Team Preview
Emoxu9 seems to have taken some motivation from Skimmy's team last week and is running an Ekiller BO. I get the feeling that this is likely normalium-z Arceus. Sami brought it last week in NDFL and while it has its uses, I'm really not a fan of it outside of HO and it is not something that should be used regularly even there. Zygarde is likely Dragon Dance as Emoxu9 is a big fan, but Coil is fine here. Eternatus is most certainly the wallbreaker set and Yveltal feels like it should be Choice Scarf. Zacian-C definitely needs Play Rough on this team and Primal Groudon obviously has rocks, but utility SD or plain defensive makes sense here.
Fogbounds team baffles me and the more I think about it the more confused I get. However, that can be discussed below. This is a hazard stack team, but Primal Groudon could be RP 3A for some anti offense support. Given how much this team despises Life Orb Yveltal MMY seems more likely to be Ice Beam as Arceus-Dark is managable. Arceus-Fairy seems more likely to be Stealth Rock, but Wisp seems alright here. Zygarde is probably defensive and Coil Dragon Tail seems quite nice. I'd be surprised if Eternatus doesn't have Toxic Spikes and Gholdengo is probably Tera Fairy but Tera Dark can catch a Marshadow off guard.
Matchup [80-20 for Emoxu9]
The main reason this isn't more slanted in Emoxu's favour is that I'm assuming that there has to something I'm not recognizing at preview. I'm assuming there are techs on a lot of stuff because otherwise this team kinda loses to nearly everything. That is a general thing and I'm not to sure how Fogbound wins this outside of Zygarde going hero mode. Emoxu's team isn't weak to it on paper, but Zygarde can win if it gets a free Coil or as a last mon scenario.
Ultimately its hard to see many scenarios where Emoxu9 doesn't sweep with their Zygarde or Eternatus. Gholdengo might get a Thunder Wave off on something and MMY is unlikely to find the turn it needs to Nasty Plot to maybe become an actual threat before it gets KOd by Zacian-C which should also handle Arceus-Fairy. Even if Ekiller is meh Taunt still prevents Zygarde from boosting up. Nothing really 100% goobs at preview, but Fogbounds team just does not seem difficult to handle offensively at all.
Game
Emoxu opens with Primal Groudon against Fogbound's Eternatus which immediately releases a Devastating Drake before getting OHKOed by Precipice Blades. MMY comes in and reveals Ice Beam to finish off Primal Groudon and Yveltal scares it out into Arceus-Fairy and Foul Play reveals it isn't Life Orb which is good news for Fogbound who then makes a good double to position Zygarde in front of Zacian-C. It then easily eats a Play Rough and cripples it with Glare. Primal Groudon switches in and trades most of its HP for Stealth Rock before deleting Zacian-C with Overheat. Emoxu then sends in Eternatus to get a free Meteor Beam which KOs Primal Groudon and is promptly OHKOed by MMY.
Arceus comes in and gets a free Swords Dance as MMY is scared out. Gholdengo then comes in and Tera Darks on the Shadow Claw and doesn't KO. Fogbound has had no time on their timer this entire game, but unless this Gholdengo is Max SpA modest it isn't OHKOing Arceus and indeed Arceus is left at 1% after Make it Rain. It then reveals normalium-Z and OHKOes Gholdengo. It then boosts up to +4 on Zygarde as it Rests, but Sleep Talk is revealed and Zygarde KOs Arceus with Thousand Arrows.
Emoxu's own Zygarde comes in and Dragon Dances as Fogbound switches to MMY and Tera Grounds to survive Ice Beam while getting a second Dragon Dance as Fogbound opts to preserve MMY and switches to their own Zygarde. I'm not sure why this came out other than timer reasons. Sacrificing MMY maybe enables Fogbound to somehow win and prevents Emoxu9's Zygarde from using Fogbounds own Zygarde as further setup fodder and ending the game.
Additional Thoughts
Arceus-Ground fits a lot better on Emoxu's team imo. This team autoloses to stall regardless so that isn't a concern. These are nitpicks and I at least get the reasoning of wanting to OHKO Zygarde at +2 even if I don't think it makes a difference. Fogbounds team however, confuses me the more I think about it. Some stuff makes sense individually, but the team really doesn't as a whole. I'm not really sure what inspired this Zygarde set beyond paralyzing some stuff for a MMY endgame. Yeah Zygarde is a physical behemoth, but not without a boost.
Team Preview
Skimmys team last week was a pretty cool spin on offense that had some innovations. This one is also off the beaten path and probably a HO. Lead Deoxys-A is set that is rarely seen, but is really good in the right matchup while still usually getting at least a hazard. This seems more likely to be a Deoxys-A HO than an offense/BO with a random Zekrom. This team seems built to ensure that Play Rough TB Ground Zacian-C is as riskless as possible. Zekrom normally runs Dragonium-Z but Skimmy has shown that they're comfortable experimenting with new stuff.
