CE-RULE-DGE & WAL-KING WAKE SUN (Peak 2024 - #5)
1) Intro :
Hello everyone and welcome to my second RMT and first of this generation !
I didn't really plan on doing an RMT at first but I saw people saying the RMT section was dead and I felt like instead of just lurking here I should contribute once again :) !
My first RMT was the Fairy Lock HO last gen and you might remember that HO is really my favourite playstyle. After the Shed Tail ban I asked myself what is now the best kind of HO in the metagame right now and I tried a lot of different kind of HO : Sun, Psychic Terrain, Electric Terrain, Rain, Hazard stack, Screens, Focus Sash spam and even a full Booster Energy team, some were cheesy at best but I found Sun to be the most consistent overall against all kind of playstyles and the one I was the most comfortable with.
I don't really like the current metagame because of Terastallization (I wish it was completely banned) and I currently don't like using most set-up sweepers because of the fact that they are invalidated by the Unaware pokemon being able to Tera into whatever they want. This is the reason you'll see no boosting moves in this team and you'll be able to just click buttons ;)
2) Proof of peak :
I originally peaked with an alternate account (The Rebel Path) number #5 at 2009 Elo and now I reached number 5 again but a little bit higher with 2024 Elo and with my main account. I could have reached #4 but I got two decisive para in a row on the match that could have been a new peak...
3) Team Building Process :
You can't really use Sun without Torkoal so the first choice was obvious.
I really like Hatterene in this meta to prevent rocks and be a pivot at the same time in order to apply immediate pressure with her partners.
I'm grouping Great Tusk, Roaring Moon and Walking Wake together because in my opinion these three are mandatory if you are going for a Sun hyper offense team.
Now for the final spot I settled on Ceruledge but it was definitely a lot of trial and errors as I tested Ceruledge, Scovilain, Brute Bonnet and Iron Moth to complete this team. Scovilain was easily the worst so I rejected the idea to put it on the team early but I had a really hard time deciding between Ceruledge, Brute Bonnet and Iron Moth as they all had a good place on the team. Iron Moth was the second one I decided to eliminate as I felt like its role was too close to Walking Wake and even though I liked having a Toxic Spikes absorber it added less value overall to the team.
After that I really switched a long time between Focus Sash Ceruledge and Tera Fire Brute Bonnet. I liked having a good pokemon against Volcarona, Iron Moth and Iron Valiant but I felt like Ceruledge was too matchup dependant to be consistent. On the other hand I wasn't really satisfied with Brute Bonnet either because despite the Ground resist it added to my team I didn't like the fact that I was basically forced to run three moves on it or be forced to Tera when I could use it on another member.
It was a pretty tough dilemna but then I had a sudden idea with a unique Ceruledge set that could resolve all my problems and even do more that I could ever ask for...
4) The Team :
Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 19 Spe
- Yawn
- Earthquake
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
Torkoal is the centerpiece of the team as the team would really struggle to break through without the sun support. The moveset is a little bit different than most Torkoal but I don't really recommend changing the moves as I definitely used each of them to great effect. Yawn is useful for forcing switches or forcing a pokemon to sleep and basically make it useless for the rest of the match. Stealth Rock is the almost obligatory hazard and is really useful against Focus Sash spam HO that are otherwise problematic for the team. Lava Plume is here for the fire stab and the nice burn chance. Earthquake completes the moveset because I absolutely hated having opponents lead with specs Iron Moth and claim a free kill turn one, it is also useful against all the Dragapult that tries to use Substitute against it. Most of the time at team preview you will be able to know if the Dragapult is the annoying Sub/Wisp set or if it is choiced lock.
I went with a specially defensive Torkoal because it is a great check against Choiced Specs Iron Valiant and Iron Moth. Its Phys Def is already high enough and Great Tusk is here to help tank physical hits anyway. Tera Grass is most of the time an emergency button against strong ground type moves and rain teams. The speed IVs are there to be able to be slower than Slowking and Yawn whatever Pokemon is sent after Chilly Reception.
