(click on sprites)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Proof of Peak
3. Meet The Team
4. Threatlist
5. Replays
INTRODUCTION
Before I get into the team itself, I want to make it clear that this is my very first RMT post, so I apologize if this isn't very high-quality. I'll try to keep this post updated as I climb up (or down) the ladder!
As for the team itself, I decided I wanted to use Galarian Moltres in Gen 9 after I saw Blunder use it in his BL Knights video. I didn't want to use it on a Veil team though since I found it rather matchup-reliant, so instead I opted to build a more standard HO team that can utilize Moltres-G as either an early-game wallbreaker or a late-game cleaner. Another adaptation I wanted to try on this team was an all-out offensive Iron Moth set, which I intended to use to catch opponents guard should they expect a 3A set. It was a minor change, certainly nothing fancy, but it worked out really well and Iron Moth became a key component of this team's success on the ladder. With all that being said, I present to you one of my favorite teams of this generation, using one of my favorite win conditions of all time: Galarian Moltres!
As for the team itself, I decided I wanted to use Galarian Moltres in Gen 9 after I saw Blunder use it in his BL Knights video. I didn't want to use it on a Veil team though since I found it rather matchup-reliant, so instead I opted to build a more standard HO team that can utilize Moltres-G as either an early-game wallbreaker or a late-game cleaner. Another adaptation I wanted to try on this team was an all-out offensive Iron Moth set, which I intended to use to catch opponents guard should they expect a 3A set. It was a minor change, certainly nothing fancy, but it worked out really well and Iron Moth became a key component of this team's success on the ladder. With all that being said, I present to you one of my favorite teams of this generation, using one of my favorite win conditions of all time: Galarian Moltres!
PROOF OF PEAK
(yes that's me and yes it's a stupid name)
MEET THE TEAM
Samurott-Hisui @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Razor Shell
- Ceaseless Edge
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
Hisuian Samurott was my lead of choice for this team and it is far and away the best lead I could've chosen. Its consistency in making early-game progress against all manner of playstyles is invaluable and cannot easily be replicated by Glimmora or some other hazard lead. Its set is very standard for a lead Samurott, though I chose to run an Adamant nature over a Jolly one since I didn't find the extra speed to be very necessary. Tera Ghost is used for spinblocking purposes but in practice you don't want to use Tera on Samurott.
Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance
Dragonite is a really good anti-bullshit Pokemon in general and is great at curbing opposing offense, especially webs and sun teams. However, one thing I want to draw attention to is that this Dragonite is running Outrage instead of a coverage move like Ice Spinner or Fire Punch; when I was initially building this team, I decided I wanted Dragonite to output consistent damage regardless of whether or not Tera had been used, hence why I chose to run Outrage in the last slot. A boosted STAB Outrage gives this Dragonite set enough power to easily muscle past checks to the standard DD set, forcing the opponent to either sack their physical wall or burn their Tera and risk getting swept by Kingambit or Iron Moth. At +1 it cleanly 2HKOs the likes of Alomomola, Moltres, and Zapdos, as shown below:
- +1 252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 274-324 (58 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 248 HP / 244+ Def Zapdos: 265-313 (69.1 - 81.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 248 HP / 248+ Def Moltres: 255-301 (66.5 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
With Knock Off support from Samurott or Iron Valiant, it can pressure defensive teams super hard just through the sheer strength of its Outrage all while still curbing offense all the same. It's a simple adaptation but it makes Dragonite feel much more consistent as a sweeper without solely having to rely on Tera.
