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Heaven.
Peaked 2002, 1st Place.
USUM Anything Goes.
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Introduction.
Hiya all, and welcome to yet another RMT. I have chosen to present this team to the masses, as I feel it is my most successful and reliable Anything Goes build from this generation, and possibly overall. With Balance and Semi-Stall being my main playstyles, it only makes sense that this is the team I invested time into creating. I have been quite content with the outcome, and it has definitely served me well. I had this mostly written up but never got around to posting it, but now that I've reached 1000 posts, it makes sense to finish this off and post it.
Teambuilding.
Ho-Oh is a Pokémon that throughout all iterations of the Anything Goes metagame, I have found influential and virtually necessary in an effective Balance team. It acts as a solid switchin for the plethora of Steel-types in the metagame, it can blanket check support and Calm Mind Arceus formes, and in general is a great Pokémon to use in order to ease any pressure provided by opposing specially-offensive threats. Ho-Oh generally eases any sort of play against bulkier playstyles, and prevents Steel Arceus and Xerneas from excelling on offensive builds.
Primal Groudon works as a beneficial partner for Ho-Oh, as it deals with Primal Kyogre and Water Arceus, while Ho-Oh eases pressure put on it by opposing Ground-type Pokémon like Support Ground Arceus, which is arguably Primal Groudon's best check. Primal Groudon also pressures Rock-types that may possibly annoy and be detrimental towards Ho-Oh's longevity.
Celesteela then provides a better answer to Ground Arceus, preventing Swords Dance variants from having their way. Additionally, it checks Dusk Mane Necrozma and Swords Dance Arceus formes, acts as a switch-in to the second best move in the metagame: Toxic and finally acts as a soft check to some Support Arceus formes if Stealth Rock is up and can't be removed safely. These three Pokémon allow Xerneas's presence to leave the team virtually unscathed. Primal Groudon is the premier check for it, Ho-Oh can act as a soft check if Primal Groudon has been heavily weakened prior to this, and Celesteela counters Z-Geomancy variants that Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh might have issues with breaking.
By adding Rock Arceus, the team no longer has issues with Mega Rayquaza. Sets either run V-create or Earthquake and not both. Hence Rock Arceus & Celesteela ensemble a defensive core able of taking on most physical threats. Rock Arceus provides an answer for opposing Ho-Oh and Yveltal, as well as preventing both Sticky Web setters from setting up Stealth Rock as well.
Fairy Arceus ensures the team has an answer to Marshadow, Zygarde-Complete as well as a relatively safe switchin to Primal Groudon. Due to the dual support Arceus formes, the team can afford to run Defog on one and forgo it for Stealth Rock on the other, freeing up a slot on Primal Groudon to aid it in lasting throughout the match.
Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza allows the team to be even safer against Marshadow while invalidating Psychic Terrain based Hyper Offense. It also helps check Primal Groudon if Fairy Arceus is unable to. A Choice Scarf user is borderline required in the Marshadow metagame. This is due to the combination of the aforementioned Psychic Terrain teams in conjunction with Marshadow's abundance.
Analysis.
rayquaza-mega @ choice scarf | jolly nature
delta stream | 252 atk / 4 def / 252 spe
Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza has been drastically picking up in usage in the early USUM metagame, due to Marshadow's introduction in conjunction with the inability for Balance to reliably deal with terrain-based offense. Without some monstrosity like Alolan Muk or Assault Vest Magearna, checking terrain-based offense can become a major hassle. The borderline necessity of Choice Scarf users is evident when considering these two major factors. CSMR isn't as linear as it appears. It 2HKOs Timid Support Arceus formes which can usually switchin on other Mega Rayquaza sets, whilst also revenging a lot of faster Pokémon like Mega Gengar and Mewtwo reliably. Running a Jolly Nature also allows it to outpace +2 Speed Xerneas and +1 Speed Scolipede as well which proves quite effective, even though the team doesn't generally require it. Overall, its lack of usage does prove to be an influencing factor in its effectiveness; however, even without the general surprise factor its potency is difficult to ignore.