Zuz notably has a non Arceus team, something that has happened surprisingly often in both NDPL and NDFL so far. Good teams without Arceus exist, but they've been rather unimpressive so far. Given that this is apparently an Emoxu9 team, Yveltal is almost certainly Choice Scarf after Arceus-Dark showed that it doesn't beat Dragon Dance Zygarde last week even with Tera Fairy and Choice Scarf Yveltal annoys it a lot more and provides an emergency Zacian-C check which this team needs for TB Ground. Primal Groudon is defensive. I'm not really sure about Lunala as a defensive set sort of works here as a catch all one time check to a lot of stuff. Zygarde is likely Dragon Dance. Eternatus can be anything, but given this is an Emoxu9 team it is probably wallbreaker. Zacian-C is likely Play Rough CC.
Matchup [70-30 for Zuzhouwawa ]
Skimmy is going to have a rough time muscling through Zuz's team. There isn't really anything that seems prone to go crazy outside of Zacian-C if it wins a speed tie or Deoxys-A if it is LO instead of a lead, but a lead Deoxys-A with Rock Polish Primal Groudon is scarier. Zekrom sort of maybe does something, but two Ground-types + Zacian-C means skimmy will have to click like a god. Arceus-Ground will probably KO something, but is going to have difficulty finding an opportunity. A path to victory seems most likely with Primal Groudon cleaning up late-game.
If Zuz can find a turn with Zygarde it has a pretty good chance of winning on the spot or causing enough damage that anything else will easily clean up. Lunala is a safety blanket against most mons on Skimmy's team if it is defensive, but if it is offensive it is likely to be little more than a sac. Zacian-C can be a big threat to sweep or clean, but doesn't have any entry points outside of Yveltal. If Zuz can get Eternatus in front of Yveltal and KO it with Meteor Beam it will be breaking a lot of holes.
Game
The game begins with Deoxys-A facing down Yveltal. Yveltal reveals it is indeed Scarf and Deoxys-A airmails it to my thanksgiving table next weekend with Counter. Zacian-C comes in and reveals Behemoth Blade to KO Deoxys-A after it gets up rocks. Skimmy sends in Primal Groudon which Precipice Blades into an incoming Zygarde which reveals that it definitely is Dragon Dance. It survives another as it Dragon Dances and Thousand Arrows fails to KO as Primal Groudon Rock Polishes and KOs Zygarde. Lunala comes in and reveals that it is Heavy Duty-Boots which makes me wonder why it didn't come in earlier. Primal Groudon reveals Overheat to break the Shadow Shield and goes down to Moongeist Beam.
Skimmy sends in Yveltal which scares it out and Zacian-C comes in on Knock Off and very luckily misses a Heat Wave which would have ended the game on the spot and gets a Free SD. It then Tera Fights and OHKOes Yveltal with Close Combat. Zacian-C then gets a very luckyl against Arceus-Ground wins a speed tie against Skimmys Zacian-C and sweeps.
Additional Thoughts
Frankly this was a robbery. If Heat Wave connects Zacian-C is OHKOed and I don't see how Zuz wins this. Then it gets a very lucky roll against Arceus-Ground which would otherwise Dragon Dance and reverse sweep. It then wins a speed tie against Skimmy's Zacian-C. I'm not really sold that Zuz needed Lunala on this team. Their team could have won with good play, but it would have been nice to see that rather than luck. I don't have any thoughts about Skimmys team outside of thinking about how Adem probably had a smug look on her face seeing Zekrom lose. Lead Deoxys-A is cool and deleting Yveltal with Counter was dope. I've quite liked the teams Skimmy has brought the last two weeks.
Team Preview
I quite like both of these teams at preview. Yveltal is difficult to fit on Alomomola teams, but LO Sucker Punch with either Tera Poison or Tera Flying are quite nice as long as the team is solid against Calm Mind Arceus-Dark and wallbreaker Eternatus. It ends up being Choice Scarf which really doesn't fit well on Alomomola structures in my opinion. Given that Bob is supporting Skyview my gut instinct is that this team is likely taking more of a hazard stacking approach, but it doesn't need to. Rock Tomb on Primal Groudon seems pretty likely since Calm Mind Arceus formes look to be pretty annoying. Giratina-O should be special on this team. Zygarde could be either Dragon Dance or Coil depending on concerns about Marshadow. A faster Calm Mind Tera Poison Arceus-Fairy makes the most sense to me, but rocks works well with a more offensively inclined Primal Groudon. Alomomola should be mixed def.
