Other Metagames Its skill I swear! (AG RMT peak #1)

QT · Apr 19, 2016

It’s skill I swear!

Welcome to my 360 Post rmt. In this time on smogon, I’ve come full circle, from someone who made barely helpful posts because of lacking knowledge to someone who (surprisingly) actually know what they are talking about. I wanted to make a post as a sort of marker, and since my main skill is battling it had to be here. Of course, you're not here for that, so without further ado…

Teambuilding Process!

I started off with a generic arc spam I was working on with my friend, megaqwer :D. I had 2 ekillers, a Arceus-Fairy, an Arceus-Dragon, Mray, and a Darkrai.

Of course, he didn’t like it. My team was fairly meh back then, and it really showed. He suggested I swap out an ekiller for yveltal so I had a better matchup vs opposing arcspam, as I almost invariably lost.

From there, we still weren’t satisfied. Arceus Dragon+Darkrai+Mray was just stacking fairy weaknesses to be obnoxious, so I changed over to Primal groudon.

Of course, It didn’t fit my team at all. We experimented with Poisonceus, Ho-Oh, and even Amoongus before finally deciding on Steel Arceus.

From there, I did a lot of laddering, reaching into the high 1700’s. At this point, my team was starting to stall- Steelceus had far too many weaknesses to common mons and no way to combat them. From here, my path was obvious: Klefki

With that change, I did a lot better, even entering the 1800s on multiple occasions. I stayed like this for a while, straying in and out of what might be considered a good ladder position until I fought TheLinearCurve. Needless to say, he completely destroyed me, but not without giving me the opportunity to scout his team. I immediately fell in love with Bulky-Offensive Fairyceus, and while I used a different set it easily filled the whole in my team, allowing me to peak

The team in depth!

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Fairy Arceus (Arceus) @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 24 HP / 90 Def / 180 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Toxic
- Defog
- Recover

You wouldn’t believe just how many times this guy has saved me. No matter the matchup, he’s always got a use, from endlessly pivoting to beat klefki to serving as the closest thing MRay has to a counter. The evs are a custom spread- It outpaces jolly MRay by 2 points, the minimum possible; it ohko’s uninvested mray, and it lives a +1 adamant dragon ascent 100% bof th. Toxic lets me pressure stall, ho-oh, and primal groudon, while defog removes any hazards that cripple my hazard weak team.

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Swag Keys (Klefki) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 250 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
- Swagger/Spikes
- Foul Play

The swagplay itself, Klefki is perhaps the most important member of my team. While it rarely does anything by itself, It sets the way for sweeps and cripples common sweepers such as Xerneas, who otherwise destroys my team. Thunder wave support is huge, and swagger allows me to set up on many special attackers after they KO klefki. I have had a lot of success with spikes as well- The ability to pressure pdon every time it tries to sponge a thunder wave is huge, and very few people expect you to set up hazards on their passive Klefki wall.

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Trust (Yveltal) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Roost

Besides being one of the best Extreme Killer Arceus check in the game, Yveltal is an amazing blanket wall and general crippler. Most of the tier hates having their items knocked off, especially lum berries, while foul play destroys offense. This also forms a neat core with fairyceus, as together they destroy any Klefki ever made and allow me to not have to be afraid of 6 key teams. Sucker punch is great for the mindgames as well- when they try and abuse the free setup turn, they can be destroyed by foul play.

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Gottagofast (Arceus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

At the heart of every offense team their is an Arceus, and that Arceus knows extreme speed. There are very few teams that aren't improved by an Arceus form, and mine is no exception. Normal Arceus is honestly the best pokemon in the metagame right now, between its ability to make opponents guess at its set, power, and great coverage options. I use a somewhat rare life orb variant, but the extra power is completely worth the lack of lum almost all the time. It also helps that people are reluctant to use status until you reveal your moves and item.

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Rayquaza-Mega @ Lum Berry
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Dragon Dance
- V-create
- Extreme Speed

While completely standard, this Pokemon is an amazing wincon is given half a chance to set up. even without that, however, it completely savages half the teams in the metagame. It also has great synergy with my Klefki, as thunder wave lets it set up more safely and spikes let it gain crucial OHKOs on common answers such as fairy Arceus. V-Create is there so this doesn't autolose to skarmory, although earthquake might be workable to beat things like Klefki without lowing my speed stat.

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Skill (Darkrai) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 196 Def / 60 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Void
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse

The epitome of skill, darkrai, rolls over unsuspecting (and even some suspecting) teams. The evs allow me to live to lum espeed, twice, 100% of the time, after rocks- or a +2 espeed. People always expect to just roll over darkrai, so its always a surprise when darkrai lives the second hit and puts them to sleep. You have to play aggressively with sub, however, as magic coat ruins dreams. If you do manage to get a sub up, its practically gg- they arent getting bye without multiple sacks.

Shoutouts!

nv n_v
Dr. Phd. Bj I'm not naming one after you this time
urkerab Hey :)
Infernerd nou
Megaqwer :D
Om Room Its finally here
Platina Kirin
Ransei >cant decide on avi
Salamencizer heya (inb4 abbysal bot)
zangooser come back on ladder :(
Naruto94 Hiya :)

DEGWho even is Sarii, anyway?
Hungrysage
T-Hunterstorm More like T-Haxerstorm tbh
Megazard Creator of great CTs
Gunnerrohan
Hexandwhy I will always remember the kunc game mid DEG battle.
Black Schatten Heat stalltwo
Thetiksisbranch Sorry about the ladder snipes
Thimo Plz no spiritomb

Unfixable Heat ice beam freezes
Sanjay.
The Immortal
Eevee General
rumplestiltskin
DTK
Kingslayer
Lcass
Pikachuun
glyx

imas234 Model User
Snaquaza Got me into oms w/ inheritance
Ghoul King Has both Quantity and Quality
Jajoken 10/10 best poster

Peak!

http://imgur.com/5DUJzVd

Importable!

Fairy Arceus (Arceus) @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 24 HP / 90 Def / 180 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Toxic
- Defog
- Recover

Skill (Darkrai) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 196 Def / 60 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Void
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse

Rayquaza-Mega @ Lum Berry
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Dragon Dance
- V-create
- Extreme Speed

Gottagofast (Arceus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Trust (Yveltal) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Roost

Swag Keys (Klefki) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 250 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
- Swagger
- Foul Play

QT · Apr 19, 2016

Double post because I cannot into tagging:

nv
Dr. Phd. BJ
urkerab
InfernapeTropius11
megaqwer:D
OM room
Platina Kirin
Ransei
Salamencizer
Zangooser
Naruto94
Dream Eater Gengar
TheHungrySage
HunterStorm
Megazard
Gunner Rohan
hexandwhy
Black Schatten
TheTiksiBranch
Thimo
unfixable
Sanjay.
The Immortal
Eevee General
Rumplestiltskin
Deathly ♛The King
Kingslayer2779
Lcass4919
Pikachuun
imas234
Snaquaza
Ghoul King
Jajoken

sashimi9999 · Apr 19, 2016

Hey Quantum Tesseract, very nice team you have there! There's no glaring weaknesses, only a few minor things (6 Lum E-Killer seems difficult, but no serious player runs that). Giratina seems threatening, however, as he walls your two main sweepers fairly well, and the GiraBliss core can, with some additional team support, stall out your entire team. To better handle this, I propose two potential changes:

1. Stone Edge --> Shadow Claw on Arceus. Shadow Claw allows you to potentially beat Giratina, but, as you use Life Orb, Will-o-Wisp kinda ruins you. I also realize that, as your team has no Stealth Rocks, Ho-Oh can be a huge threat with his notorious power and longevity.

To keep Arceus as your primary Ho-Oh check, I propose this as a second option.

2. V-Create --> Draco Meteor on Mega Rayquaza. Even uninvested, Draco Meteor deals huge damage to Giratina. Since Dragon Ascent lowers your defenses, Giratina can deal good damage back with Dragon Tail, and force you to take Rocks damage again.

These are both entirely optional, as you have other ways of playing around Giratina as well, but he just stood out to me because he beats both your main sweepers fairly well. Other than that, your team looks great! Congratulations on the peak, and keep up AG!

Chloe · Apr 19, 2016

sashimi9999, I honestly don't see how Giratina is that great of a threat to the team. He has Fairy Arceus, Knock Off Yveltal and Darkrai which all just screw it over. Also Shadow Claw from Arceus won't do anywhere near enough to Giratina do be considered useful damage. Also, replacing V-create with Draco Meteor is somewhat useless, and if he does decide to do so, running it over Dragon Dance would be a better idea, as dancing for the two moves is seen as redundant especially in such a metagame where all coverage counts.

Nice team Mr.P11. For just starting the metagame, it's great to see that you've grasped it very quickly and are running actual sets that work together. Overall it's a solid team, but here's a few suggestions.

1) You seem to be incredibly Darkrai weak, with only one solution in Lum MegaRay, and something in Klefki and Darkrai n_n if I'm being lenient. You definitely need a more solid solution to it, which is why I'd suggest running Sleep Talk Klefki. I know you stated Klefki was your most important member, but you can still cripple Xerneas this way, and run Swagger if you aim to achieve a similar feat. Here's a set if needed:

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SpA / 136 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sleep Talk

The spike setting capabilities aren't really required, however a rock setter would be beneficial to your team.

2) Running three Dark attacks on Yveltal isn't recommended due to the missed utility against Fairies and many CM Arceus formes, I would recommend Taunt > Knock Off, as it allows you to disable Giratina, an apparent threat to your team. You also get 6-0d by opposing Stone Edge ExtremeKiller if they get lucky, you could run Charti but Fairy and Klef might save you if desperate. Also it isn't common, since everyone runs Shadow Claw <_<.

You do have a problem switching in on Ho-Oh, but you can play around this with this /skill/ you speak of.
Nice team and grats on peak which I can't see :(

QT · Apr 19, 2016

sashimi9999 said:
Hey Quantum Tesseract, very nice team you have there! There's no glaring weaknesses, only a few minor things (6 Lum E-Killer seems difficult, but no serious player runs that). Giratina seems threatening, however, as he walls your two main sweepers fairly well, and the GiraBliss core can, with some additional team support, stall out your entire team. To better handle this, I propose two potential changes:

1. Stone Edge --> Shadow Claw on Arceus. Shadow Claw allows you to potentially beat Giratina, but, as you use Life Orb, Will-o-Wisp kinda ruins you. I also realize that, as your team has no Stealth Rocks, Ho-Oh can be a huge threat with his notorious power and longevity.

To keep Arceus as your primary Ho-Oh check, I propose this as a second option.

2. V-Create --> Draco Meteor on Mega Rayquaza. Even uninvested, Draco Meteor deals huge damage to Giratina. Since Dragon Ascent lowers your defenses, Giratina can deal good damage back with Dragon Tail, and force you to take Rocks damage again.

These are both entirely optional, as you have other ways of playing around Giratina as well, but he just stood out to me because he beats both your main sweepers fairly well. Other than that, your team looks great! Congratulations on the peak, and keep up AG!

Thank you for commenting on my RMT :)
As Zangooser has said, however, Giratina is not the main threat to my team at this point- 4/6 of my mons wall it, and 3 of them outright beat it. Still, I'll keep this under advisement if I start losing battles.

Zangooser said:
sashimi9999, I honestly don't see how Giratina is that great of a threat to the team. He has Fairy Arceus, Knock Off Yveltal and Darkrai which all just screw it over. Also Shadow Claw from Arceus won't do anywhere near enough to Giratina do be considered useful damage. Also, replacing V-create with Draco Meteor is somewhat useless, and if he does decide to do so, running it over Dragon Dance would be a better idea, as dancing for the two moves is seen as redundant especially in such a metagame where all coverage counts.

Nice team Mr.P11. For just starting the metagame, it's great to see that you've grasped it very quickly and are running actual sets that work together. Overall it's a solid team, but here's a few suggestions.

1) You seem to be incredibly Darkrai weak, with only one solution in Lum MegaRay, and something in Klefki and Darkrai n_n if I'm being lenient. You definitely need a more solid solution to it, which is why I'd suggest running Sleep Talk Klefki. I know you stated Klefki was your most important member, but you can still cripple Xerneas this way, and run Swagger if you aim to achieve a similar feat. Here's a set if needed:

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SpA / 136 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sleep Talk

The spike setting capabilities aren't really required, however a rock setter would be beneficial to your team.

2) Running three Dark attacks on Yveltal isn't recommended due to the missed utility against Fairies and many CM Arceus formes, I would recommend Taunt > Knock Off, as it allows you to disable Giratina, an apparent threat to your team. You also get 6-0d by opposing Stone Edge ExtremeKiller if they get lucky, you could run Charti but Fairy and Klef might save you if desperate. Also it isn't common, since everyone runs Shadow Claw <_<.

You do have a problem switching in on Ho-Oh, but you can play around this with this /skill/ you speak of.
Nice team and grats on peak which I can't see :(

Lol, rip in my image break. I will fix that asap.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Arceus Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Yveltal: 398-471 (87.4 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO. Yeah, I'm not super worried on that one (it totals up to a 1/5 chance counting in miss), but it can be bad. (Also, both MRay and my ekiller have a shot at removing it, and if its lo for the stone edge rolls they have no Lum vs Keys)
Is Taunt really that good? It mostly hits stall, which Darkrai shits all over with spikes support (admittedly I might be removing that). I suppose its nice for the Fairy Arceus switchins, but it comes at the cost of not beating the stupid double team klefki gimmicks.
On Klefki, that set looks absolutely cash and I'm totally giving that a shot. What does the 120 spa evs allow?

Also, I have tons of skill. How do you think I win all my skill ties and my skill plays? And have you seen my Skill Edge attack? :P

MZ · Apr 19, 2016

I'll throw my support for taunt here, but on Darkrai as well as Yveltal. I think it's inferior in general but that's all you need to go from a godawful ho-oh matchup to one that's poor but a lot more manageable. Plus nasty plot on the defensive set is just eh, if you're sacrificing offensive presence then do it properly. Following that I think you can swap out Stone Edge on Arceus as well, but I'm looking at Return instead. Currently your plan for Clefable + hazard support is hope they assume you're CM/recover/judgement/earth power and not toxic when they see fairyceus click CM (or being really lucky with darkrai). Stone edge is nice to have, but like nasty plot it's just not necessary when, like you said above, Yveltal really isn't too threatening versus this team. And finishing up my trio of small changes, I think you're better off with Jolly Earthquake Megaray over your current version. The reason is basically that Mega Diancie is only checked by the two Arceus formes, one of which isn't faster because you've only opted to run Speed for Megaray (alternatively creep more on fairyceus but I feel like this benefits you more overall). While skarm/ferro/zonger are more annoying, LO ekiller+ray can overload and taunt yveltal comes in handy here, plus spikestack isn't really worrisome when you can spikestack right back with your own klefki while having some pretty threatening mons in the back and 2 flying mons. These changes are kinda small but should significantly improve the matchup versus three fairly threatening mons. I do like the idea of going Sleep Talk Keys as well, my only advice would be to keep spikes over swagger here as I feel u capitalize on them pretty well. This is a pretty solid team, these nitpicks are pretty important to improve some problematic matchups but overall the composition is still pretty effective and I like the core of CM fairyceus+rai right now. Grats on the peak

Other Metagames Its skill I swear! (AG RMT peak #1)

QT

Formerly Quantum Tesseract

QT

Formerly Quantum Tesseract

sashimi9999

Chloe

QT

Formerly Quantum Tesseract

MZ

And now for something completely different