Gods and Followers

[FOZ369]

Hi Jajoken, I want to submit a team for the Teambuilding Archive. I personally think that it's the best team that's possible to make for normal Arceus in this meta. I can't see any way to improve this team, whether it's changing moves or changing Pokes. My alt on PS for G&F is swagsavagebitch. Here's the team for the archive:

FOZ369's Kinda Stally Arceus-Normal Balance

Arceus @ Leftovers
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Careful Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Defog
- Recover

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Drain Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Substitute

Meloetta @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Transform

The EVs for Arceus make it as bulky as possible both physically and specially. I put defog on Arceus because it's the only good Pokemon that's possible to use it on this team. This Arceus is supposed to wall Pokes when Porygon2 and Chansey are low HP and kill off weakened Pokes. Porygon2 is the physical wall of this team and is usually the MVP of my battles. Best lead most of the time. Chansey is the special wall. I'm not sure about this, but for Chansey it might be better to switch out wish and protect for toxic and soft-boiled. Mega Loppuny is the fast physical attacker. Meloetta is the bulky special attacker. Meloetta is usually the least useful member, but without it, this team would face off really bad against Primal Groudon teams. Ditto is for revenge killing the Pokes that boost to break past Pory or Chansey. It's always the MVP when facing against Mega Ray and Mega Luc teams. The Pokes that give this team the hardest time are Mega Sableye and magic guard Clefable.

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

Can't tell if you're being a troll or what. Is that weavile revenge killing? Also why would Ray espeed when shard doesn't kill. Porygon is a decent revenge killer except for ddance sets. Also levi doesn't help zor switch in to anything but eq, dragon ascent and then any of the moves you list roast it even through heatproof, and you can't have both at once. I understand that they're gimmicks but this just shows how far you have to go to deal with it even in a gimmicky unreliable fashion.

again,
>the point


>you

That would, you know, be what I was trying to say. Porygon has other flaws, too- namely only Arceus and MKhan are able to run it, although it probably should be run on both of them, just for that.
weavile is a check because its, y'know, faster, so Ray has to espeed or die. You can also run a scarf and an adamant nature to even revenge it after a dd, but thats bed because Espeed will then ko.
Heatproof is a dumb gimmick, but if spikes arent up and it's brought is safely, they probably aren't going to Eq.Still, its risky and dumb, which is true about almost any MRay counter/check.

weavile dies if it switches in on rocks to espeed. lmao. well, 85% chance, but still. mega ray technically comes out on top. and zong is a 75/25 mindgame in rays favor(choosing v-create basically lets you win more often then not, but v-create ray is probably not worth it just to beat a gimmicky check(no offense). lmao. some decent checks. albeit none want to face ray at +2. as all three lose their checking status outright. lmao

im probably going to make a team around banded mega ray for lulz.

Wow, Pokemon from ou and below die to a +2 attack from the strongest pokemon in the game. Truly, this is a revelation of momentous proportions. Please give this man a medal.

Talking of gimmicks for Mega-Ray:

Diancie @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 SpA
Relaxed/Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- filler
- filler
- filler

Moonblast KOs always after one round of ray's LO
188 SpA Life Orb Diancie Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Rayquaza: 320-377 (91.1 - 107.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
And it has even a chance to survive an Espeed+EQ combo.
252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 72+ Def Diancie: 44-52 (14.5 - 17.1%) -- possible 6HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 72+ Def Diancie: 221-263 (72.9 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Or you can go for Choice Specs even, with a 248 HP 228 Def 32 SpA spread, 66 - 78.2% from LO EQ and KOs anyway.


Anyway, Dialga is a good check for Mega-Ray.
A specially defensive one with Shuca Berry takes 38.5 - 45.5% from EQ and 49.5 - 58.2% from Draco Meteor.
It can switch on a Dragon Ascent (34.5 - 40.7%) or ESpeed (15.4 - 18.1%) and survive any hit from Ray.
0 SpA draco meteor does 112.8 - 133.3% to ray.

Also Physically Defensive Xerneas can take Dragon Ascent+Espeed and KO Ray back (even Modest, and it KOs ray from full). And you can run Rest/Chesto for the rare chances that Ray will switch out after the first turn

This is good, thank you. Its also worth noting that not only Geomancy Xern can survive a Life orb dragon ascent and ko in return, it can survive scarved DA at 75% hp or more or pair of banded Espeeds from Dragonite and Mray. Obviously not something you want to switch in, but not something MRay usually forces out either.


MRay is almost certainly broken. From what I've seen from laddering and playing on Aqua, a god is good if it is a powerful Uber, has great followers, or Talonflame.
MRay has all three.
The list of viable gods at this point is MRay, and Xern, with Dialga and Kyuwhite being there because the beat the previous two, which really speaks to the centralization of both MRay and Xern. I would like a suspect on Mray and Xern (although rip my xern team), but MRay is definitely the higher priority.