Kingambit @ Air Balloon
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Low Kick
- Swords Dance
Kingambit needs no introduction; it's one of the best late-game wincons in the tier, it's a perfect fit on this team and is a great partner to Iron Moth and Moltres-G. It's also one of the more flexible Pokemon on this team, and its set can easily be adjusted to more easily overcome bad matchups. I decided to run a bulkier set with Air Balloon, which lets it more comfortably 1v1 the likes of Dragonite and Roaring Moon, in addition to temporarily stuffing non-CC Great Tusk. Low Kick is preferred over Kowtow Cleave on this set (unless you decide to run Black Glasses) since it gives you a quick way to remove the likes of Ting-Lu and opposing Kingambit. Tera Ghost is used on this set since it can 1v1 setup Corviknight should you remove its Rocky Helmet, but Tera Dark, Fire, Fighting, and Fairy are all good alternative options with their own merit.
Iron Moth @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 124 Def / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Sludge Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
4A Iron Moth is, in my opinion, extremely underrated and underexplored. This set uses the combination of Psychic and Dazzling Gleam w/ Tera Fairy, which makes it very difficult for opposing offense to deal with Iron Moth without losing a Pokemon. While the lack of Substitute makes you more susceptible to getting statused or revenge killed, it's also likely that the threat of having Substitute can discourage your opponent from going for Sucker Punch or a status move, which often lets you play more much aggressively. The added coverage isn't particularly impactful against balance teams but Iron Moth can still be very dangerous in the late-game once the likes of Ting-Lu have been sufficiently chipped.
Iron Valiant @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Destiny Bond
Mixed Iron Valiant is another natural fit on this team; it's very good at forcing progress against defensive teams, which the rest of this team can really struggle to do. This set is very standard for the most part but Destiny Bond is an invaluable utility option if it manages to connect on an important target, and can potentially open up for an easy sweep from something in the back if one of their checks has been removed. It can be very prediction-reliant but the reward for successfully using it can be game-changing. Iron Valiant isn't a prime candidate for Tera but Tera Steel allows it to safely remove Slowking-G with Knock Off and gives it a resistance to many of the common priority moves flying around, particularly Dragonite's Extreme Speed.
Moltres-Galar @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Berserk
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fiery Wrath
- Tera Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Agility
The star of the show and easily my favorite member of this team. This set allows Galarian Moltres to function as both a sweeper and a balance breaker; Moltres-G becomes faster than every relevant Pokemon in the metagame after obtaining an Agility boost, making it a deadly late-game cleaner once it finds an opportunity to set up. Conversely, Moltres can easily bust open balance teams after a Nasty Plot boost, which in turn can potentially open up for an Iron Moth sweep. Between its good natural bulk and access to Tera, it can easily grab a boost and start applying immense pressure. Tera Fairy is far and away your best option for a Tera type on this thing, since you not only crush Ting-Lu with +2 Tera Blast but you also still maintain your resistance to Kingambit's Sucker Punch.
THREATLIST
/
Sand, while not a common archetype, is by far this team's worst matchup and a huge pain in the ass to handle. Tyranitar completely walls Iron Moth and Moltres-G lest they burn their Tera, which leaves them vulnerable to getting outsped and killed by Sand Rush Excadrill. Dragonite's Multiscale is also largely nullified by sand chip, which makes it substantially more difficult for it find safe setup. Your best bet is to get in as much damage as you can with Samurott-H and Iron Valiant in the early-game, then try to preserve Kingambit's HP for a late-game sweep.
/
Stall is far from unbeatable but it is a very unpleasant sight for this team nonetheless. Iron Moth is completely useless in this matchup and the rest of this team can struggle to find an easy opening to break the stall team, which can be exploited once the opposing team starts getting up hazards. Preserving Samurott is absolutely necessary in this MU, since you need to set Spikes and force as many Knock Offs as possible (Iron Valiant is also very helpful in this role). Running Tera Dark and/or Black Glasses Kingambit is also an option here.
/
/
I'm lumping these three together for the simple reason being that it is very hard to find safe setup against these three. Ting-Lu is the least annoying of the three to deal with but it ensures that neither Iron Moth nor Galarian Moltres can make any progress without substantial chip beforehand, and it's extremely difficult to prevent it from getting up hazards. The most efficient way to take it out is by getting up as much Spikes as you can with Samurott-H (if it stays in then you can easily go for Razor Shell) and going into Kingambit or Iron Valiant to get chip on it or force it out; Ting-Lu will very quickly get chipped into Fiery Dance -> Dazzling Gleam KO range if you can get a few layers up.