I quite like ShieldPoke's team as well. Given Adem's influence I think it is likely SD Utility Primal Groudon and Tera Fairy Coil Zygarde because otherwise this team has pretty big issues with Dragon Dance Zygarde. Given that, a defensive Ho-Oh being able to phase Zygarde while providing extra insurance against Zacian-C seems likely. Adem loves Toxic Spikes Drag-Z Eternatus so it is probably that, but defensive boots for Sticky Web or wallbreaker to help against opposing balances is pretty good as well. Marshadow is Choice Band for the immediate power and better revenge killing.
Matchup [65-35 for
]
Shield's biggest threats are a potential Dragon Dance Zygarde and the Eternatus. However, it is going to be difficult for Shield to break through this team due to Giratina-O. Once it finds a safe turn to Tera it is going to be very hard to wear down as it isn't to bothered by much regardless of whether it is Tera Steel or Poison. It should switch into Eternatus well enough post Tera that keeping it healthy with Alomomola isn't a huge issue and Zygarde can defensively handle Marshadow and Primal Groudon without Tera. Everything depends on sets of course, but statusing everything doesn't seem overly difficult and Hex is kinda scary.
Game
ShieldPoke leads with Arceus-Fairy, indicating Stealth Rock over Calm Mind while Skyview leads with Primal Groudon. Overheat damage suggests that this Arceus-Fairy likely has little to no SpD investment. Primal Groudon lands a Toxic on the Recover and then gets up Stealth Rock on Zygarde switching in. Personally, I think you double Toxic here or double as Shield's team isn't bothered by rocks and they are going to be fairly easily removed. Alomomola comes in as Zygarde Glares, revealing it is defensive.
It unfortunately full paras as Eternatus comes in and Flip Turns out as a Toxic Spike goes down and Primal Groudon is put on something of a timer. Skyview then decides to try and catch something with Giratina-O, which ends up getting blown up by Devastating Drake. I'm not really sure why this risk was taken. Yveltal is later revealed to be Choice Scarf and if you're going to switch out to something that seems to be the play as it isn't very important in this game. The game was essentially won on this turn and playing it out is essentially going to be a (long) formality.
Primal Groudon comes back in and scares out Eternatus, but Skyview makes a good double and Arceus-Fairy finds itself in front of Zygarde. It then reveals Calm Mind as Primal Groudon switches in and Yveltal comes in and the Rock Tomb damage reveals that it is likely Choice Scarf. It then U-turns out into Alomomola which absorbs a Toxic.
Alomomola tries to Flip Turn but loses the coinflip and instead allows Stealth Rock to go up for free. I think this is the turn where I joined the game. Eternatus then comes in and Alomomola Flip Turns into Primal Groudon who is then knocked by Draco Meteor. Skyview does what they can to try and claw back, but at some point they opted to play out the entire game rather than forfeiting, drawing this game out to 250 turns. I think I stopped paying attention somewhere around turn 90-100.
Additional Thoughts
This game was decided on turn 8 despite it lasting 250 turns. That ShieldPoke was unable to break the team despite Giratina-O being eliminated and thus a Toxic Spike + Rocks being up the entire time really shows how important it was. I don't think it mattered whether or not Giratina-O was Tera Steel or Poison as the Toxic immunity and not being weak to Dragon would have been enough. An unboosted Flamethrower is bouncing off and Zygarde + Alomomola should wall Primal Groudon until the end of time. The primary issue with the team is the inclusion of Choice Scarf Yveltal.
That set is a necessary evil on a lot of offensive teams due to the role compression it provides, but it is anti-synergistic on Alomomola teams. Part of what makes them so good is their flexibility in-game to work towards their endgame. Choice Scarf Yveltal doesn't help with the biggest issue Alomomola teams tend to have which is strong special attackers. Being both choice locked and rocks weak is a pretty big issue as it will often be a momentum sap. Life Orb Yveltal is weaker to rocks than almost any mon, but it not having to switch into much helps alleviates when it can be brought in via Flip Turn and is incredibly difficult to switch into defensively. Nothing on Shield's team switches into it for free. The two mons which sort of do, Arceus-Fairy and Eternatus, are both forced to Recover essentially everytime they switch into Oblivion Wing. Taunt also plays a pretty big role in preserving progress. The speed control is quite nice, but the one mon where it really makes a difference, Ultra Necrozma, forces Yveltal to tera anyways so handling that via a tera somewhere (Mola is probably Tera Dark) is definitely not worth not a whole slot. The more I think about it I'm not sure what Choice Scarf Yveltal is bringing to the table over Ditto on this team. A defensive set with Sucker Punch and Tera Ghost, Poison, or Steel could work as well.
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