Sample team Submission - Shell Smash Groudon + recycle leppa Zacian balance
:sv/Groudon-primal: :sv/Zacian: :sv/Arceus: :sv/Audino-mega: :sv/Mewtwo-mega-X: :sv/Muk-alola:
The core idea for this team was running a shell smash sweeper in a format where ability shield + wonder guard would normally render this much less viable. After the second dlc, The format has shifted quite a bit, with neutralizing gas no longer being needed to sweep opponents, and huge power/pure power moldy moves returning to the spotlight.
:sv/Groudon-primal:
Groudon-Primal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Glacial Lance
- Headlong Rush
- Magic Room
the star of the show. Groudon is once again an absurdly powerful threat that rips apart unprepared teams. With a monstrous base 180 atk and a 120bp stab ground move (now with 100% accuracy in headlong rush) this pokemon turns would-be walls into mush. Shell smash is required with tera ground to ohko pokemon like Maudino and Arceus. Glacial lance is there to remove would be checks such as Yveltal. And magic room allows Pdon to sweep without much support from it's team, however it does still have a few counters.
Celesteela - celesteela takes only 65-76% from a +2 glacial lance, so it is important to chip it down or remove it before attempting a don sweep, as it does have the potential to haze or strength sap the damage off.
Prankster haze/strength sap - this combo can be dangerous if Pdon has not set up magic room, and while it doesn't always pose a threat, it still can.
:sv/Zacian:
Zacian @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Revival Blessing
- Recycle
- Lunar Dance
- Last Respects
Revival blessing is what makes this format move, with the ability to fully revive an entire team from almost nothing, leppa berry recycle wonder guards are an important slot to consider on any team. Zacian is able to take much more advantage of this role than something like calyrex-shadow in my opinion. The combination of better defensive typing, better overall bulk, and good offensive stats to take advantage of the occasional last respects, Zacian also has a great speed tier, allowing it to outspeed and threaten most common offensive threats such as MMX, non-wg Kartana, non timid Calyrex-Shadow-Rider, and the rarer Ashgren and Mega-Gengar. Zacian is weak to Sunsteel strike however, which can pose a defensive liability, however tera water is a quick fix option to mitigate that.
:sv/Arceus:
Arceus @ Earth Plate
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
- Judgment
- Mortal Spin
- Sticky Web
- Revival Blessing
Arceus-normal's decent defensive typing combined with its great stats allow for it to be a potent defensive magic bounce pokemon. While certain other forms may offer different uses such as Arceus-grass being immune to spore, or Arceus-steel having more widespread resists, Arceus-normal's immunity to Moongeist beam, Last Respects, and the niche Rage fist are nothing to scoff at. In addition to its good typing, arceus makes great use of it's bulk and decent offensive stats to threaten frailer sweepers that have not set up yet. Arceus can come in, set sticky web, perhaps poison an offensive mon to attempt to force it out, and click judgement for some chip damage. Earth plate was chosen to soft check Pdon, while still threatening Regieleki, Solgaleo, and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Earth plate is also not removable from Arceus, allowing it to safely come in on corrosive gas trapping Regieleki, while also threatening it out. Ability shield is less necessary due to the minimal use of sweepers with status, as many offensive pokemon still suffer from severe 4mss in the current meta. Mortal spin is a more risky option than something like tidy up, however due to the prevalence of Maudino, Zacian, and Ludicolo as defensive pivots, I have not had much trouble keeping hazards off with this set. Tera flying is to surprise MMX and the occasional Mlopunny trying to hit with collision course, as well as being a 1-time hard check to Pdon who just click Headlong rush.
:sv/Audino-mega:
Audino-Mega @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Tidy Up
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
- Baton Pass
Audino-mega is once again a top defensive support pivot. Despite it's weakness to both Gigaton hammer and sunsteel strike, its great immunities, lack of speed, and lack of other widespread weaknesses allow for it to thrive in a meta where positioning is everything. Audino is liable to perish song and taunt trappers, however I really wanted the ability to pass tidy up to a partner, so I decided to take that risk. Audino is running a pretty standard set, with the addition of baton pass over a move like last respects to allow for its partners such as mmx or Pdon to have an easier time taking ko's. Tera water is a pretty basic way to stop sunsteel strike, with the addition of also softchecking Subdon, a moveset that hasn't seen much relevance in recent time, but is still a potent threat.
:sv/Mewtwo-Mega-X:
Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Ability Shield
Ability: Pure Power
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Photon Geyser
- Magical Torque
- Corrosive Gas
- Collision Course
Mewtwo was a top threat before the dlc, and with its new toys in Sunsteel strike and primarily Photon geyser, it has even more potential for damage. Pure power MMX rips through most walls similarly to how it did in gen 7, and with corrosive gas support it can even break more holes for a later Pdon sweep. Magical torque and Collision course allow for mmx to hit Steelix-mega, or psychic resists, the sole exception being muk-alola, which is used to imposter proof this set. Tera psychic is just to add a bit more damage, and could be swapped out for a defensive tera type if you so wished.
:sv/Muk-alola:
Muk-Alola @ Ability Shield
Ability: Wonder Guard
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Revival Blessing
- Lunar Dance
- Last Respects
- Spikes
Muk-Alola is a decent defensive utility pokemon. With it's Immunity to Photon Geyser, and its resist of Moongeist beam and non-weaknesses to darks normal weaknesses of fighting and Fairy. Muk opts for a less passive role than Maud on this team with Last Respects and Spikes to force out opposing MMX not running sunsteel strike or a ground type move, and can then pressure weaker pivots with spikes. Muk imposter proofs one of the teams two offensive threats, so it's important to keep it around when you can. Muk also can act as a nice slow pivot in a pinch, with revival blessing + lunar dance allowing it to heal allies and pivot into a freshly healed one.
Checks and counters.
This team was designed with a slightly obvious weakness that is easily fixed by swapping out one or two of the defensive mons, that being the teams weakness to Sunsteel strike. This team works fine and is great when you play around that, but also gives newer players the opportunity to recognize this and fix it. My recommendation for the best fix would be to replace Maudino with slowbro-mega, or replace Zacian with Greninja-Ash or Zamazenta, as both replacements fill the role of the pokemon they are replacing quite well.
Celesteela -
celesteela, despite being incredibly uncommon, walls this team pretty hard. With it taking not very much damage from both MMX and Pdon. MMX and Pdon can deal significant damage after setup or support from Maud, however neither can Ohko it.
I had a blast making this team, and would hope that some others could get some use out of it. The pokepaste again in case anyone wants a more clear view of it
https://pokepast.es/8d1642198a27210c
Have fun!
