SM Ubers Pheromosa Team

[xapx]

The Team

Frail Bug (Pheromosa) @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Low Kick
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab

My Girlfriend (Tapu Lele) @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness

Ghostly John Cena (Marshadow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- Spectral Thief
- Shadow Sneak

Haunted Spirit (Giratina-Origin) @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roar
- Hex
- Toxic
- Defog

Formed from Poop (Groudon) @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 48 Atk / 216 SpA / 180 SpD / 64 Spe
Mild Nature
- Rock Polish
- Fire Blast
- Precipice Blades
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Metal Cena! (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Tail

Pheromosa: Star of the team

I decided to build around this thing because it is an extremely powerful and fast threat. Its amazing speed allows it to outspeed everything UNBOOSTED in the tier but Deoxys-S (unless you use Ninjask or Scarf Electrode in it, in which case I have nothing to say). Combined with a powerful speed is a powerful Atk/Sp. Atk stat, Pheromosa can be very dangerous when all its checks have been eliminated from the game it is free to sweep.

Frail Bug (Pheromosa) @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Low Kick
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab

This is a set I've taken from Smogon, as it can't really run other sets as its bulk is almost nothing. Poison Jab allows it to hit Fairy Types on the switch-in if they expect you to bring Rapid Spin, Low Kick hits almost anything but ghost types for good damage and Ice Beam is for Salamence-M, Shaymin-S, Landorus and Dragon Types. It also checks Arceus-Dark and somewhat Arceus-Fairy.

Calcs

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Poison Jab vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Xerneas: 192-229 (42.1 - 50.3%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 330-390 (117.4 - 138.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Groudon-Primal: 192-227 (47.6 - 56.3%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

4 SpA Life Orb Pheromosa Ice Beam vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Salamence-Mega: 484-572 (141.5 - 167.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Arceus-Fairy: 211-250 (47.5 - 56.3%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO

4 SpA Life Orb Pheromosa Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Shaymin-Sky: 562-665 (164.8 - 195%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Palkia: 292-344 (90.6 - 106.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

4 SpA Life Orb Pheromosa Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde-Complete: 463-546 (72.7 - 85.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 SpA Life Orb Pheromosa Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Giratina: 182-216 (36.1 - 42.8%) -- 95.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 SpA Life Orb Pheromosa Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Giratina-Origin: 221-263 (50.1 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 248 HP / 56+ Def Arceus-Dark: 432-510 (97.5 - 115.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

Tapu Lele: Psychic Terrian

This is an important mon keep alive until Pheromosa faints. Its Psychic Terrain allows Pheromosa to sweep without having to worry about Priority Moves that cripple or OHKO Pheromosa, as well as check most threats to Pheromosa like Gengar-M and Geomancy Xerneas.

My Girlfriend (Tapu Lele) @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Taunt/Psych Up
- Nature's Madness/Psych Up

Psyshock OHKOs Gengar-Mega as well as hit Specially Defensive Mons for some chip damage. Moonblast is here to check common Scarf Yveltal as well as Palkia, which is a huge pain in the butt with its somewhat bulky stats and only 2 weaknesses. Taunt stops Smeargle and Shuckle from setting up Hazards as well as Geomancy/Z-Geomancy Xerneas, although you should be careful of Smeargle's Nuzzle and Lele doesn't take a +1 Moonblast from 252 SpA Xerneas. Nature's Madness takes a huge chunk of health to switch-ins like Ferrothorn or Groudon-Primal, as well as chip down Xerneas' health. Psych Up steals set up sweeper's boosts, like DDance Salamence or SB Blaziken's Speed, or Xerneas' boosts.

Marshadow: I love this mon!
Marshadow is one of the strongest sweepers in the game without needing boosts. It checks a huge number of top-tier threats in the tier, like Spectral Thieving setup sweepers, cleaning up large amounts of Mons with its Technician Life Orb Shadow Sneak, and being able to absorb Fighting Moves and Kangaskhan-M's Fake Out and Rapid Spins. It's also one of the cutest mons!!!

Ghostly John Cena (Marshadow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- Spectral Thief
- Shadow Sneak

This set checks Ho-oh and Arceus-Steel, Excadrill, Arceus Dark, Setup Sweepers and a bunch of different mons. The other three moves are usually a must on Marshadow, and I'm just not going to explain what it does. It checks mons that Lele cannot, like Ferrothorn, and Ghost Types. Most importantly, it's very versatile in the Uber tier.

Giratina-Origin: You give me shivers
Giratina-O is one of the most annoying mons in the metagame in my opinion. With a high 150 HP stat and decent defensive stats, Giratina can tank any hit from Groudon-P or Ho-oh, as well as being a Defogger. Its ability Levitate gives it a huge advantage as it's immune to Spikes and TSpikes, rendering Suicide Lead Greninja or Webs useless against it. It also has a wonderful movepool to support its defensive stats, and I think this guy deserves a prize in this team.

Haunted Spirit (Giratina-Origin) @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roar
- Hex
- Toxic
- Defog

This set is amazing against most Arceus forms and taking down bulky mons with Toxic+Hex. I find it very annoying to deal with myself, and it's been working very well for me. Marshadow is easily chipped down by Entry Hazards, as well as Pheromosa, as both mons should take the least amount of damage from hazards in order to sweep easily, so Defog in an important move in this team.

