Introduction~
This team first started when Popsicle and Rhu were having 6v6 Arceus battles. Rhu just happened to be using Fireceus and I thought, damn something that cool deserves a team. While initially I started with a fun team (Groudon, Fireceus, Ho-oh, Reshiram, Kyurem-W and Palkia), I later set out to build a more serious team. I expected nothing and got the world. Admittedly, playing with this team can become extremely tedious, especially if the opponent has Giratina. You have to get the plays right and know when to strike. I was top 10 today, but then Swagger Thundurus came along and decided I didn't need points. I'll ladder more when I get a chance considering Fireceus deserves the throne.
Team Building~
Obviously a team based around Fireceus needed Fireceus and Groudon
To cover up the Kyogre weakness I thought Palkia would work pretty well.
At this point I wanted to compress a bit so I wanted a special wall and scarfer so I put Ho-oh in.
I didn't feel comfortable with just Palkia checking Kyogre so I put spdef Gira in as well.
Finally, I was lacking an EK Arceus counter and a spinner. The only option was Forretress.
Palkia wasn't doing much so I put Latios in instead.
At A Glance~
In Depth~
Helios (Groudon) @ Earth Plate
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
Credit to this set goes to Princess Bri. We were talking about a team a while ago and this came up. Groudon is one of the most important members in my team. He provides the sunlight that fuels the power of Ho-oh and Fireceus. Stealth Rock is an excellent move that limits the opponent from switching and helps net some KOs. Earthquake is my STAB move of choice and is quite powerful thanks to the EVs and item. Earthquake will OHKO max Hp Dialga and 2HKO Extreme Killer Arceus. Stone Edge is great to OHKO stuff llike Ho-oh and Rayquaza who would otherwise be quite problematic. Fire Punch 2HKOs Ferrothorn, Forretress and Skarmory, even defensive variants, and deters them from switching in freely. The EVs and item are set to guarantee an OHKO on max Hp Dialga, max hp to optimise bulk and the rest into speed to possibly creep the large majority of base 90's who do not invest.
Prometheus (Arceus-Fire) @ Flame Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
Fireceus is a very powerful and underrated Pokemon. He is one of two pokemon who's STABs can be boosted by weather and the only one who's boosted by sun. While the selected moves are resisted by a large number of Dragon Pokemon in the tier, in sun and with a Calm Mind boost, he 2HKOs them anyway! In fact even without any boosts and with sun up, Fireceus can 2HKO standard EK Arceus! Flamethrower is the main move of the set and my STAB move. The 10% burn chance (which can clutch CM wars, not that it matters much because sun gives me the edge anyway) and the higher amount of PP makes it superior to Judgment. You may think Reshiram outclasses Fireceus, but you could not be more wrong. Fireceus has amazing bulk, which cannot even be compared with the likes of Reshiram. His bulk and typing allows Fireceus to set up on Palkia in the sun! Reshiram also has shit speed, which makes sweeping very difficult, especially in conjunction with his Dragon weakness. A neutrality to Ice is also extremely helpful, allowing him to switch into Ice Beams from Kyurem-W. Finally, Firceus has access to Calm Mind, which allows him to set up and devastate teams, unlike Reshiram. Thunderbolt is great for stuff like Kyogre and Ho-oh, who could otherwise stomach most hits. Recover allows Fireceus to set up on more stuff and mitigates hazard damage. The EVs maximise sweeping potential.
Aether (Latios) (M) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot
- Roost
While this slot was originally filled by Palkia, I later replaced it to help with my Lati@s weakness. Draco Meteor hits like a very large and pointy tank, OHKOing or 2HKOing almost the entire tier. Psyshock 2HKOs Ho-oh and Chansey, things Palkia struggled with. Grass Knot is important to OHKO the major weather setters of the tier. Roost largely goes unused, but is very useful in longer stall battles. Soul Dew is effectively Choice Specs with a Spdef buff as well AND the ability to switch moves. This item makes the Lati twins viable in ubers. You may notice the omission of Hidden Power Fire. While it is true this Latios does struggle with Ferro and Forre, the rest of the team can handle the two quite well. More importantly, HP Fire lowers the speed of Latios. As this quite common on Lati@s, it means I will mostly outspeed. Once again, the EVs maximise the sweeping potential of Latios.
