Hello Smogonites, and a hello to those of the incredibly fun Uber tier! This is my first ever Uber team, mostly I wouldn't write one of these until I got to a ladder ranking high enough to brag about but I was really excited to get some feedback on my new favorite tier! Anyway I'll avoid the lengthy introduction on this on and move on to Teambuilding!
This is the team as is, now onto descriptions!
Ho-oh@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
192 HP / 252 Att / 24 Sp. Def / 40 Speed
Adamant Nature
~Substitute
~Roost
~Sacred Fire
~Brave Bird
"Living for all time
To live and die in the flames
of eternity"
(Overview) Ho-oh is truly magnificent to use, it brings together the defensive and offensive fury and grace personified by the mythological Phoenix. Contrary to the name however, I tend to play Ho-oh the most suicidal. I actually find pleasure in leading with it, as it ensures that rocks will not damper it from the get go, allowing me to better capitalize on it's supreme offensive and defensive capabilities. I chose this set because The Life Orb set tends to die far too quickly for my tastes, I preferred something that could be useful beginning to end.
(Moveset) The moves are standard, Substitute provides protection from status and stronger attacks. Roost provides much needed recovery, and combines with Sub and Pressure to PP stall low PP attacks quickly, allowing it to get past certain checks like Stone Edge Groudon. Sacred Fire is a godly attack in it's own right, with a massive 50% chance to burn, combined with 100 BP and a potential Sun Boost, watch the **** out! Brave bird is blessing for Ho-oh, and imo is what really puts Ho-oh on the map. The moves main draw besides high BP and STAB is the fact that it's good in any weather, and puts the HURT on pokemon like Kyogre, bringing the once great titan to it's knees (not quite a KO sadly).
(Nature and Ev's) The Ev's aren't quite optimized (I'm guessing) and I'm more than appreciative of suggestions from more experienced players, but I'll explain them anyway. 196 HP is to hit 401 HP, which is one point above a lefties number and allows me to take two rounds of rocks assuming nothing else. 252 Attack with the Adamant nature allows the maximum power to be brought out. 40 speed is the fore nothing more than speed creeping 36 speed base 90's. the rest were thrown into it's already amazing special defense.
(Changes considered) There's nothing I'd really like to change here besides a superior EV spread
Groudon@ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
236 HP / 192 Def / 80 Speed
Impish nature
~Earthquake
~Fire Punch
~Stealth Rock
~Roar
"The Earth Titan reigns
the land beneath him crumbles
on his will alone"
(Overview) Groudon is awesome, but outside of that he's here mainly for support, I rarely use him outside of setting up rocks. Perhaps it's my usage of him, or his set, but I really feel he underperforms my expectations. It's not that he's useless, I've found plenty of situations where I'm happy to have him, but I'd prefer something better.
(Moveset) The moveset is just what I could come up with at the time. I Obviously use EQ, it hits Kyogre with decent power, weakening it's stupidly powerful water spout down to more tame levels, it also hits opposing Zekrom who think they can spam dragon attacks all day. Stealth Rock is a wonderful hazard, it limits opposing Ho-oh from harassing me, as well as the annoying Lugia. Fire Punch gets the sun boost, but mostly is here for The hazard layers, I don't have a rapid spinner, so spikes and toxic spikes are a real burden for me, I'd rather hit them than anything else imo. Roar is here to prevent Ho-oh, Arceus and others from setting up on me, as well as being a great defensive move in general.
(Nature and Ev's) I wanted to be bulky, and then I wanted to speed creep things, I have no emotional investment in this set at all. I chose to be defensive however, so that I could compliment Ho-oh, giving great pivots off Outrages, Stone Edge's, and Bolt Strikes.
(Changes Considered) Any set that can provide better team support will be helpful, even if that means dropping rocks and taking a more offensive approach, I don't want to change the pokemon though.
Giratina-A@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
220 HP / 36 Def / 252 Sp. Def
Careful Nature
~Will-O-Wisp
~Dragon Tail
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
"Ruler of the Void
hear no echo of lost time
nor drifting in space"
(Overview) Giratina-A does not faint unless I allow him to, that's about the best way to describe him. Unless you get a bunch of BS crits however… Anyway I've wanted to use this pokemon for quite some time, it walls Kyogre like a boss, while also having ridiculous defenses. I do believe I'm in love here, because he can shit on BOTH Kyogre and SD Arceus like a total badass. I've literally had matches where the opponent got up full hazards against me but literally couldn't beat Gira, so I sat there and PP stalled everything while burning and phasing all damn game.