Dragon Ascent and V-create are necessities for Choice Scarf Mega Rayquaza. The former allows it to Mega Evolve, and is its most useful attack as it enjoys 120 BP + STAB in an environment where Steel-type and Rock-type defensive Pokémon don't appreciate switching in on Mega Rayquaza all of the time. To combat these potential switchins, Rayquaza utilises its coverage moves of V-create and Earthquake. Steel-types are omnipresent throughout Anything Goes, with Dusk Mane Necrozma, Celesteela, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Magearna and Steel Arceus all being used frequently. Rock-types, while much less prevalent, still prove an evident issue for Mega Rayquaza if it forgoes super-effective coverage. Earthquake on Choice Scarf variants allows the 2HKO on potential Rock Arceus and Tyranitar switchins, while also proving to be its most efficient coverage move after the aforementioned V-create. Toxic is an interesting last move, as it allows Mega Rayquaza to disable Lugia and Support Arceus formes from switching in repeatedly and walling it. By clicking Toxic on an incoming Lugia, its ability is nullified, allowing Dragon Ascent to overwhelm it later in the match.
ho-oh @ life orb | adamant nature
regenerator | 248 hp / 208 atk / 52 spd
Ho-Oh's effectiveness in any iteration of the Anything Goes metagame is blatant when considering it walls so many common metagame threats while only retaining one true weakness. Its two STAB attacks enable it to break through the majority of the metagame, while only being walled by a few less common threats. Additionally, its colossal ability Regenerator is arguably the best in the metagame, providing Ho-Oh with an easy way to heal its health throughout the course of the match if it needs to be used as an answer to the omnipresent Steel-types, Fairy-types and other defensive Pokémon that plague the metagame.
Sacred Fire and Brave Bird are Ho-Oh's staple moves. They make their way onto every current Ho-Oh set due to the sheer efficiency of Fire- and Flying-type coverage and lack of Pokémon that resist both. The team's ability to deal with Tyranitar and Rock Arceus with ease allows the third slot to be affirmed with Curse, an aid to rip past Support Arceus formes and Giratina without sacrificing major health via Brave Bird spam. It also allows Ho-Oh to prevent stall from being a major issue for the team, as Ho-Oh's main check on stall builds, Giratina, is overwhelmed by Curse. Of course, Ho-Oh shouldn't subject itself to being badly poisoned; albeit, it doesn't matter entirely if it does. Due to Regenerator's potency and the addition of Celesteela onto the team, Ho-Oh can still stall out defensive Pokémon while inflicted with the same ailment. Its EVs allow it to live a +2 Thunder from Xerneas, and abuse the remaining 208 EVs to hit as hard as possible. This is basically standard however.
As I've made no secret previously, I am quite biased towards this Pokémon. It is so simple to abuse, and while the requirement for hazard removal is always more evident when Ho-Oh is on the build, the ability for the most common Pokémon in the game to run it and the lack of limitations with Support Arceus in Anything Goes, hazard removal isn't exactly difficult to come by. This does open another can of worms though. Gothitelle's effectiveness is extremely noticeable due to the reliance on Support Arceus formes removing Stealth Rock. This is the team's only blatant weakness though. Gothitelle's unpopularity in the USUM metagame makes this weakness much less obvious.
celesteela @ leftovers | impish nature
beast boost | 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spd
Celesteela is an incredibly potent metagame threat. Its defensive typing is not only superb but when considering its stats, it is difficult not to support this notion. The lack of Fire-type attackers in tandem with Celesteela's ability to whittle down opposing Pokémon's health while simultaneously regaining health displays in nature how it can prove effective and switch in on almost anything and recover what it lost in the following turn. It also gives the team a solid switchin to the ubiquitous Toxic, whilst avoiding the common Ground Arceus as a staple solution for Steel-types. Celesteela weirdly has little to no issue straight up walling many offensive builds. HO often must rely on strong special attackers like Life Orb Yveltal or super-effective coverage like V-create Mega Rayquaza to somehow overwhelm Celesteela. While Balance obviously has Ho-Oh and Primal Groudon, these issues are mitigated thanks to the remainder of the team.
