I've been out of the competitive scene for a few years now, but am looking to get a good team together for Regionals. I'd like to say I did a good bit of research and fairly familiarized myself with the meta when making this team, but so far on Battle Spot Rated Battles, I have a losing record of about 6-8 or so, which just doesn't cut it.
Note: All Pokémon are at level 50.
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
Hasty nature
IVs: 30/31/29/31/31/31
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
-Dragon Ascent
-Draco Meteor
-ExtremeSpeed
-Protect
Pretty standard M-Rayquaza here. After mega evolving, Delta Stream protects my 4 Flying-type Pokémon from super-effective attacks. It can also override Primordial Sea and Desolate Land. Dragon Ascent is my main STAB attack, which hits very hard with Life Orb. Draco Meteor is my second, and is one of my best options against Primal Groudon. With the aid of Clefairy's Helping Hand, it's an OHKO. ExtremeSpeed is a nice +2 priority attack that even goes before opponents' Follow Me. Protect allows me to keep M-Rayquaza and its Delta Stream around longer. I chose Hasty as my nature since I have Intimidate to weaken physical attacks.
Ho-Oh @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Careful nature
IVs: 31/30/30/x/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 60 SpD / 12 Spe
-Sacred Fire
-Brave Bird
-Tailwind
-Protect
With its typing and great Special Defense, Ho-Oh is good against the ever-popular Xerneas, and in some cases, Primal Groudon. Ho-Oh can survive Geomancy-boosted Moonblast and hit back hard, and unless Primal Groudon carries a Rock-type attack, it can't do anything against Ho-Oh. Sacred Fire is simply one of the best attacks in the game. Many top threats, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Rayquaza, absolutely hate being Burned, and Fire is a great offensive type, especially with Primal Groudon running around. Brave Bird is mainly for things that resist Fire, such as Primal Groudon and Rayquaza. Safeguard + Lum Berry is for Smeargle, with the added bonus of allowing Thundurus to Swagger Ho-Oh or any of my partners and give them an Attack boost. As for the EVs, they guarantee that Ho-Oh survives a spread Origin Pulse from Primal Kyogre in heavy rain, and M-Kangaskhan's Double-Edge has only a 2% chance to 2HKO after Intimidate. Jibaku came up with the spread 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 4 Spe, but I noticed that 8 of those Def EVs were making no difference in the M-Kangaskhan calculation, so I dumped them into Speed in order to speed creep other 4 Spe base 90s, such as some Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Calm nature
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 4 SpA / 180 SpD / 28 Spe
-Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Swagger
Every team needs some form of speed control, and Thundurus' Thunder Wave has been very valuable to me so far. Thunderbolt is one of my best options against Primal Kyogre and Talonflame. Taunt stops Pokémon like Smeargle and Cresselia. Swagger is mainly to annoy opposing Special Attackers, but as alluded earlier, if Ho-Oh has Safeguard up, I can use it on one of my partners. The EV spread was recommended to me by Kasoman of NuggetBridge. It allows Thundurus to survive a full-power spread Eruption from Primal Groudon, a spread Origin Pulse from Primal Kyogre, a Double-Edge from M-Kangaskhan, and also keeps Primal Groudon's Rock Slide at a 3HKO, the latter two thanks to Sitrus Berry. The Speed EVs are to speed creep opposing bulky Thundurus.
Landorus-T @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly nature
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/31
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Superpower
-Knock Off
I needed a counter for Talonflame, Mega Kangaskhan, and Primal Groudon. The combination of Intimidate and Assault Vest gives Landorus-T a defensive boost on both the physical and special sides. Earthquake and Rock Slide are good spread moves that hit a lot of popular Pokémon, such as Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, Thundurus, and Talonflame for Super-Effective damage. Superpower is a nice move to have against Pokémon like Mega Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn. Knock Off is useful against Gengar and item-dependent Pokémon like Clefairy.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Brave nature
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/0
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 SpD
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Protect
This Ferrothorn is a slightly more offensive reincarnation of a Pokémon I used to a good degree of success in the B/W days of VGC. Ferrothorn is a great answer to 2 of the most popular Pokémon in the metagame: Primal Kyogre and Xerneas. With the 140 Attack EVs, Ferrothorn OHKOs 252 Atk / 252 Spe Xerneas (before Geomancy) and 4 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre with Gyro Ball and Power Whip, respectively. Meanwhile, it can withstand their most powerful attacks thanks to its typing and great natural bulk. Leech Seed and Leftovers help Ferrothorn's longevity.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Calm nature
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
-Icy Wind
-Follow Me
-Helping Hand
-Protect
Clefairy was the last member added to my team. Her moveset is pretty self-explanatory. Icy Wind is my team's second form of speed control. Follow Me redirects attacks to bulky Clefairy, keeping its partner out of harm's way. Helping Hand can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs, such as M-Rayquaza's Draco Meteor against Primal Groudon. Protect keeps Clefairy on the field, keeping the defensive boost of Friend Guard around even longer. The 252 HP and 172 SpD EVs allow Clefairy to survive +2 Moonblast from Timid Xerneas, and also +SpA full-power spread Eruption from Primal Groudon and Water Spout from Primal Kyogre. The remaining EVs were dumped into Defense, which makes Precipice Blades from +Atk Primal Groudon a 2HKO. M-Kangaskhan's Double-Edge has a 18.8% to OHKO, while Life Orb M-Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent has an 87.5% chance. These two can be limited to 2HKOs with Intimidate, though.
---
In theory, I thought I had the big threats covered, but I seem to have a lot of difficulty with Primal Groudon, and to a lesser extent, Xerneas. Primal Groudon's bulk allows it to sponge pretty much everything I can throw at it. I can 2HKO it with Landorus-T's Earthquake or cripple it with M-Rayquaza's Draco Meteor (OHKO if I have Clefairy's Helping Hand), but that's about it. As for Xerneas, I always find myself in situations where I have the OHKO with Gyro Ball, but my opponent switches it out, allowing Xerneas to come back later in the match, which means I have to try to preserve Ferrothorn.
I really think Ho-Oh needs to go. I find myself rarely bringing it, which already puts me in a tight spot since opponents almost always bring both restricted Pokémon for obvious reasons, and I'm left with just M-Rayquaza. I think I could maybe replace him with Primal Kyogre, and put Role Play over Swagger on Thundurus to allow me to win the weather war and OHKO Primal Groudon. I'm also on the fence about Clefairy. My playstyle is more aggressive, and I find myself bringing Clefairy only when there isn't a 4th Pokémon that can well cover the threats on the opposing team.
What do you all think? Regionals is this coming weekend (and I also have a Premier Challenge on Tuesday), so I'd like to get this straightened out ASAP. I'm totally open to Pokémon replacements, but I think that at the very least, M-Rayquaza, Thundurus, and Ferrothorn have earned their stay.
Thanks!
Note: All Pokémon are at level 50.
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
Hasty nature
IVs: 30/31/29/31/31/31
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
-Dragon Ascent
-Draco Meteor
-ExtremeSpeed
-Protect
Pretty standard M-Rayquaza here. After mega evolving, Delta Stream protects my 4 Flying-type Pokémon from super-effective attacks. It can also override Primordial Sea and Desolate Land. Dragon Ascent is my main STAB attack, which hits very hard with Life Orb. Draco Meteor is my second, and is one of my best options against Primal Groudon. With the aid of Clefairy's Helping Hand, it's an OHKO. ExtremeSpeed is a nice +2 priority attack that even goes before opponents' Follow Me. Protect allows me to keep M-Rayquaza and its Delta Stream around longer. I chose Hasty as my nature since I have Intimidate to weaken physical attacks.
Ho-Oh @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Careful nature
IVs: 31/30/30/x/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 60 SpD / 12 Spe
-Sacred Fire
-Brave Bird
-Tailwind
-Protect
With its typing and great Special Defense, Ho-Oh is good against the ever-popular Xerneas, and in some cases, Primal Groudon. Ho-Oh can survive Geomancy-boosted Moonblast and hit back hard, and unless Primal Groudon carries a Rock-type attack, it can't do anything against Ho-Oh. Sacred Fire is simply one of the best attacks in the game. Many top threats, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Rayquaza, absolutely hate being Burned, and Fire is a great offensive type, especially with Primal Groudon running around. Brave Bird is mainly for things that resist Fire, such as Primal Groudon and Rayquaza. Safeguard + Lum Berry is for Smeargle, with the added bonus of allowing Thundurus to Swagger Ho-Oh or any of my partners and give them an Attack boost. As for the EVs, they guarantee that Ho-Oh survives a spread Origin Pulse from Primal Kyogre in heavy rain, and M-Kangaskhan's Double-Edge has only a 2% chance to 2HKO after Intimidate. Jibaku came up with the spread 252 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 4 Spe, but I noticed that 8 of those Def EVs were making no difference in the M-Kangaskhan calculation, so I dumped them into Speed in order to speed creep other 4 Spe base 90s, such as some Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Calm nature
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 4 SpA / 180 SpD / 28 Spe
-Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Swagger
Every team needs some form of speed control, and Thundurus' Thunder Wave has been very valuable to me so far. Thunderbolt is one of my best options against Primal Kyogre and Talonflame. Taunt stops Pokémon like Smeargle and Cresselia. Swagger is mainly to annoy opposing Special Attackers, but as alluded earlier, if Ho-Oh has Safeguard up, I can use it on one of my partners. The EV spread was recommended to me by Kasoman of NuggetBridge. It allows Thundurus to survive a full-power spread Eruption from Primal Groudon, a spread Origin Pulse from Primal Kyogre, a Double-Edge from M-Kangaskhan, and also keeps Primal Groudon's Rock Slide at a 3HKO, the latter two thanks to Sitrus Berry. The Speed EVs are to speed creep opposing bulky Thundurus.