(Moveset) I Use Rest-Talk, that's pretty much the only Giratina-A anyone will ever see. The combo allows me to have a PP stall core with the mighty Ho-oh, while giving much needed recovery to the beast. Will-O-Wisp is my primary move, it makes up for the lack of defensive EV's by cutting the opponents attack in half, while helping rack up damage at the same time. Dragon Tail is an excellent move, it adds bits of chip damage while phazing opponents, it can rack up around a third of a pokemon's HP between it and the rocks, while also preventing set up from non substitute users.
(Nature and Ev's) I chose specially defensive mainly for Kyogre, as that Whale can be a pain in the ass to face, I figured with Burn supplementing my Defense anyway why not? 220 HP reaches a leftovers number. I run maximum special defense to tank special hits the best I can. The rest was thrown in defense just because.
(Changes Considered) I've been thinking about Roar aver Dragon Tail, only because I hate being trolled by sub users, however I understand the consequences of having no attack option. As before, if there is a better spread to use, I'm all ears.
Zekrom@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
~Bolt Strike
~Volt Switch
~Dragon Claw
~Outrage
"Furious Thunder
the Yang to his brothers Yin
brings lightning to bear"
(Overview) I do love Zekrom, he hits so hard, This is helped by the fact that Electric is kind of a rad attacking type to use in Ubers. The main reason I chose him over Scarf Resh was that he isn't as weather reliant, putting that much less pressure on me to win the weather war. It also helps that Zekrom isn't Rocks weak and resists water. I actually don't mind that ferrorthorn gets a free switch cause that almost always means a free sub for Ho-oh, which is great for me. I'm not totally opposed to changing the mon, but I'd really rather not. He's saved my ass before by spamming Bolt Strike. I also like that he revenges Calm Mind Manaphy, Mono Attacker Kyogre, Calm Mind Arceus, and Skarmory.
(Moveset) This is about as basic as things get for Scarf Zekrom. Bolt Strike is the main draw to using him in the first place, it has absurd power and STAB to back it up, my main clean-up move. Volt switch is a rare occurrence for me, I've probably only used it once, but in that instance it was nice to have to keep momentum. Outrage is the back up STAB attack. It has solid power and coverage, and allows me to revenge threats without risking a miss with Bolt Strike. Dragon claw is filler, nothing more. I've literally never used it. I do believe in the circumstance that I may need to revenge something with a dragon attack, but can't be locked into outrage for the counterattack.
(Nature and Ev's) I went with a speed boosting nature to outspeed neutral base 90's and at least speed tie opposing ones with +natures. Ev's are maximized for sweeping / revenging potential.
(Changes Considered) I haven't even thought about changing the set, I'm actually just waiting for some advice on perhaps a superior pokemon.
Terrakion@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
~Close Combat
~Stone Edge
~X-Scissor
~Earthquake
"Fighting among Gods
the lone warrior braves on
slaying the titans"
(Overview) I honestly chose scarf Terrakion purely for his ability to revenge +2 Arceus, but have found far more practical use in the pokemon than anticipated. First off, this is pretty much the fastest pokemon in Ubers, meaning that he can revenge dangerous threats such as DD Rayquaza as well as boosting sweepers like Calm Mind Mewtwo and Nasty Plot Darkrai. When I know I don't need him to revenge kill a threat, I usually can use him to take a shot a pokemon like Kyogre or Palkia fishing for a kill, or fodder him to get a safe switch for more dangerous competitors.
(Moveset) Close Combat is the main STAB, it's more often than not the move I'll use. Fighting get's great neutral coverage in Ubers, and lands sweet super effective hits on Dialga, Darkrai, and Arceus. Stone Edge is backup, it adds Shaymin-S, Ho-oh, weakened Lugia, and Rayquaza to the list. X-Scissor is almost exclusively for Mewtwo, because of the accuracy and slightly higher BP. Earthquake has been filler so far.
