while using this team yet, so I guess it's not that common.


Gengar can be a similar case but is slightly more manageable. They don't really run Taunt this generation, which is good, but Mega Gengar can still trap Chansey thanks to Encore and set up with Nasty Plot + Substitute. If that happens, game over. You might have to play aggressively if they try to randomly bring Mega Gengar in on a double switch.

(Ghost)
SD Arceus-Ghost is a pretty big threat because it's one of the only physical sweepers that is Imposter proof thanks to Shadow Force. Ho-Oh can survive a +2 Shadow Force and burn with Sacred Fire or poison with Toxic. You can also switch Chansey in on Shadow Force and hit it with Toxic. After that, switching between Ho-Oh, Chansey, Arceus-Ground, and even Ditto can stall it out.

(Normal)
Refresh Arceus formes in general are technically unkillable, but they usually aren't much of a threat. The combination of Ho-Oh + Chansey will always stall these out, and they can't do much of anything to this team.


Life Orb Mewtwo can destroy this team, but thankfully it's not that common. Ho-Oh survives any hit and smacks with Toxic or Sacred Fire. Everything else kind of dies.

Replays

I don't save many replays and I don't have that many good ones, unfortunately. This is mostly what I have.

Tournaments

AGLT Playoffs R1 / AGLT Playoffs R2 / AG Seasonal R1

Ladder


Shoutouts

I'm not great at shoutouts, so I'm probably going to forget a few people. If I did, I'm really sorry, but know that it wasn't on purpose :(
martha The Dutch Plumberjack P Squared you guys are fantastic GP leaders, thank you so much. By the way, I take full credit for martha :)

fleurdyleurse the illustrious bee47… thanks a bunch for mentoring me and getting me into the gp team. I was absolutely floored when i found out you were even younger than me because i was convinced no one was… and that was when i was like 13 LMAO

The rest of the GP team: A Cake Wearing A Hat Estronic Fireflame GMars deetah Rabia Wob bigtalk (also an AG goon) CryoGyro Eien Eyan talkingtree GatoDelFuego Mr. Uncompetitive Kris thanks guys for being such a great team and community. I know we're pretty spread thin right now, and there's a lot of stuff surrounding C&C in general, but I know we can get through it. Being on the GP team for the past 3 (?) years has been really fun. I'll do more checks after this RMT is posted, I promise…

Thimo pichus thanks for the inspiration for this team, stall is forever

BaconEatinAssassin Chloe australian buddies… you guys are the only ones on at the same time as me LOL thanks for being good testing buddies and friends!

Dj Breloominati♬ woo when i played in tours room for like a month… HIT A SIXXXXX

The AG community: ice-master-523 Megazard Guardsweeper Pigeons PurpleGatorade Ktütverde Zenithial Catalystic Zayele GRNBLN Skarph (glad to see you're back) HunterStorm Bread Sandwich Fardin a lot of the fun of ag is thanks to you guys, i know the ag community can be really toxic and stupid at times lol. I've never been the most involved member per se but i hope i've given some good battles to some of you :)

vivalospride .nom vivalospride i didn't even sign up this year!! I aint about to play a bunch of irrelevant tiers… ur a really cool dude and i hope you find a lot of success :D maybe we'll be together in agpl again :]

OM drampa's grandpa thanks for drafting me for ompl last year. Obviously i did really poorly but i cant thank you enough for at least giving me the opportunity!

TectonicDestroyer another australian goon… was really fun being on the same ompl team as you last year :) you're a great player and i hope we get to team up again sometime!

There are a ton of other people from Game Corner, Trivia, and Scavengers that made my first experiences on Showdown so memorable and fantastic but a) it's so many people and b) i couldn't remember all of them if i tried. It was so long ago, but if i knew you in those days, this is a shoutout to you!

Conclusion

This definitely isn't the best team ever but I'm glad I was able to have some success with it and I hope some others will too :) I'm excited for what DLC will bring in June/November!

Importable

Ho-Oh @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Defog
- Protect
- Toxic

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Confide

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Transform

Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Morning Sun

Arceus-Ground @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Refresh
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Guillotine
- Sand Tomb