Horus (Ho-Oh) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Punishment
- Earthquake
This is the other gem in the rough I found while building this team, the first being Fireceus. I hate to be a hipster, but one of the main factors to its success is because no one uses it. Ever. They send something in to revenge kill Ho-oh and then BOOM, they get taken out. Ho-oh really helps with many of my problems. Lati@s and Ghostceus who can all set up relatively on everything else are easily destroyed by Punishment after boosting a few times, something very few other Pokemon can do. Sacred Fire has a brilliant 50% burn chance that can ruin physical switch ins and hits quite hard in the sun. Brave Bird does large damage to everything else and has good neutral coverage. Punishment is mostly for boosting sweepers and Earthquake is almost solely used to hit Heatran and Zekrom. The EVs provide maximum sweeping potential.
Amaterasu (Giratina) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Dragon Tail
Giratina is the all important Kyogre counter for this team. Scarf Kyogre can barely scratch his hide, while Specs Kyogre fails to 2HKO, giving me time to react. Giratina also serves as the spin blocker. Rest is used to provide Giratina with recovery, while Sleep Talk is necessary to do something while he sleeps. Roar and Dragon Tail are used together so Sleep Talk has a 66.7% chance of picking a phazing move. The EVs provide Giratina with optimal special bulk. There's not much more to say, this is a very simple, basic set.
Hephaestus (Forretress) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Pain Split
- Rapid Spin
Ah Forretress, the invaluable spinner. I love the irony of the nickname. Hephaestus is the crippled god of fire in Greek mythology, while Forretress is crippled by fire. Forretress is the obligatory Extreme Killer Arceus counter for this team. With Toxic and Pain Split, Arceus is easily stalled out. A +2 Earthquake only does around 30% damage which gives Forretress plently of room to set up Spikes, Spin or Split. Toxic is also great for stuff like Lugia. Pain Split helps keep Forre healthy and is a cool move to use, especially against Giratina, letting you set up Spikes along it while keeping health. Spikes works very well and can cause a massive toll on the opponent for simply switching. Rapid Spin is essential in all teams that contain Ho-oh (Magic Bounce is unreliable). The EVs give Forretress the greatest leverage with EK Arceus.
Threat List~
I hate the long drawn out threat lists. Half the stuff you list is obviously beaten by something. So I'm gonna get straight to the point:
Major Threats~
The biggest (BAN ME PLEASE) ever. Stops my main sweepers, Ho-oh and Fireceus. There are two approaches I take to handling him.
1) Hazard stack and then force him out continuously with Latios until Fireceus can take him out with a +1 Flamethrower or Brave Bird from Ho-oh
2) Play Ho-oh extremely offensively (not against teams with Kyurem-W) and keep Fireceus hidden. Sponging Draco Meteors from Latios isn't exactly easy so more often than not they will sack Gira. It's risky of course especially if they choose to keep Gira alive.
Nothing in my team can sponge his hits welll. Groudon can survive +1 Outrage once. Forretress can tank Ray if he is locked into Outrage and proceed to stall him out with Pain Split and Toxic.
Minor Threats~
Lati@s can be a pain in the ass. Latias can easily switch into my Fireceus and stop a sweep. Unlucky Giratina who also stops Fireceus, Latias poses an offensive threat to my team as welll. Ho-oh can handle it pretty well without rocks and Latios can revenge (as most others don't run max speed or they run HP Fire). Latios is also very dangerous and he isn't as effective against Fireceus, his moves pack a much larger punch.
Can be a real pain in the ass, but he does little damage against Gira, although I do little in return.
Quite uncommon, but theoretically annoying. Tanks Sacred Fires and Brave Birds from Ho-oh and Thunderbolt from Fireceus and Toxic it. Earthquake isn't common on Ho-oh though, so I can lure it and OHKO.
Considering...~
- SD Lum Groudon to lure Gira
- Rest/Outrage/Roar/Sleep Talk on Gira
- Dragon Pulse/Spacial Rend/Ice Beam over Thunderbolt on Fireceus
Importable~
Helios (Groudon) @ Earth Plate
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
Prometheus (Arceus-Fire) @ Flame Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 Def / 212 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
Aether (Latios) (M) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot
- Roost
Horus (Ho-Oh) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Punishment
- Earthquake
Amaterasu (Giratina) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Dragon Tail
Hephaestus (Forretress) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Pain Split
- Rapid Spin
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
Prometheus (Arceus-Fire) @ Flame Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 4 Def / 212 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
Aether (Latios) (M) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot
- Roost
Horus (Ho-Oh) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Punishment
- Earthquake
Amaterasu (Giratina) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Dragon Tail
Hephaestus (Forretress) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Pain Split
- Rapid Spin