Heavy Slam is generally the attack of choice on AG Celesteela due to its large mass and effectiveness against common types within the metagame. Paired with two forms of residual damage in Leech Seed and Toxic, Celesteela is only managed effectively defensively by Ferrothorn and Steel-types with recovery. These two moves perform most of the work against opponents, with Heavy Slam only supporting its surpassing of certain threats. Protect aids longevity and helps Celesteela stall out a myriad of opponents.
groudon-primal @ red orb | sassy nature
desolate land | 248 hp / 8 def / 252 spd
Groudon-Primal, as previously stated, as an important Pokémon to consider when building Balance due to its ability to check Primal Kyogre and with Rest, Water Arceus as well. These two are major threats to Balance otherwise. Chansey is also an option; however, due to the increased prevalence of mixed Primal Kyogre and Z-Geomancy Xerneas, it isn't always the best answer. Primal Groudon isn't a complete momentum kill like Chansey, and allows a better answer against Dusk Mane Necrozma, although Celesteela adequately checks it usually.
Precipice Blades and Lava Plume are incredibly useful for any support Primal Groudon due to the prevalence of Steel-types in addition to the abundance of threats these two moves super-effectively hit. Roar prevents Geomancy Xerneas and other set-up sweepers from being major issues. Rest gives Primal Groudon the ability to last longer in the match, preventing a few Primal Kyogre Ice Beams from knocking it out, while allowing it to check the majority of support Arceus formes.
arceus-rock @ stone plate | timid nature
multitype | 248 hp / 8 spa / 252 spe
Rock Arceus is a splendid addition to the team due to its ability to effectively check V-Create Mega Rayquaza and Ho-Oh without much effort. I opted for a standard Timid Rock Arceus to be a more effective answer to mixed Mega Rayquaza sets as well as avoiding offensive Yveltal from threatening it. Support Arceus formes are amazing in general but Rock Arceus is usually somewhat underrated. It stands as potentially the best Mega Rayquaza check at the moment since Choice Band usage has died down and Earthquake doesn't OHKO nor exist often. This in tandem with Celesteela provides a solid backbone against Mega Rayquaza that most teams don't bother for.
Judgment is Rock Arceus's prime method of doing damage on any set, and Recover is obviously a necessity; however, the other two moves are always up for debate. On this team, Rock Arceus acts as the team's Stealth Rock setter, due to the inability to fit it anywhere else. This isn't detrimental though, as Rock Arceus is a fine rock setter. In addition to this, in order to avoid Baton Pass teams from doing well, I've opted for Perish Song as well. If this doesn't see much use or Baton Pass isn't a worry for you due to decreased usage or knowledge of opponent, Will-O-Wisp is also an option to disable Mega Rayquaza regardless of its set.
arceus-fairy @ pixie plate | bold nature
multitype | 248 hp / 172 def / 88 spe
Finally, Fairy Arceus sees the spotlight as an important member of the team. It checks Zygarde-Complete, Marshadow, Dark Arceus and Yveltal easily, while giving the team a solid answer to defensive Primal Groudon, which it previously lacked. The EVs allow Fairy Arceus to perfectly check Zygarde Complete while outspeeding Modest Life Orb Yveltal to check that efficiently as well; however, Rock Arceus accomplishes the latter function a lot better. Balance's access to support Fairy Arceus ensures that Marshadow is virtually never a threat if it's present. Its splashability and the decreased usage of Shadow Tag users makes it evidently quite potent.