 

[Lcass4919]

again,
>the point


>you

That would, you know, be what I was trying to say. Porygon has other flaws, too- namely only Arceus and MKhan are able to run it, although it probably should be run on both of them, just for that.
weavile is a check because its, y'know, faster, so Ray has to espeed or die. You can also run a scarf and an adamant nature to even revenge it after a dd, but thats bed because Espeed will then ko.
Heatproof is a dumb gimmick, but if spikes arent up and it's brought is safely, they probably aren't going to Eq.Still, its risky and dumb, which is true about almost any MRay counter/check.

Wow, Pokemon from ou and below die to a +2 attack from the strongest pokemon in the game. Truly, this is a revelation of momentous proportions. Please give this man a medal.


This is good, thank you. Its also worth noting that not only Geomancy Xern can survive a Life orb dragon ascent and ko in return, it can survive scarved DA at 75% hp or more or pair of banded Espeeds from Dragonite and Mray. Obviously not something you want to switch in, but not something MRay usually forces out either.


MRay is almost certainly broken. From what I've seen from laddering and playing on Aqua, a god is good if it is a powerful Uber, has great followers, or Talonflame.
MRay has all three.
The list of viable gods at this point is MRay, and Xern, with Dialga and Kyuwhite being there because the beat the previous two, which really speaks to the centralization of both MRay and Xern. I would like a suspect on Mray and Xern (although rip my xern team), but MRay is definitely the higher priority.

oh man, nice "Fun calcs" that show if the mega ray user is a complete brain dead moron you can KO it! can you show me a calc that lets blaziken KO ray next if it spams SD!? I really want that info for my next check to it.

sigh

lets not be an asshole here, all i was saying is those calcs you posted are irrelevant because most ray just KO them outright before you get a chance barring one. and all of them lose their checking status the moment it gets a SD on you.

 

[Jajoken]

I've added Rhythms and Chopin Alkaninoff to the council. Suspect discussion is still underway.

 

[Laxpras]

Kyogre for 5Star Rank
​

So I've noticed people have an interesting habit of being hesitant to use their god, for the obvious reason of avoiding the curse. However, I feel that Gods should be used as much as possible, as the vast majority of the opposing team cannot handle them. This also makes me think that gods should be used as offensively as possible. I also realized this when I did much better with an offensive yveltal than with tank yveltal. So that brings me to Kyogre. I wanted a mon that I could use offensively throughout the game, so what's better than scarf water spout spam? This is essentially unstoppable for the OU meta, and without groudon on every team like in ubers, it just wreaks havoc. Pair this with water typing, its easy to make a great rain team with kyogre and politoed as an offensive and support rain setters, respectively. So rain isn't the best play style, but its very good, and there are very good water mons that can counter all the steel, and abuse ice beam for all the flying/dragon in the meta. But the key is how unstoppable scarf ogre is for ou mons. I'll throw some calcs down to make my point.

252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross in Rain: 414-487 (123.5 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Altaria in Rain: 214-252 (73.5 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 171-202 (48.5 - 57.3%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

So ferrothorn is obviously the best answer, but it can only do its job so many times, and once its at lower health other mons will have no problems with it, such as azumarill superpower or keldeo secret sword, or even keep spamming water moves until its out of health. But outside of Ferro, RIP. Its 5 star rank should come from its ability to be used throughout the entire game, and not be ruined by priority by just running origin pulse, and enough bulk to beat many other gods with its scarf. All in addition to setting rain for an all water team.

 

[yoman5]

Kyogre for 5Star Rank
​

So I've noticed people have an interesting habit of being hesitant to use their god, for the obvious reason of avoiding the curse. However, I feel that Gods should be used as much as possible, as the vast majority of the opposing team cannot handle them. This also makes me think that gods should be used as offensively as possible. I also realized this when I did much better with an offensive yveltal than with tank yveltal. So that brings me to Kyogre. I wanted a mon that I could use offensively throughout the game, so what's better than scarf water spout spam? This is essentially unstoppable for the OU meta, and without groudon on every team like in ubers, it just wreaks havoc. Pair this with water typing, its easy to make a great rain team with kyogre and politoed as an offensive and support rain setters, respectively. So rain isn't the best play style, but its very good, and there are very good water mons that can counter all the steel, and abuse ice beam for all the flying/dragon in the meta. But the key is how unstoppable scarf ogre is for ou mons. I'll throw some calcs down to make my point.

252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross in Rain: 414-487 (123.5 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Altaria in Rain: 214-252 (73.5 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 171-202 (48.5 - 57.3%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

So ferrothorn is obviously the best answer, but it can only do its job so many times, and once its at lower health other mons will have no problems with it, such as azumarill superpower or keldeo secret sword, or even keep spamming water moves until its out of health. But outside of Ferro, RIP. Its 5 star rank should come from its ability to be used throughout the entire game, and not be ruined by priority by just running origin pulse, and enough bulk to beat many other gods with its scarf. All in addition to setting rain for an all water team.

Kyogres main issues stem from it being monotype and its teammates being unable to reliably stop xern or mray, as fantastic as ogre is on its own.

 

[Laxpras]

Kyogres main issues stem from it being monotype and its teammates being unable to reliably stop xern or mray, as fantastic as ogre is on its own.

Swift swim ice beam can often handle Mray, but I don't think MRay should be really considered cuz I believe everyone agrees with a ban. And Xern is definitely a problem, but things like empoleon can at least roar it out after a geomancy.

 

[yoman5]

Swift swim ice beam can often handle Mray, but I don't think MRay should be really considered cuz I believe everyone agrees with a ban. And Xern is definitely a problem, but things like empoleon can at least roar it out after a geomancy.

+2 252+ SpA Xerneas Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 412-486 (111 - 130.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO Sadly they can't

 

[dhelmise]

Swift swim ice beam can often handle Mray, but I don't think MRay should be really considered cuz I believe everyone agrees with a ban. And Xern is definitely a problem, but things like empoleon can at least roar it out after a geomancy.

Considering Mega Rayquaza's ability clears rain AND weakens all moves super effectiv against flying (aka makes ice beam into 2x), a swift swim ice beam can't be used reliably

E: and almost every MRay team has skarm and kyub to reliably take ice type moves

 

[Lcass4919]

Considering Mega Rayquaza's ability clears rain AND weakens all moves super effectiv against flying (aka makes ice beam into 2x), a swift swim ice beam can't be used reliably

E: and almost every MRay team has skarm and kyub to reliably take ice type moves

not to mention even BEFORE mega its still not going to outspeed since air lock nullifies swift swim. meaning even as a "cheeky double switch pre mega" its a losing battle

 

[Manchamp]

Kyogre is good, however the mono-water restriction is a big deal, strong electric and grass moves would plow through the team (AV Ludicolo or Kingdra would be pretty cool, both swift swimmers with neutrality to those types). I also think that using Primal is the best, and that means no rain for the rest of them team (Primals are so selfish). So if you are running an Ogre rain team, Primal is off the table and then it's regular Ogre which is still quite good, but again the mono-water teambuild is unattractive...

Also I beat a MegaRay team (finally)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313077304

 

[Jajoken]

The council has reached a decision with 3 votes BAN, 1 vote DO NOT BAN and 1 vote undecided.

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

oh man, nice "Fun calcs" that show if the mega ray user is a complete brain dead moron you can KO it! can you show me a calc that lets blaziken KO ray next if it spams SD!? I really want that info for my next check to it.

sigh

lets not be an asshole here, all i was saying is those calcs you posted are irrelevant because most ray just KO them outright before you get a chance barring one. and all of them lose their checking status the moment it gets a SD on you.

Well, the sheer stupidity that is band Bronzong should actually let it get the ko, because they shouldn't be expecting it (unless they read this thread). MRay being banned makes this moot, though.

Anyway, here is a team I made at the challenge of Ransei, to try out a dumb gimmick, hazards+phazing. To my surprise, it actually works (although it loses to Blaziken and Dialga gods, flat out).

team

Dialga @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Flash Cannon
- Toxic

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise
- Dazzling Gleam

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roar
- Toxic
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

W/L= 15/11

http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-godsandfollowers-313029552
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313037385 untill computer crash, was winning
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313058205 hazards let me ko there god. some hax though.
http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-godsandfollowers-313060215 lost because of flare blitz burn, still great match.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313063484 really great battle
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313093004 annoyed them to forfeit


Gratz Chopin, gratz Rythm

 

[HC]

Don't know if you're aware that Mega-Ray is still unbanned on the ladder? Just played against this guy with one: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313456773

I think Gren is seriously underrated in this though, even though the Uber monsters have much better BSTs, you cannot underestimate how difficult it is to switch into him. Water and dark are also really nice types, providing a lot of bulk and wallbreakers, as well as spinners, defoggers, rockers etc.

 

[Kawaii Kyouko]

Hey ho, les go.

I'm gonna open my little post here with a thanks to the OP for his great imagination and creativity, because this meta is hella fun. Ain't had such a good time playing Pokemon in a long ass time. So, props to you.

Some of you might've seen me on ladder, maybe, I dunno. I just wanted to drop the teams I'm most satisfied with, and while they're by no means the greatest things ever, they are solid and they fit my playstyle quite well. I'll also explain choices and such as some kind of mini-RMT. Note: All teams are made with M-Ray in mind, so already today some might just be downright outdated. Notenote: If you want to beat me, just use Thundy-I, that thing is too good atm.