Hatterene @ Eject Button
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
- Trick
- Nuzzle
- Psychic
- Healing Wish
Ok you might wonder why am I running Trick on Hatterene and I will admit it definitely sounds weird so let me explain. Trick has helped me a lot of times against Garganacl, Hatterene, Assault Vest Toxapex and some set-up sweepers that think that my Hatterene is set-up fodder for them. Garganacl is a huge pain for this team so taking it's Leftovers can be really helpful and in some scenarios I was also able to give it the eject button which means that it would be forced out after a Psychic and be forced to come back with much less health next time and no leftovers on top of it. The same applies to Calm Mind Hatterene as it can be really hard to wear down for this team. Taking the Assault Vest from Toxapex means that Walking Wake can 2HKO it without worrying about it too much.
Now the other moves are classic, I prefer using Psychic than Psyshock to not be useless against Great Tusk and the added power is nice too. Nuzzle is here to annoy opponents, especially the Kingambit and Gholdengo that loves switching in agaisnt Hatterene. I also like the fact that it basically lets me know which kind of Gholdengo I am facing. Healing Wish is the last move to give an ally another opportunity to sweep and sometimes I like using it agressively early as a "pivot" move and stock the Healing Wish effect until I feel like using it.
The EVs spread lets Hatterene speedcreep most Garganacl, Toxapex and Hatterene. You can use even more speed if you feel like it but I think after a certain point the speed creep war becomes so ridiculous that you end up losing the needed bulk so I don't recommend it. As far as the Tera goes it is Tera Ghost because earlier versions of the team had trouble against Choice Band Dragonite but since I almost never Tera Hatterene I didn't see a point to change it. It can also be pretty funny when your opponent tries to set up rocks against Hatterene and then tries to Rapid Spin.
Ceruledge @ Choice Band
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Solar Blade
- Bitter Blade
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
And here is the surprise set that allowed me to climb this high. Forget playing 5v6 until your opponents let's you an opening against a physical attacker to potentially do mediocre damage... Choice Band Adamant Ceruledge hits REALLY hard and is bulky enough to give me another switch in against Volcarona, Iron Moth, Iron Valiant and most annoying fire types including Skeledirge that you can obliterate if it hits you with a fire move. The moveset would be pretty standard if Choice Band Ceruledge was common I guess haha. Bitter Blade under sun hits hard and recover health at the same time which is awesome, Shadow Sneak is here for the priority, Solar Blade nukes most of the Pokemon who thinks they can come on Bitter Blade for free, it also nukes defensive behemoths like Garganacl, Dondozo, Great Tusk, Alomomola, Ting-Lu etc. especially if you decided to Tera Grass. The interaction between Tera Grass and Flash Fire is also really funny in some scenarios. Close Combat is the last move and it can be helpful if you are not under sun and want a strong move against Garganacl but I almost never needed to use it so the fourth move can be whatever you want honestly.
Now since Ceruledge and Walking Wake are the stars of the team I'll show you the kind of damage they are capable of :
- Garganacl : 252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Grass Ceruledge Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garganacl: 390-462 (96.5 - 114.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
- Skeledirge : 252+ Atk Choice Band Flash Fire Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skeledirge in Sun: 191-225 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO
- Dondozo : 252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Grass Ceruledge Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 426-504 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- Toxapex : 252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Grass Ceruledge Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 175-207 (57.5 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- Ting-Lu : 252+ Atk Choice Band Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Ting-Lu in Sun: 291-343 (56.6 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- Defensive Great Tusk : 252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Grass Ceruledge Solar Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Protosynthesis Great Tusk: 300-354 (69.1 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- Offensive Great Tusk : 252+ Atk Choice Band Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Great Tusk in Sun: 280-330 (75.4 - 88.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And an offensive calc I found really funny :
- Iron Moth : 252+ Atk Choice Band Flash Fire Ceruledge Bitter Blade vs. 0 HP / 124 Def Iron Moth in Sun: 334-393 (110.9 - 130.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(45% recovered)
I'm really glad I decided to use this set and I assure you that if you end up using this team, your opponents will learn to fear the power of Ceruledge !