Judgment allows Fairy Arceus to surpass the aforementioned threats while also ensuring it isn't completely passive. Toxic enables Fairy Arceus to stall out Primal Groudon, opposing Support Arceus and even Ho-Oh if Rock Arceus is heavily impaired. Defog is allocated to Fairy Arceus as it has the free slot and isn't a bad Defog user. Recover is a necessity for longevity and allows Fairy Arceus to check many potent threats throughout the course of a match.
Threats.
Gothitelle is easily the Pokémon that this team has trouble with most. As is with most Balance teams, support Arceus formes cannot deal with Gothitelle, hence playing both support Arceus formes cautiously is a requirement versus it. This is not always an option however. Fortunately, the team doesn't immediately lose to Marshadow if Fairy Arceus is removed. Choice Scarf Rayquaza is a solid answer and Ho-Oh is as well, assuming Marshadow doesn't run Rock Tomb. Since hazard removal has then been eliminated, Stealth Rock becomes a massive issue for the two remaining answers.
Tyranitar isn't a threat by itself as Celesteela, Fairy Arceus and Primal Groudon all deal with it effectively; however, when present on Stall, the team's primary stallbreaker Curse Ho-Oh is unable to really dent the opposing team. This means that Tyranitar must be heavily impaired prior to Ho-Oh setting up, and hence breaking stall isn't as simple as it would be if Tyranitar wasn't present. Tyranitar can actually be dealt with by Ho-Oh depending on the set. If Tyranitar opts for Toxic, Ho-Oh has no chance; however, it can easily survive multiple Rock Tombs after a couple boosts. The same thing can be said about Rock Arceus, but to a lesser degree due to it not really existing on Stall.
Replays.
(View replays by pressing the individual images.)
Importable.
Access the team here!
Conclusion.
In summary, I'm quite content with the outcome of this team. It's been a solid go-to team for the majority of SM, and then again with a couple of adjustments once the USUM metagame dropped. It has proven successful in the tournaments scene and in casual matches, it has beaten offense, balance and stall repeatedly. It's overall a quite solid build and I'm very happy with it.
I'm not going to do shoutouts, due to me tagging hundreds of people recently, but special thanks to Thimo for suggesting Toxic on Rayquaza. Finally, thank you to everyone for making my experience on this website special, I truly appreciate it <3
Gothitelle is easily the Pokémon that this team has trouble with most. As is with most Balance teams, support Arceus formes cannot deal with Gothitelle, hence playing both support Arceus formes cautiously is a requirement versus it. This is not always an option however. Fortunately, the team doesn't immediately lose to Marshadow if Fairy Arceus is removed. Choice Scarf Rayquaza is a solid answer and Ho-Oh is as well, assuming Marshadow doesn't run Rock Tomb. Since hazard removal has then been eliminated, Stealth Rock becomes a massive issue for the two remaining answers.
Tyranitar isn't a threat by itself as Celesteela, Fairy Arceus and Primal Groudon all deal with it effectively; however, when present on Stall, the team's primary stallbreaker Curse Ho-Oh is unable to really dent the opposing team. This means that Tyranitar must be heavily impaired prior to Ho-Oh setting up, and hence breaking stall isn't as simple as it would be if Tyranitar wasn't present. Tyranitar can actually be dealt with by Ho-Oh depending on the set. If Tyranitar opts for Toxic, Ho-Oh has no chance; however, it can easily survive multiple Rock Tombs after a couple boosts. The same thing can be said about Rock Arceus, but to a lesser degree due to it not really existing on Stall.
Replays.
(View replays by pressing the individual images.)
Importable.
Access the team here!
Conclusion.
In summary, I'm quite content with the outcome of this team. It's been a solid go-to team for the majority of SM, and then again with a couple of adjustments once the USUM metagame dropped. It has proven successful in the tournaments scene and in casual matches, it has beaten offense, balance and stall repeatedly. It's overall a quite solid build and I'm very happy with it.
I'm not going to do shoutouts, due to me tagging hundreds of people recently, but special thanks to Thimo for suggesting Toxic on Rayquaza. Finally, thank you to everyone for making my experience on this website special, I truly appreciate it <3
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