Kyogre Hyper Offense Team

Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Spout
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder

Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Encore
- Rest

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Scald
- Hydro Pump

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Ogre Explaination

Now, this team is obviously built around fast, hard hitting tools, being some kind of reminiscent of 4th and 5th gen Rain HO... lacking certain mons, due to the nature of this meta. This means, the choice of Scarf Ogre is basically a be all end all. You don't want Rain HO without Scarf Ogre in this meta, just putting that out there.

Politoed, the main rain inducer. Required on any rain team for the incredibly useful ability.
M-Swamp is the first of the two Swift Swimmers, and also on the side the team's rocker. Prankster T-wave check as well.
AV Azu to get some special bulk in. Nice for Fairy-spam teams. Gets a CB boost on Waterfall and Aqua Jet in rain anyways.
Kingdra is the second Swift Swimmer, using powerful attacks to wallbreak and accurate yet not as strong moves to ping down weakened foes.
Rotom-W is the resident P-don/Tflame check, as any rain team should have. Switches in, toxics, and sits there like an ass for a while wondering what it's doing with it's ghastly life.

The Gameplan is to keep rain up as often as possible, if you have to sacc Toed for the purpose then do it. Outside Rain, you'll get overwhelmed, inside you'll be the overwhelming.

Kill me, I accidentally back-spaced with my entire explanation of the Ogre team written down. I'm not writing it down again, so there's basically a tl;dr variant.

Latios Offense Squad

Latios (M) @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Defog

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Explanation

This is my favorite team atm. It's quite simple, and it's undergone a single change after M-ray's ban: Zam has been added to the team in favor of Scarf Kyu-B.

Now, at first look, you'll probably see that this team is pretty weak in general to Fairy Spam, right? Well, not really. As it is, I've got an 8-0 record against such teams. And Mega-Medi and Mew are the two that's done the most important stuff in these matches, not Rachi.

Anyways, the team is built around Soul Dew Latios for several reasons. First of all, he hits insanely hard, he is pretty bulky on sp.def side (not amazing, but yknow) which allows me to actively use him in battles instead of being on the back until "sweeptime" which many players seem to utilize their Gods for. The next reason is his typing, Dragon/Psychic, which allows me a plethora of solid 'mons to support him. Including, but not limited to, Kyu-b, D-nite, Hydreigon, Rachi, Mew, Celebi, Zam, MMedi, Chomp.. you get the point. Now granted, Psychic isn't exactly Flying (By all means the best typing in this meta), but it's got it's uses.

Anyways, Lati is used as a wallbreaker in a core alongside MMedi, as they support eachothers quite well. MMedi takes care of things like Heatran, while Lati destroys Hippo.. as an example. I run the double-prio MMedi set mainly to handle the Xern-matchup easiler, as Xern simply cannot setup against him, and BP takes care of frailer things like M-diancie/M-Gard. Basically, only the bulky fairies like Azu and Togekiss can actively switch in. His presence alone upon receving a free-switch in puts such humongous pressure on the opposing team, against all teams but MSab/Aegi/Doublade teams. So few things wants to switch in, it's insane. Following up, the team needed a rocker and Talon check, and with the typing restrictions I couldn't find a choice superior to TankChomp. Not that's he's bad, don't mistake me. A bulky ass shit which annoys things like MLop, u-turners like Rachi, Birdspammers, yeah. This team can utilize the chip damage from the Helmet+Skin combination quite well, with MMedi's priority being a standout reason as to why. Moving on, I needed a scarfer which makes it easy for things like MMedi and Lati to switch in, and Jirachi forces many switches on his/her own. Most mons that resist or tank Iron Heads well basically get destroyed one way or another by either wallbreaker, allowing Jirachi to clean up late-game alongside his super-smart friend Zam. As for Zam, the new-comer, he was added as a "last-ditch" mon (hence the focus sash over Life Orb), allowing me to twave things before it gets out of hand. More specifically, any God will hate the twave aside from like that Dragon/Electric which I forgot the name of. Things like Xern even post-geomancy is a target. So you could say he's a pseudo-prankster Twave user. In a way. Kinda. Finally, we got Mew, which is sort of a standard Stallbreaker set really. It's bulk is tremendous (even survivng +2 Xern Moonblasts at full), but it's more there to annoy the opponent in early-mid game as it's pretty hard to tear down unless you Tox/Burn it. And even then, you risk statusing yourself due to Synchronize. All in all a good mon imo.

So, as you can see, this team uses more of the Psychic-part of Lati's, with the general game plan to dish out huge damage early on so that Rachi can either go for an Iron Head Sweep or even Healing Wish any of the weakened threats to resume the pounding. This team doesn't maintain momentum as well as it should, but the very offensive pressure alone gives you quite a lot of momentum on it's own.



Poor matchups:
YVELTAL
Let me put it out there, Yveltal teams easily 6-0s this squad. Sadly.
Any team carrying Weavile/Bisharp will have an easier time handling this team, as the switch-ins are heavily limited and SD Bisharp 6-0s if it gets a boost. Mew's speed "luckily" speedcreeps Jolly 70's, so you can Will-o it before things goes real bad.
Aegislash teams has the potential to crush this team as well, as Rachi, MMedi and to an extent Lati struggles to damage Aegi. Even worse matchup if they carry MSab (my way of dealing with it is will-o-wisping with Synchronize Mew before Dracoing it lmao)

I like it, and I wanted to share it, because it's pretty anti-meta atm through the shadows. Have fun c:!

 

[Funbot28]

​

Mega Salamence to ★★★★★ (Five-star Rank)

There is gonna be probably a lot of controversy with this nom, but there isn't any five star gods yet, and imo Mega Mence is the perfect candidate. After the recent ban of Mega Rayquaza (which would have been five stars as well), I have been trying mega Salamence balance teams and they have been working out quite nicely to say the least. Dragon and Flying offer a variety of pokemon and there typings offer nice resistances to each other barring Ice types (although I really haven't seen any Ice teams tbh besides only one Kyreum-W squad, but with right prediction it's manageable). Mega Mence can just clean teams with Dragon Dance, and can require vital team support in the ways of Healing Wish, hazards and hazard removal. It isn't a one trick pony like Xerneas that only has one opportunity to setup and can actually have many due to Intimidate and it's very respectable bulk. In conjunction with other powerful pokemon like Kyreum-B and Thundurus-I and Mega Mence teams can easily apply so much offensive pressure to opposing teams, that it is sometimes really overbearing. All in all, Mega Salamence really pushes the meta to the point where even carrying checks and counters to it cannot really stop it, due to it's teammates taking care of them. At that point it's really just gg tbh.

Mega Mawile to ★★★ (Three-star Rank)

I get that Mega Mawile has very good Steel/Fairy typing, which offers it access to a variety of mons that can take care of eachothers weaknesses, but Mega Maw as a god itself is really hard to justify sometimes. it has average bulk in a semi-ubers environment, and it is really slow meaning that it mostly always relies on Sucker Punch for chip damage. It also has some difficult matchups versus other common gods such as Primal Groudon and Aegislash. It's definitely powerful, but I am not quite sure if it's four star material tbh.
​

Mega Mewtwo-X to ★★★ (Three-star Rank)

After it was decided that MMX can only bring Psychic mon with it, I feel that really shot down it's viability. It can no longer bring Fighting types that really synergies well with Psychic types, and is forced to bring mostly only special attackers. MMX itself can be useful, as it still retains it's Fighting type which deals with Psychic's weaknesses, but it can be worn down quite quickly due to it having to rely on average BP attacks for damage. It was four star before the change, but after I think it can be brought down to three stars.

I have others, but want to discuss thes first.

 

[Lcass4919]

Alas...it is time for me to reveal the truest of gods:

XATU!
sort of as a "self imposed challenge" i decided to make a team around a RU/NU/PU mon, rather then a Uber, and i decided to dub it "the demigod challenge" and what better god to pick then my favorite god to worship in the BH meta: Xatu.
here are some replays for your veiwing pleasure...most are just rage quits, but some are very good games. tooth and nail,and ill certainly post more later. i also challenge everyone else to try the "Demigod" challenge. its actually quite fun and challenging.
some "short" matches:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313227637 (i guess he thought i was min speed or something?)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313228559 (another meh game tbh, talon just kinda cleaned up half his team)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313229456 (another meh game. talon and metagross are both pretty monstrous togeather)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313230292 (i literally just predicted his stealth rocks and he RQed)
real matches:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313417877 (pretty close game...also showed me how little this team has for weavile.)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313433081 (this man ridiculed my god. so i just HAD to show him who's the real god here.)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/godsandfollowers-313507684 (i decided to switch up my team a bit and add on a few new pokemon to test them out. xatu saves the day)
(more coming soon)

all in all its pretty fun and challenging, and shockingly somewhat possible to pull off.

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

Mega Salamence to ★★★★★ (Five-star Rank)

There is gonna be probably a lot of controversy with this nom, but there isn't any five star gods yet, and imo Mega Mence is the perfect candidate. After the recent ban of Mega Rayquaza (which would have been five stars as well), I have been trying mega Salamence balance teams and they have been working out quite nicely to say the least. Dragon and Flying offer a variety of pokemon and there typings offer nice resistances to each other barring Ice types (although I really haven't seen any Ice teams tbh besides only one Kyreum-W squad, but with right prediction it's manageable). Mega Mence can just clean teams with Dragon Dance, and can require vital team support in the ways of Healing Wish, hazards and hazard removal. It isn't a one trick pony like Xerneas that only has one opportunity to setup and can actually have many due to Intimidate and it's very respectable bulk. In conjunction with other powerful pokemon like Kyreum-B and Thundurus-I and Mega Mence teams can easily apply so much offensive pressure to opposing teams, that it is sometimes really overbearing. All in all, Mega Salamence really pushes the meta to the point where even carrying checks and counters to it cannot really stop it, due to it's teammates taking care of them. At that point it's really just gg tbh.

Mega Mawile to ★★★ (Three-star Rank)

I get that Mega Mawile has very good Steel/Fairy typing, which offers it access to a variety of mons that can take care of eachothers weaknesses, but Mega Maw as a god itself is really hard to justify sometimes. it has average bulk in a semi-ubers environment, and it is really slow meaning that it mostly always relies on Sucker Punch for chip damage. It also has some difficult matchups versus other common gods such as Primal Groudon and Aegislash. It's definitely powerful, but I am not quite sure if it's four star material tbh.
​

Mega Mewtwo-X to ★★★ (Three-star Rank)

After it was decided that MMX can only bring Psychic mon with it, I feel that really shot down it's viability. It can no longer bring Fighting types that really synergies well with Psychic types, and is forced to bring mostly only special attackers. MMX itself can be useful, as it still retains it's Fighting type which deals with Psychic's weaknesses, but it can be worn down quite quickly due to it having to rely on average BP attacks for damage. It was four star before the change, but after I think it can be brought down to three stars.

I have others, but want to discuss thes first.

I have to agree on number one. In many way, MegaMence is actually a better god than MRay, because of bulk and roost. While it lacks the terrifying potential that MRay had in sweeping teams, it is much harder to revenge due to its bulk and speed tier.
Similarly, I would like to suggest that Xerneas be raised to 5 star. Mono fairy is an incredibly typing, and what it lacks in variety it makes up for in power. Mega Diancie means that in many battles, Xerneas doesn't even need to be used. Similarly, it gets setup support in Klefki, an additional sweeper in Azumaril, and a magic guard mon to fight on after its death in Clefable. The main selling point, however, is Xerneas' ability to sweep most team. there are few mons capable of checking Xerneas, and even fewer that can do so at +2.

Mawile I agree on, not much to say with.

MMX is still good, so I'm not sure on this one. Before the MRay ban it was drop worthy, but now it isn't as bad a matchup since its the only team member weak to Fairy.

Another potential drop is Pdon- while it is as incredible as it is in Ubers, especially with its matchup vs Xerneas, earthquake is incredibly common in this meta. Additionally, it lacks fire type followers, which forces it to miss out on two amazing Megas, Victini, and the incredible Talonflame. It only has acces to 4 mega's and only one of them (Mega Swampert) is worth running. Its still a very solid god, but I'm not sure if it is 4 star worthy.

 

[Jajoken]

Now that the ladder has been up for a few days, I'd like to move into viability rankings (several of you already have as I'm writing this haha). Right now, I'd like focus on ★★★, ★★★★ and ★★★★★ gods, specifically this last one. I purposely left the 5-star rank blank until now to see which gods truly thrive in the metagame. Now that we have a fairly active metagame, those gods are a little more evident.

If you'd like to make a nomination, please do the following:

1. Read the second post of this thread for the descriptions of each rank and their current members. The rankings are somewhat outdated and could use some cleaning up, but still try to use them as a starting point.
2. Suggest which gods you think are placed incorrectly. As I said, we'll move on to 2-star and 1-star later, so only discuss placements 3-star and above. Also refrain from nominating non-Uber gods -- we will discuss those later.
3. Describe what this god provides/lacks in the following areas: typing, versatility, defensive pressure, offensive pressure and constraint on teambuilding. Be sure to remember we're not ranking the gods as Pokemon, but as gods. What kind of team you can build with a god is often more important than the god itself.
4. Provide any replays you have proving your point. They don't have to be yours -- any concrete evidence for your nomination is appreciated.

Also respond to any nominations you agree/disagree with. Here are the nominations that have already been made above this point:

3★ -> 5★

4★ -> 5★

4★ -> 3★

4★ -> 3★

4★ -> 5★

4★ -> 3★

And here my own nominations:

4★ -> 5★

Explanation

Yveltal has also been one of the most solid god picks pre- and post-ladder. The god itself has the versatility to go fully defensive or offensive on either spectrum (physical or special) with special mentions going to Roost, Oblivion Wing and Sucker Punch. The first two give it powerful options for passive and active recovery, which is highly valued on a god, and Sucker Punch allows it to hit incredibly hard without taking damage, provided it can kill. However, it wouldn't be 5-star if it also didn't have good team options to back it up, and Dark + Flying provides all the support it needs. It can run Mega Sableye + Talonflame, a menacing OU core that many teams in GaF struggle with. It also has access to Bisharp, Charizard, Altaria, Weavile, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Dragonite and a whole bunch of good Defoggers like Zapdos. As a god, its the whole package, and I think any team should have to prepare for it.

4★ -> 5★

Explanation

Dialga possibly has one of the best typings for this OM, as it both provides the Dragon types that can deal with other Dragons offensively, and the Steel types to deal with them defensively. It isn't quite as bulky as some gods, with a still very respectable 100/120/100 spread, but its excellent defensive type (especially when paired with a Shuca Berry to deal with Ground types) makes it often difficult to take down, and 120/150 offensive stats are nothing to sneeze at even if lacking full investment. I've seen Dialga teams do very well and I think it deserves to rise.

Try to keep your posts organized. The council will discuss the nominations you've made and update the rankings sometime later in the week.

Also, I'll be updating the teambuilding archive. Thanks for all the support!

 

[Lcass4919]

honestly, i want to nominate Mega Blaziken for 4 star rank. speed boost, its powerful attack,amazing powerful coverage in flareblitz/fire blast superpower and knock off, and general "winning 1v2" on most of the OU tier is really really potent, especially when gods like kyogre, maw, yveltal (to an extent) aegis and dialga all quiver at its presence. while also having an excellent typing offensively, and supportwise, giving it some REALLY powerful and diverse sweepers and wall breakers like talonflame, heatran, keldeo, terrakion, breloom, and the list goes on. of course in terms of hazard removal, your stuck with hitmontop, hitmonlee, hitmonchan and torkoal out of all the viable spinners...but from my experience using it, and mega rays recent ban, i think its time for the KFC burd to go up a few ranks. mega blaze was quickly banned back into ubers, and it sure shows me why whenever i use it.

 

[kitsuneae]

It says it applies Curse effect when a "god" dies, right? Does that mean if it's a ghost-god then all your mons will lose 1/4 of their life per turn while any other god will result in stat boost at the cost of speed?

 

[Jajoken]

It says it applies Curse effect when a "god" dies, right? Does that mean if it's a ghost-god then all your mons will lose 1/4 of their life per turn while any other god will result in stat boost at the cost of speed?

No, it's also the same as if a Ghost type had used Curse (aka the -1/4 HP per turn effect). Think of it this way -- when your god falls, its becomes a ghost and curses you for your failures.

 

[kitsuneae]

Ahh, makes sense. Makes roar/dragon tail/ect a lot more threatening in this meta!

Also I'm finding scrafty to be an interesting god worthy of consideration. Yeah, he's not as impressive as a mega-god, but his typing opens up some really powerful followers. People will naturally think that mega Lucario or Darkrai are the god and will never see him coming. He also can hold his own as well as long you mop up those fairies before he hits board. Moxie + power-up punch/bulk up + outrage = sweeping death from unusual places.

 

[Quantum Tesseract]

Ahh, makes sense. Makes roar/dragon tail/ect a lot more threatening in this meta!

Also I'm finding scrafty to be an interesting god worthy of consideration. Yeah, he's not as impressive as a mega-god, but his typing opens up some really powerful followers. People will naturally think that mega Lucario or Darkrai are the god and will never see him coming. He also can hold his own as well as long you mop up those fairies before he hits board. Moxie + power-up punch/bulk up + outrage = sweeping death from unusual places.

Scarfty is a terrible god, because you cannot have Ubers for followers. Otherwise any flying type would be overpowered. Even if it could, however, it would obviously be the god due to it being in the upper left slot and being the only dark fighting type in the game. Additionally, Scrafty is RU for a reason- its pretty bad.

Now that the ladder has been up for a few days, I'd like to move into viability rankings (several of you already have as I'm writing this haha). Right now, I'd like focus on ★★★, ★★★★ and ★★★★★ gods, specifically this last one. I purposely left the 5-star rank blank until now to see which gods truly thrive in the metagame. Now that we have a fairly active metagame, those gods are a little more evident.

If you'd like to make a nomination, please do the following:

1. Read the second post of this thread for the descriptions of each rank and their current members. The rankings are somewhat outdated and could use some cleaning up, but still try to use them as a starting point.
2. Suggest which gods you think are placed incorrectly. As I said, we'll move on to 2-star and 1-star later, so only discuss placements 3-star and above. Also refrain from nominating non-Uber gods -- we will discuss those later.
3. Describe what this god provides/lacks in the following areas: typing, versatility, defensive pressure, offensive pressure and constraint on teambuilding. Be sure to remember we're not ranking the gods as Pokemon, but as gods. What kind of team you can build with a god is often more important than the god itself.
4. /\
5. 
   
6. Provide any replays you have proving your point. They don't have to be yours -- any concrete evidence for your nomination is appreciated.

Also respond to any nominations you agree/disagree with. Here are the nominations that have already been made above this point:

3★ -> 5★

4★ -> 5★

4★ -> 3★

4★ -> 3★

4★ -> 5★

4★ -> 3★

And here my own nominations:

4★ -> 5★

Explanation

Yveltal has also been one of the most solid god picks pre- and post-ladder. The god itself has the versatility to go fully defensive or offensive on either spectrum (physical or special) with special mentions going to Roost, Oblivion Wing and Sucker Punch. The first two give it powerful options for passive and active recovery, which is highly valued on a god, and Sucker Punch allows it to hit incredibly hard without taking damage, provided it can kill. However, it wouldn't be 5-star if it also didn't have good team options to back it up, and Dark + Flying provides all the support it needs. It can run Mega Sableye + Talonflame, a menacing OU core that many teams in GaF struggle with. It also has access to Bisharp, Charizard, Altaria, Weavile, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Dragonite and a whole bunch of good Defoggers like Zapdos. As a god, its the whole package, and I think any team should have to prepare for it.

4★ -> 5★

Explanation

Dialga possibly has one of the best typings for this OM, as it both provides the Dragon types that can deal with other Dragons offensively, and the Steel types to deal with them defensively. It isn't quite as bulky as some gods, with a still very respectable 100/120/100 spread, but its excellent defensive type (especially when paired with a Shuca Berry to deal with Ground types) makes it often difficult to take down, and 120/150 offensive stats are nothing to sneeze at even if lacking full investment. I've seen Dialga teams do very well and I think it deserves to rise.

Try to keep your posts organized. The council will discuss the nominations you've made and update the rankings sometime later in the week.

Also, I'll be updating the teambuilding archive. Thanks for all the support!

I agree on Yveltal, its definitely incredibly powerful. Not only does it get those moves, it also has Heat Wave and Foul Play to roast Klefki and Punish setup. Even more importantly, however, is its ability to punish the fighting and bug types that threaten dark with its flying types.

Dialga I'm not as sure on. I've used it a lot, and its kinda underwhelming in practice. While its followers are great, that isn't the only thing a god needs. despite hitting it super affectively, it still loses to Xerneas due to Moonblast Ohkoing at +2 and its inability to ohko. Even if you run a specially defensive set, you will still get smacked silly by focus blast. Additionally, its typing is mediocre at best for its role, leaving it in many ways a worse Mega Salamence.

Edit:

honestly, i want to nominate Mega Blaziken for 4 star rank. speed boost, its powerful attack,amazing powerful coverage in flareblitz/fire blast superpower and knock off, and general "winning 1v2" on most of the OU tier is really really potent, especially when gods like kyogre, maw, yveltal (to an extent) aegis and dialga all quiver at its presence. while also having an excellent typing offensively, and supportwise, giving it some REALLY powerful and diverse sweepers and wall breakers like talonflame, heatran, keldeo, terrakion, breloom, and the list goes on. of course in terms of hazard removal, your stuck with hitmontop, hitmonlee, hitmonchan and torkoal out of all the viable spinners...but from my experience using it, and mega rays recent ban, i think its time for the KFC burd to go up a few ranks. mega blaze was quickly banned back into ubers, and it sure shows me why whenever i use it.

Mega Blaziken is definitely 4 star rank. I've had a lot of fun using it, and with PDon not getting Fire types it isn't even partially outclassed. Talonburd is as amazing as always, and it gets some other great pokemon such as Victini and Keldeo. Additionally, it gets the sun support it so desperately craves due to Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon being uncommon at best. It isn't quite 5 star material, but 4 stars is a great place for it.

Also, why is your MegaBlaze running superpower?

 

[ssneak]

Hey so I just wanted to share this team with you guys, with the god being Ho-oh. I think the main goal you have to keep in mind when playing this meta is keeping your god alive, because when it falls, your followers start dropping like flies. Anyways Ho-oh is an amazing god bc it has decent typing defensively, resisting fighting, steel, fairy, and some other stuff, but more so offensively, with fire+flying hitting almost everything for neutral damage. With amazing STABs being Sacred Fire and Brave Bird, great special bulk, and recovery options in Regenerator and Roost, Ho-oh is really fun to use. I'd also like to suggest a move of Ho-oh to the four star rank.

Ho-oh Balance?

God (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Atk / 32 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Sacred Fire
- Substitute
- Roost

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Explosion

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Toxic
- Whirlwind
- Defog

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Roar

Ho-oh's set is standard, but I was iffy on whether I should speed creep base 90s or not because, this isn't really Ubers, but I did it anyways. Lando helps with the Pdon weakness this team has, and gives me a fast revenge killer to smack mons with. I thought about changing this to SubTox Gliscor to help with the Pdon weakness but idk. Thundurus is amazing, crippling the opposing team with paras so Ho-oh can spam its moves. Unfortunately also struggles vs Pdon, an can literally switch into anything it uses an OHKO back. Skarmory is the Mega Mence check, and supports Ho-oh by keeping rocks off the field. I put Charizard expecting Dragon-spam from the ladder. I didn't see too many but I'm only a couple matches in. Standard set, max speed to outspeed those random scarfed 100s. Heatran forms a nice core with Skarm. While Heatran can take fire and most electric moves for Skarm, the latter can take fighting and ground moves for Heatran. This is really fun team and you should give it a try