Groudon-Primal: Whoa
Groudon-P is one of the best mons in the Ubers tier, as well as being able to check one of the biggest threats to it in the previous generations: Kyogre. With a huge movepool and great bulk as well as a great offensive presence, this is definitely another star of any team.

Formed from Poop (Groudon) @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 48 Atk / 216 SpA / 180 SpD / 64 Spe
Mild Nature
- Rock Polish
- Fire Blast
- Precipice Blades
- Hidden Power [Ice]

With a Rock Polish boost, this set can demolish dragon types like Rayquaza, and OHKO Salamence-Mega. I find this set really annoying, but at the same time it's OHKOed back by Precipice Blades from Opposing Groudon, so it would be best to knock it out first. Fire Blast deals massive damage to Sogaleo,

Calcs

Groudon vs ???
216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Hidden Power Ice vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Salamence-Mega: 344-408 (100.5 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Marshadow: 268-316 (83.4 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Arceus-Steel: 380-450 (99.7 - 118.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Blaziken: 596-704 (198 - 233.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Darkrai: 243-286 (86.4 - 101.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 132+ Def Arceus-Water: 156-184 (35.1 - 41.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Landorus: 420-496 (131.6 - 155.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde-Complete: 328-388 (51.5 - 61%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Fire Blast vs. 184 HP / 0 SpD Metagross-Mega in Harsh Sunshine: 594-702 (171.1 - 202.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Shadow Shield Lunala in Harsh Sunshine: 153-180 (36.7 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

216+ SpA Groudon-Primal Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Lunala in Harsh Sunshine: 306-360 (73.5 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

48 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tyranitar: 408-482 (101.2 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

??? vs Groudon
252+ Atk Solgaleo Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Groudon-Primal: 184-218 (53.9 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Earth Plate Arceus-Ground Judgment vs. 0 HP / 180 SpD Groudon-Primal: 272-324 (79.7 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Gengar-Mega Hex (130 BP) vs. 0 HP / 180 SpD Groudon-Primal: 235-277 (68.9 - 81.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after toxic damage

+1 252+ Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Frustration vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Groudon-Primal: 262-309 (76.8 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 180 SpD Groudon-Primal: 413-486 (121.1 - 142.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Shaymin-Sky Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 180 SpD Groudon-Primal: 221-260 (64.8 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Xerneas Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 180 SpD Groudon-Primal: 261-308 (76.5 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Zygarde-Complete Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Groudon-Primal: 144-170 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Lucario-Mega: John Cena with Metal Body I guess
Lucario-M is disgusting in my opinion. It knocks out most top-tier threats in Ubers, although losing to non-top-tier threats like Father or Magearna.

Metal Cena! (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Tail

We have a really typical set taken from Smogon. There aren't really much Xerneas checks on this team, and this here is it. Iron Tail to do massive damage to Xerneas, and Bullet Punch to finish it off. Close Combat can 2HKO anything that doesn't resist it when +2, and basically that's Lucario for you.

That's the team, and please feel free to yell at me, because I know this team is still badly developed, but I'm still very new to this. Thanks!

 

[Minority]

I don't think that Psychic Terrain is the best way to go about justifying Pheromosa on a team. I haven't seen or been able to build a really strong Tapu Lele team with a Pheromosa on it, and I think that this type of build is something that probably isn't the best idea for a new player to try and tackle, simply due to being an oppressive and nuanced exercise. It would probably be better to either replace Pheromosa with a more justified Psychic Terrain abuser such as Deoxys-A, or to just try and build a team that is able to better justify Pheromosa.

To be more specific about the problems, there are issues with both offensive and defensive synergy for this team. Offensively, this team just isn't as effective as it needs to be. This is a hyper offense team, yet you have no hazards but do run anti-hazard support, displaying that this team is not conducive to breaking as the mons and sets imply. Running two priority users with Psychic Terrain (with a terrain extender no less) is also a conflict of interest. The big picture is that your options for breaking a good defensive team are very limited. While your one setup sweeper, Mega Luke, can be effective vs. certain BOs and balances, it's not going to get very far on its own vs. any worthwhile stall. There's just not much here to really scare defensive teams or command the pace of the game, and that's not even taking the lack of hazards into account.

Defensively, this team is susceptible to a number of anti-HO mons, most notably things like Scarf Yveltal. I also don't consider the proactive defense vs. opposing setup sweepers to be as good as it should be, especially when your own revenge KO ops are hindered by Psychic Terrain. The Gira-O + EV spread feels especially out of place, yielding far too much momentum to the opponent and thereby causing a number of these defensive issues.

To fix these problems the team should be restructured, focusing more on the positives that Pheromosa has to bring, such as being anti-HO, fastmon, Rapid Spin, and having some ops to pivot around. Strip down the build to Pheromosa + P Don, and a Pokemon that has excellent offensive synergy with Pheromosa. From here, the remainder of the team should focus on finding offensive methods to cover Pokemon such as RP and SD P Don, Geo Xern, Darks, SD Arc, etc. Marshadow might be a mon you can keep around, but you have to carefully watch overlap with Pheromosa - if Marsh is doing most of what you'd intend to do with Pheromosa, either you should drop Pheromosa or try to work it with a different partner.

You can PM me on Discord if you want additional advice / reasoning on the team. Good luck.