(Nature and Ev's) I chose +speed nature to outspeed scarf Palkia and everything below. The Ev's are there to maximize damage output and speed.
(Changes Considered) Seeing as the only pokemon in the 108 speed tier in ubers happens to be Terrakion, I've considered changing the Speed Ev's to just outspeed Scarf Palkia, or maybe just DD +1 Ray, and use the leftover Points in his defense stat. I've also considered changing out EQ for Sacred Sword.
Arceus@ Lum Berry
Ability: Multitype
40 HP / 252 Att / 216 Speed
Adamant Nature
~Swords Dance
~Extremespeed
~Shadow Claw
~Earthquake
"The God among gods
the Alpha and fate of all
controls will itself"
(Overview) I still find it weird that the most threatening sweeper ever to grace this game is a normal type. Upon making the change to this Arceus variant I can't imagine going back to anything else. Ho-oh may be the beginning and middle of this team, but Arceus is definitely the end. I've never seen a pokemon in my time so far ahead of the competion. After a Single boost Arceus becomes a herculean task to deal with, the Lum berry only makes this more frustrating, giving a one time status immunity is all it needs often times to destroy late game. Truly earns the title ALPHA POKEMON.
(Moveset) Swords Dance is a damn effective set up in any metagame. Combine it with STAB on the best priority attack in the game with awesome coverage, beefy attack, and bulk comparable to the greatest defensive behemoths ever known? I rest my case. Extremekiller Arceus always makes sure to pack E-Speed coupled with SD. The coverage is the only concern. I run Shadow Claw to have the best fighting chance against Giratina forms. I also like to run EQ to drop Dialga, Heatran, and the occasional Tyranitar. Skarmory walls me, but I have Ho-oh and Zekrom to fight him
(Nature and Ev's) I run Adamant because I'm using a priority sweeper anyway, so I like the extra power more than the speed. I run just enough speed to beat non-scarf palkia. the rest is put into HP to help with his monstrous bulk in setting up.
(Changes considered) I've only thought about changing Shadow Claw for Shadow Force so I can beat Giratina-A without getting burned, and deal maximum damage to Lugia. I've also thought about lowering the speed to outspeed +90's and put some more into bulk.
Well that's the team, if anyone else noticed a weakness to dragon attacks, I haven't found a way to keep the synergy of the team while simultaneously keeping up pressure. I've peaked at like #17 (and climbing) on the smogon ladder and haven't had too much of a problem with the dragons so far.
Thanks for reading! I also hope you enjoyed the Haikous!
So the thing that got me truly excited for the tier was the option of using my favorite pokemon and set ever Sub-Roost Ho-oh. I've always thought about the awesome Ho-oh ever since it got Brave Bird in HGSS, and having read stories of it beating RAIN teams in there weather.
Having the beautiful Ho-oh is wonderful in and of itself. It beating rain teams in there weather is also a boon, but I figured I'd give it the maximum amount of support possible, I chose Groudon for his ability, Drought, his ability to lay down Stealth Rock, and his physical bulk complimenting Ho-oh's special bulk.
I knew enough about Ubers to know that Kyogre was going to give me trouble, especially since it can manhandle both my primary pokemon. For this reason I chose specially defensive Giratina-A who walls The mighty Kyogre to hell and back again, and also possesses Phazing in Dragon Tail, and Will-o-Wisp to scare away physical attackers looking to capitalize on the lowered defense
Having a lot of slow yet bulky pokemon, I wanted something that could bring power and speed to the table, This choice was mostly personal preference due to my liking the pokemon immensely, but I chose to go with a scarf Zekrom, who happens to be my second favorite team member to date.
The next pokemon I chose seemed obvious at the time, I knew I needed something to take on SD arceus 1-on-1, given that that's probably the most threatening pokemon in the tier, and despite having giratina, I didn't want to put the whole workload on him so I chose scarf Terrakion.
The final slot had been a toss up, I knew I wanted a steel type considering the fact that I had two weaknesses and no resists to dragon attacks, I had tossed between Ferrorthorn (for his ability to check Kyogre+hazards) Forretress (for his spinning+hazards) and Steelceus (due to highest stats and instant recovery) I had ultimately decided with steelceus because he seemed the most sturdy of them all.
Having playtested for a little bit matches I realized I had no true cleaner, and despite the dragon resist, Steelceus just wasn't pulling it's weight, I ultimately dropped it in favor of my own Swords Dancing Arceus. I had originally used life orb, but dropped it in favor of Lum Berry for it's one time lifesaving status absorption.
Having the beautiful Ho-oh is wonderful in and of itself. It beating rain teams in there weather is also a boon, but I figured I'd give it the maximum amount of support possible, I chose Groudon for his ability, Drought, his ability to lay down Stealth Rock, and his physical bulk complimenting Ho-oh's special bulk.
I knew enough about Ubers to know that Kyogre was going to give me trouble, especially since it can manhandle both my primary pokemon. For this reason I chose specially defensive Giratina-A who walls The mighty Kyogre to hell and back again, and also possesses Phazing in Dragon Tail, and Will-o-Wisp to scare away physical attackers looking to capitalize on the lowered defense
Having a lot of slow yet bulky pokemon, I wanted something that could bring power and speed to the table, This choice was mostly personal preference due to my liking the pokemon immensely, but I chose to go with a scarf Zekrom, who happens to be my second favorite team member to date.
The next pokemon I chose seemed obvious at the time, I knew I needed something to take on SD arceus 1-on-1, given that that's probably the most threatening pokemon in the tier, and despite having giratina, I didn't want to put the whole workload on him so I chose scarf Terrakion.
The final slot had been a toss up, I knew I wanted a steel type considering the fact that I had two weaknesses and no resists to dragon attacks, I had tossed between Ferrorthorn (for his ability to check Kyogre+hazards) Forretress (for his spinning+hazards) and Steelceus (due to highest stats and instant recovery) I had ultimately decided with steelceus because he seemed the most sturdy of them all.
Having playtested for a little bit matches I realized I had no true cleaner, and despite the dragon resist, Steelceus just wasn't pulling it's weight, I ultimately dropped it in favor of my own Swords Dancing Arceus. I had originally used life orb, but dropped it in favor of Lum Berry for it's one time lifesaving status absorption.
This is the team as is, now onto descriptions!
Ho-oh@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
192 HP / 252 Att / 24 Sp. Def / 40 Speed
Adamant Nature
~Substitute
~Roost
~Sacred Fire
~Brave Bird
"Living for all time
To live and die in the flames
of eternity"
(Overview) Ho-oh is truly magnificent to use, it brings together the defensive and offensive fury and grace personified by the mythological Phoenix. Contrary to the name however, I tend to play Ho-oh the most suicidal. I actually find pleasure in leading with it, as it ensures that rocks will not damper it from the get go, allowing me to better capitalize on it's supreme offensive and defensive capabilities. I chose this set because The Life Orb set tends to die far too quickly for my tastes, I preferred something that could be useful beginning to end.
(Moveset) The moves are standard, Substitute provides protection from status and stronger attacks. Roost provides much needed recovery, and combines with Sub and Pressure to PP stall low PP attacks quickly, allowing it to get past certain checks like Stone Edge Groudon. Sacred Fire is a godly attack in it's own right, with a massive 50% chance to burn, combined with 100 BP and a potential Sun Boost, watch the **** out! Brave bird is blessing for Ho-oh, and imo is what really puts Ho-oh on the map. The moves main draw besides high BP and STAB is the fact that it's good in any weather, and puts the HURT on pokemon like Kyogre, bringing the once great titan to it's knees (not quite a KO sadly).
(Nature and Ev's) The Ev's aren't quite optimized (I'm guessing) and I'm more than appreciative of suggestions from more experienced players, but I'll explain them anyway. 196 HP is to hit 401 HP, which is one point above a lefties number and allows me to take two rounds of rocks assuming nothing else. 252 Attack with the Adamant nature allows the maximum power to be brought out. 40 speed is the fore nothing more than speed creeping 36 speed base 90's. the rest were thrown into it's already amazing special defense.
(Changes considered) There's nothing I'd really like to change here besides a superior EV spread
Groudon@ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
236 HP / 192 Def / 80 Speed
Impish nature
~Earthquake
~Fire Punch
~Stealth Rock
~Roar
"The Earth Titan reigns
the land beneath him crumbles
on his will alone"
(Overview) Groudon is awesome, but outside of that he's here mainly for support, I rarely use him outside of setting up rocks. Perhaps it's my usage of him, or his set, but I really feel he underperforms my expectations. It's not that he's useless, I've found plenty of situations where I'm happy to have him, but I'd prefer something better.
(Moveset) The moveset is just what I could come up with at the time. I Obviously use EQ, it hits Kyogre with decent power, weakening it's stupidly powerful water spout down to more tame levels, it also hits opposing Zekrom who think they can spam dragon attacks all day. Stealth Rock is a wonderful hazard, it limits opposing Ho-oh from harassing me, as well as the annoying Lugia. Fire Punch gets the sun boost, but mostly is here for The hazard layers, I don't have a rapid spinner, so spikes and toxic spikes are a real burden for me, I'd rather hit them than anything else imo. Roar is here to prevent Ho-oh, Arceus and others from setting up on me, as well as being a great defensive move in general.
(Nature and Ev's) I wanted to be bulky, and then I wanted to speed creep things, I have no emotional investment in this set at all. I chose to be defensive however, so that I could compliment Ho-oh, giving great pivots off Outrages, Stone Edge's, and Bolt Strikes.
(Changes Considered) Any set that can provide better team support will be helpful, even if that means dropping rocks and taking a more offensive approach, I don't want to change the pokemon though.
Giratina-A@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
220 HP / 36 Def / 252 Sp. Def
Careful Nature
~Will-O-Wisp
~Dragon Tail
~Rest
~Sleep Talk
"Ruler of the Void
hear no echo of lost time
nor drifting in space"
(Overview) Giratina-A does not faint unless I allow him to, that's about the best way to describe him. Unless you get a bunch of BS crits however… Anyway I've wanted to use this pokemon for quite some time, it walls Kyogre like a boss, while also having ridiculous defenses. I do believe I'm in love here, because he can shit on BOTH Kyogre and SD Arceus like a total badass. I've literally had matches where the opponent got up full hazards against me but literally couldn't beat Gira, so I sat there and PP stalled everything while burning and phasing all damn game.
(Moveset) I Use Rest-Talk, that's pretty much the only Giratina-A anyone will ever see. The combo allows me to have a PP stall core with the mighty Ho-oh, while giving much needed recovery to the beast. Will-O-Wisp is my primary move, it makes up for the lack of defensive EV's by cutting the opponents attack in half, while helping rack up damage at the same time. Dragon Tail is an excellent move, it adds bits of chip damage while phazing opponents, it can rack up around a third of a pokemon's HP between it and the rocks, while also preventing set up from non substitute users.
(Nature and Ev's) I chose specially defensive mainly for Kyogre, as that Whale can be a pain in the ass to face, I figured with Burn supplementing my Defense anyway why not? 220 HP reaches a leftovers number. I run maximum special defense to tank special hits the best I can. The rest was thrown in defense just because.
(Changes Considered) I've been thinking about Roar aver Dragon Tail, only because I hate being trolled by sub users, however I understand the consequences of having no attack option. As before, if there is a better spread to use, I'm all ears.
Zekrom@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Teravolt
252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
~Bolt Strike
~Volt Switch
~Dragon Claw
~Outrage
"Furious Thunder
the Yang to his brothers Yin
brings lightning to bear"
(Overview) I do love Zekrom, he hits so hard, This is helped by the fact that Electric is kind of a rad attacking type to use in Ubers. The main reason I chose him over Scarf Resh was that he isn't as weather reliant, putting that much less pressure on me to win the weather war. It also helps that Zekrom isn't Rocks weak and resists water. I actually don't mind that ferrorthorn gets a free switch cause that almost always means a free sub for Ho-oh, which is great for me. I'm not totally opposed to changing the mon, but I'd really rather not. He's saved my ass before by spamming Bolt Strike. I also like that he revenges Calm Mind Manaphy, Mono Attacker Kyogre, Calm Mind Arceus, and Skarmory.
(Moveset) This is about as basic as things get for Scarf Zekrom. Bolt Strike is the main draw to using him in the first place, it has absurd power and STAB to back it up, my main clean-up move. Volt switch is a rare occurrence for me, I've probably only used it once, but in that instance it was nice to have to keep momentum. Outrage is the back up STAB attack. It has solid power and coverage, and allows me to revenge threats without risking a miss with Bolt Strike. Dragon claw is filler, nothing more. I've literally never used it. I do believe in the circumstance that I may need to revenge something with a dragon attack, but can't be locked into outrage for the counterattack.