Landorus-T @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly nature
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/31
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Superpower
-Knock Off
I needed a counter for Talonflame, Mega Kangaskhan, and Primal Groudon. The combination of Intimidate and Assault Vest gives Landorus-T a defensive boost on both the physical and special sides. Earthquake and Rock Slide are good spread moves that hit a lot of popular Pokémon, such as Primal Groudon, Ho-Oh, Thundurus, and Talonflame for Super-Effective damage. Superpower is a nice move to have against Pokémon like Mega Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn. Knock Off is useful against Gengar and item-dependent Pokémon like Clefairy.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Brave nature
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/0
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 SpD
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Protect
This Ferrothorn is a slightly more offensive reincarnation of a Pokémon I used to a good degree of success in the B/W days of VGC. Ferrothorn is a great answer to 2 of the most popular Pokémon in the metagame: Primal Kyogre and Xerneas. With the 140 Attack EVs, Ferrothorn OHKOs 252 Atk / 252 Spe Xerneas (before Geomancy) and 4 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre with Gyro Ball and Power Whip, respectively. Meanwhile, it can withstand their most powerful attacks thanks to its typing and great natural bulk. Leech Seed and Leftovers help Ferrothorn's longevity.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Calm nature
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
-Icy Wind
-Follow Me
-Helping Hand
-Protect
Clefairy was the last member added to my team. Her moveset is pretty self-explanatory. Icy Wind is my team's second form of speed control. Follow Me redirects attacks to bulky Clefairy, keeping its partner out of harm's way. Helping Hand can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs, such as M-Rayquaza's Draco Meteor against Primal Groudon. Protect keeps Clefairy on the field, keeping the defensive boost of Friend Guard around even longer. The 252 HP and 172 SpD EVs allow Clefairy to survive +2 Moonblast from Timid Xerneas, and also +SpA full-power spread Eruption from Primal Groudon and Water Spout from Primal Kyogre. The remaining EVs were dumped into Defense, which makes Precipice Blades from +Atk Primal Groudon a 2HKO. M-Kangaskhan's Double-Edge has a 18.8% to OHKO, while Life Orb M-Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent has an 87.5% chance. These two can be limited to 2HKOs with Intimidate, though.
---
In theory, I thought I had the big threats covered, but I seem to have a lot of difficulty with Primal Groudon, and to a lesser extent, Xerneas. Primal Groudon's bulk allows it to sponge pretty much everything I can throw at it. I can 2HKO it with Landorus-T's Earthquake or cripple it with M-Rayquaza's Draco Meteor (OHKO if I have Clefairy's Helping Hand), but that's about it. As for Xerneas, I always find myself in situations where I have the OHKO with Gyro Ball, but my opponent switches it out, allowing Xerneas to come back later in the match, which means I have to try to preserve Ferrothorn.
I really think Ho-Oh needs to go. I find myself rarely bringing it, which already puts me in a tight spot since opponents almost always bring both restricted Pokémon for obvious reasons, and I'm left with just M-Rayquaza. I think I could maybe replace him with Primal Kyogre, and put Role Play over Swagger on Thundurus to allow me to win the weather war and OHKO Primal Groudon. I'm also on the fence about Clefairy. My playstyle is more aggressive, and I find myself bringing Clefairy only when there isn't a 4th Pokémon that can well cover the threats on the opposing team.
What do you all think? Regionals is this coming weekend (and I also have a Premier Challenge on Tuesday), so I'd like to get this straightened out ASAP. I'm totally open to Pokémon replacements, but I think that at the very least, M-Rayquaza, Thundurus, and Ferrothorn have earned their stay.
Thanks!
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