Great Tusk @ Eject Pack
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Spinner
- Close Combat
- Headlong Rush
The set is standard but allow me to explain the weird EVs spread. I used for a long time a fully offensive Great Tusk sometimes it was Scarf, other times it was even Banded but I was never happy about the fact that Kingambit was really tough to overcome even if I was 6-1 against it, it could overpower offensive Great Tusk if I took even just a little bit of damage. I tried a fully defensive Great Tusk but I felt it was a momentum sink and lacked the power I wanted for my team. I then decided to settle on this weird mix that allows me to outspeed most defensive Great Tusk, have a defense boost under sun while also hitting like a truck and pivoting at the same time. You can also use 196 Att and 252 Def EVs if you want to be even bulkier but I didn't really need it on my way to number 5 so it's up to you really.
The moveset is pretty much the same a Choice Band Tusk would use and I don't recommend changing any of the moves as Ice Spinner can be pretty useful agaisnt Dragonite and even Roaring Moon in some cases. I'm using Tera Water for the rain matchup and Baxcalibur.
Roaring Moon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Crunch
- Outrage
- Iron Head
Unfortunately there is nothing too weird or crazy about this Roaring Moon set so the explanation will be shorter. I use Choice Scarf instead of Choice Band because sometimes I need to sack Torkoal and continue the match from here and if that's the case I don't want to lose the match because my Roaring Moon couldn't boost its speed. It's also good for the rare time I need to lead Roaring Moon. The moveset is straightforward : U-turn for the nice and strong pivoting move, Crunch for the nice Dark stab, Outrage to really hit hard and finally Iron Head. I use Iron Head instead of Earthquake to be able to revenge kill Choice Scarf / Speed Boosted Iron Valiant and it is also useful against Tera Fairy Dragon Dance Baxcalibur. I use Tera Steel both offensively and defensively as it can allow me to guarantee the revenge kill against the two threats mentioned above but it can also help if I need to stay against a Dragonite or Baxcalibur that tries to K.O Roaring Moon with priority.
Walking Wake @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Hydro Steam
- Flamethrower
And to finish the presentation of the team, Walking Wake, the star of the team. I'm sorry if this sounds aggressive but if you are running Speed boosting Walking Wake under sun you are running the wrong set. With this set, you will never hear "Walking Mid" ever again, you can in fact call it Walking Threat ! Using speed boosted Walking Wake means that you will never get through Toxapex and Slowking unless your opponent plays terribly and you can't afford that or to waste Sun turns by switching around each time you face a Pokemon resistant to Water. With this EVs spread you will boost its Sp Att to insane levels and resistances don't matter because you will claim a K.O almost everytime Walking Wake enters the field. You still have a pretty good speed tier too. The set is basically the same for all Walking Wake since it has a poor movepool but at the same time you don't need anything else. Hydro Steam is a real nuke under sun and it OHKO/2HKO almost the entire metagame and if you manage to put Stealth Rock on the terrain even the bulkiest walls will fall to it. Tera Water is to make Hydro Steam even stronger and most of the time I Tera Walking Wake early in the match to start claiming K.O.