(Nature and Ev's) I went with a speed boosting nature to outspeed neutral base 90's and at least speed tie opposing ones with +natures. Ev's are maximized for sweeping / revenging potential.
(Changes Considered) I haven't even thought about changing the set, I'm actually just waiting for some advice on perhaps a superior pokemon.
Terrakion@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
~Close Combat
~Stone Edge
~X-Scissor
~Earthquake
"Fighting among Gods
the lone warrior braves on
slaying the titans"
(Overview) I honestly chose scarf Terrakion purely for his ability to revenge +2 Arceus, but have found far more practical use in the pokemon than anticipated. First off, this is pretty much the fastest pokemon in Ubers, meaning that he can revenge dangerous threats such as DD Rayquaza as well as boosting sweepers like Calm Mind Mewtwo and Nasty Plot Darkrai. When I know I don't need him to revenge kill a threat, I usually can use him to take a shot a pokemon like Kyogre or Palkia fishing for a kill, or fodder him to get a safe switch for more dangerous competitors.
(Moveset) Close Combat is the main STAB, it's more often than not the move I'll use. Fighting get's great neutral coverage in Ubers, and lands sweet super effective hits on Dialga, Darkrai, and Arceus. Stone Edge is backup, it adds Shaymin-S, Ho-oh, weakened Lugia, and Rayquaza to the list. X-Scissor is almost exclusively for Mewtwo, because of the accuracy and slightly higher BP. Earthquake has been filler so far.
(Nature and Ev's) I chose +speed nature to outspeed scarf Palkia and everything below. The Ev's are there to maximize damage output and speed.
(Changes Considered) Seeing as the only pokemon in the 108 speed tier in ubers happens to be Terrakion, I've considered changing the Speed Ev's to just outspeed Scarf Palkia, or maybe just DD +1 Ray, and use the leftover Points in his defense stat. I've also considered changing out EQ for Sacred Sword.
Arceus@ Lum Berry
Ability: Multitype
40 HP / 252 Att / 216 Speed
Adamant Nature
~Swords Dance
~Extremespeed
~Shadow Claw
~Earthquake
"The God among gods
the Alpha and fate of all
controls will itself"
(Overview) I still find it weird that the most threatening sweeper ever to grace this game is a normal type. Upon making the change to this Arceus variant I can't imagine going back to anything else. Ho-oh may be the beginning and middle of this team, but Arceus is definitely the end. I've never seen a pokemon in my time so far ahead of the competion. After a Single boost Arceus becomes a herculean task to deal with, the Lum berry only makes this more frustrating, giving a one time status immunity is all it needs often times to destroy late game. Truly earns the title ALPHA POKEMON.
(Moveset) Swords Dance is a damn effective set up in any metagame. Combine it with STAB on the best priority attack in the game with awesome coverage, beefy attack, and bulk comparable to the greatest defensive behemoths ever known? I rest my case. Extremekiller Arceus always makes sure to pack E-Speed coupled with SD. The coverage is the only concern. I run Shadow Claw to have the best fighting chance against Giratina forms. I also like to run EQ to drop Dialga, Heatran, and the occasional Tyranitar. Skarmory walls me, but I have Ho-oh and Zekrom to fight him
(Nature and Ev's) I run Adamant because I'm using a priority sweeper anyway, so I like the extra power more than the speed. I run just enough speed to beat non-scarf palkia. the rest is put into HP to help with his monstrous bulk in setting up.
(Changes considered) I've only thought about changing Shadow Claw for Shadow Force so I can beat Giratina-A without getting burned, and deal maximum damage to Lugia. I've also thought about lowering the speed to outspeed +90's and put some more into bulk.
Well that's the team, if anyone else noticed a weakness to dragon attacks, I haven't found a way to keep the synergy of the team while simultaneously keeping up pressure. I've peaked at like #17 (and climbing) on the smogon ladder and haven't had too much of a problem with the dragons so far.
Thanks for reading! I also hope you enjoyed the Haikous!