Zapdos is also a major nuisance without Subsitute on Iron Moth since there's not many ways for this team to avoid getting paralyzed by Static or Thunder Wave. You need to chip it into range of a Sludge Wave KO so it doesn't become a massive headache for your physical sweepers (or if you're feeling cheeky you can fish for a quick kill with Destiny Bond Iron Valiant).
There are no switch-ins to Salt Cure on this team, so the only course of action against Garganacl is to batter it as much as you can with Samurott or Iron Valiant. Tera Water + Curse is a massive pain to deal with and often necessitates sacking one of your Pokemon after getting enough chip.
/
These two aren't particularly tough matchups for this team but I'm mentioning them here anyways because they can be very annoying to deal with late-game. Just be sure to preserve Tera for as long as possible, and it never hurts to have a Booster Energy mon in the back just in case.
REPLAYS
Unfortunately, I didn't save too many high-ladder replays before intiially writing this post, but I did manage to find a few that showcase this team's strengths:
A well-timed Destiny Bond from Iron Valiant allows Tera Fairy Iron Moth to easily break apart this team.
Iron Moth's expansive coverage allows it to take out the majority of the opponent's team and forces a Tera on Iron Valiant, which later gets killed by Dazzling Gleam.
Iron Moth comes in for free on Rillaboom after Samurott-H goes down and immediately kills two Pokemon and forces a Tera on Great Tusk, allowing Moltres-G to come in on Tusk for an easy sweep.
Iron Moth kills three Pokemon and neutralizes Zamazenta's ability to sweep before going down. From there, Iron Valiant easily takes out the last two Pokemon and shuts down any reverse sweeping attempts from Kingambit thanks to Destiny Bond.
In this game, Moltres-G grabs a boost in front of Roaring Moon and wins the game on the spot after the opposing Iron Moth went down.
Samurott-H gets up Spikes and chips away at problematic Pokemon like Toxapex and Corviknight, which later forces Corviknight to click Defog as Moltres-G sets up a Nasty Plot and subsequently breaks past the entire stall team.
In this game, the opposing balance team struggled to properly play around my Iron Valiant lead and were unable to set hazards due to being overwhelmed by aggressive double-switches. Dragonite and Moltres-G easily clean up late-game after Clefable was forced to Tera.
A well-timed Destiny Bond from Iron Valiant allows Tera Fairy Iron Moth to easily break apart this team.
Iron Moth's expansive coverage allows it to take out the majority of the opponent's team and forces a Tera on Iron Valiant, which later gets killed by Dazzling Gleam.
Iron Moth comes in for free on Rillaboom after Samurott-H goes down and immediately kills two Pokemon and forces a Tera on Great Tusk, allowing Moltres-G to come in on Tusk for an easy sweep.
Iron Moth kills three Pokemon and neutralizes Zamazenta's ability to sweep before going down. From there, Iron Valiant easily takes out the last two Pokemon and shuts down any reverse sweeping attempts from Kingambit thanks to Destiny Bond.
In this game, Moltres-G grabs a boost in front of Roaring Moon and wins the game on the spot after the opposing Iron Moth went down.
Samurott-H gets up Spikes and chips away at problematic Pokemon like Toxapex and Corviknight, which later forces Corviknight to click Defog as Moltres-G sets up a Nasty Plot and subsequently breaks past the entire stall team.
In this game, the opposing balance team struggled to properly play around my Iron Valiant lead and were unable to set hazards due to being overwhelmed by aggressive double-switches. Dragonite and Moltres-G easily clean up late-game after Clefable was forced to Tera.
Overall, I'm very proud of this team in spite of its shortcomings. As I've said earlier, I'm not too familiar with writing RMTs so feel free to give me feedback or ask questions about my team, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