Now here is the fun part, the calcs :
- Toxapex : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Toxapex in Sun: 122-144 (40.2 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO or 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Toxapex in Sun: 122-144 (40.2 - 47.5%) -- 50% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
- Slowking : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 271-321 (68.9 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- Amoonguss : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Amoonguss in Sun: 202-238 (46.7 - 55%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO
- Azumarill : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill in Sun: 199-235 (49.2 - 58.1%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
- Rotom-Wash : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Rotom-Wash in Sun: 171-202 (56.2 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- Dragonite : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 144 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite in Sun: 124-146 (34.5 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- Baxcalibur : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Baxcalibur in Sun: 283-333 (76.2 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
- Dondozo : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Dondozo in Sun: 234-276 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
- Clodsire : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Clodsire: 289-342 (62.4 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- Tera Water Garganacl : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Water Garganacl in Sun: 192-226 (47.5 - 55.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
- Tera Water Skeledirge : 252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Water Skeledirge in Sun: 215-253 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I'll stop there since as you can see if you are not one of these Pokemon (or Blissey) and already on the field, you have absolutely no chance of tanking this beast.
5) Threat list :
Unfortunately Walking-Wake is a nightmare for sun team themselves and this one is no exception. If your opponent has Walking Wake don't ever lead Torkoal and try to have momentum on your side because if you don't you will have to guess the 50/50 right between Draco Meteor and Hydro Steam or you will have to sack a Pokemon.
The same can be said for most Sun vs Sun matchup but Walking Wake definitely is the scariest Sun abuser to face.
This is by far the second scariest Pokemon to face for this team. If it manages to get behind a subtitute you will most likely lose a Pokemon. Not knowing if and when this thing Tera is a true nightmare.
As you can see dragon types are a problem for this team, more often than not because you have to wait until they move to know what their set is. You can include Dragapult as well if it is a choiced item or Dragon Dance variant.
Most sun abusers are a pain to deal with but this one is the worst to face after Walking Wake. Fortunately it isn't too common but don't sleep on it.
This Pokemon is always a problem for offensive team and the broken Salt Cure move is really infuriating to deal with. If your opponent leads Garganacl be careful because they might be the scary Block set so don't ever let Torkoal against it if you are not sure of its moveset.
Kingambit is broken with Tera so try preserving Great Tusk at all cost.
Since I don't have a poison type in the team, Toxic Spikes are really annoying. You don't want to have the Toxic Spikes on the terrain so try your best to outplay it.
6) How to play the team :
Even though this team is very straightforward to use I'll just give a few advices for the beginners that might read this RMT :
1) Try to play aggressively with this team to give free switches to Walking Wake as it is the main breaker of this team. A double switch at the right time can be a game changer and the same goes for predicting correctly. You don't want to lose momentum with this team. It can be risky but sometimes your opponent will send their Dragapult but since Hatterene is on the team they will spam Shadow Ball so you can try to switch into Roaring Moon to keep momentum. Sending Great Tusk to force a switch and pivoting with Eject Pack is also wonderful for allowing a free kill to either Ceruledge or Walking Wake.
2) Take the time to appropriately judge your win condition before the match and don't rush your Tera. I know this is really basic but in some matchups you just won't need to Tera Walking Wake and saving Tera for another Pokemon (most of the time Ceruledge or Great Tusk) might be the difference between winning and losing.
3) Stealth Rock are not always mandatory. Sometimes it is better to keep applying pressure than lose a turn or letting Torkoal take unnecessary damage.
7) The replays :
- VS Glimmora HO
- VS Psychic Terrain HO
- VS Sticky Web HO
- VS Garganacl Balance
- VS Double Dragon BO
- VS Scarf Great Tusk HO
- VS Scarf Great Tusk HO Rematch (Peak)
- VS Water Absorb Clodsire + Tera Fairy Baxcalibur
- VS Blaze Paldean Tauros Stall
- VS Subtitute Agility Walking Wake
- VS Cyclizar Stall
- VS Another Cyclizar Stall
- VS Banded Baxcalibur Hazard Stack
- Ceruledge VS The World (SD Baxcalibur HO)
8) Importable :
9) Conclusion :
Even though I don't enjoy the current metagame I still had a lot of fun playing with this team and experimenting with different sets until it felt perfect for me.
If you read this far, thank you and I hope you have fun using this team !
Last edited:
