ORAS Ubers Purple Rain

[MisterBobobo]

Also because of the advent of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Uber Metagame is becoming more and more offensive, as powerful wall-breakers are used to revenge-kill bulky tanks like Primal-Groudon and priority users are needed to finish off fast threats like Rayquaza and Mewtwo. That said, stall teams are not as powerful as they were in Diamond and Pearl, even if walls like Chansey and Giratina are sometimes the only way to check sweepers like Darkrai and Arceus. However, balanced ones are probably the most efficient as they can include either powerful sweepers or utility counters.

"Purple Rain" is a typical balanced team which manages to check the majority of the offensive threats and punch holes in the opposing stall and semi-stall teams. In order to make the team both solid and powerful, Overused Pokémon, like Ferrothorn, Clefable and Giratina-O are needed to check threats like Kyogre, Darkrai and Rayquaza. Moreover, since entry hazards users such as Deoxys-A and Groudon can be troublesome and annoying, wall-breakers and anti-leads like Taunt Mewtwo and Magic Coat Arceus are used to prevent the setting of Stealth Rock and especially Toxic Spikes, also breaking common defensive cores. Finally, Choice Scarf Kyogre performs as a great revenge-killer and special sweeper, dealing with faster threats like Ho-Oh and Mewtwo.

Since I was not very confident with stall teams and my playing style was not hyper offensive at all, I was looking for an offensive core that could allow me to face both opposing defensive teams (with moves like Taunt and Magic Coat) and offensive ones (thanks to high Speed and priority moves). Extreme Killer Arceus and All-Out Attacker Mewtwo Y immediately came to my mind, as the former could revenge-kill fast threats like Dragon Dance Rayquaza and the latter could nail bulky Pokémon like Xerneas.

The main offensive core was threatening and well balanced, but threats like Darkrai, which could hit both Arceus and Mewtwo Dark Pulse and Focus Blast, represented big problems, along with Dragon-type Pokémon like Palkia. In fact, a special sponge with key resistances to Dark and Dragon was needed, so I decided to go for Xerneas, that could increase the offensive pressure and lure and revenge-kill defensive Pokémon like Chansey thanks to Close Combat.

Although common special sweepers like Yveltal and Palkia were checked by Xerneas, an even more common Pokémon was much threatening: Kyogre, which became one of the most powerful special tanks of the game, especially when turned into its Primal form. Among all its checks, like Palkia and Blissey, Ferrothorn was probably the most suitable, as it could also check different threats like Arceus-Fairy and Zekrom.

With the majority of special attackers being stopped by Ferrothorn and revenge-killed by Arceus, physical sweepers remained kind of a big issue. In fact, Rayquaza, Groudon, Lucario and Blaziken were not weak to Extremespeed and could nail every single member of the team. Therefore, a physical tank like Landorus-T was needed to check offensive threat and support the team with Stealth Rock and U-turn.

At that moment, the team was quite solid but entry hazard damage could be problematic as no one of my Pokémon had recovery moves. In fact, special sponges like Blissey and Jirachi could not only support the team with Wish, but also check threats like Palkia. Anyway, I decided to replace Xerneas with Sylveon; even if it was not as threatening as Xerneas, it could support the team with Wish and Heal Bell, preventing the main attackers from getting burnt and paralysed.

After that, the team seemed to be very balanced as there were not any particular Pokémon which could become too much threatening. However, a member was missing and a safe switch-in against Reshiram and Ho-Oh was needed. Moreover, even if Mewtwo and Arceus were a formidable offensive core, a fast, special revenge-killer was a good idea as it could nail the likes of Giratina, Yveltal and Landorus-T. Having said this, Kyogre was my final choice, as it could also support Ferrothorn thanks to Drizzle and increase the offensive pressure of the team.

Since the team was finished and seemed very balanced, I decided to post an RMT thread on the Smogon forums, so that good players could help me improve the team. As some of you have suggested, Xerneas and Groudon-Primal were too much of a problem, as I didn't hav any reliable switch-in. Moreover, there was no Defog or Rapid Spin user, so entry hazards like Toxic Spikes could be a problem. Therefore, I decided to replace Landorus-T with Giratina-O.

At that point, the Groudon-Primal and Extreme Killer Arceus weakness was solved thanks to Giratina-O. However, Xerneas was still a threatening sweeper, as with the Geomancy set it could reach amazing levels of Special Attack, even 2HKOing Sylveon. In fact, a proper check was needed: Groudon-Primal, Arceus-Fire, Aegislash and Klefki were the best ones, but they were not good in my team. Clefable was my choice: thanks to Unaware, it could check Calm Mind and Geomancy Xerneas, but also counter the same threats which had problems with Sylveon, like Palkia and Kyurem-W.

Large movepool, high speed and decent bulkiness make All-Out Attacker Mewtwo capable of at least 2HKO almost every Pokémon in the Uber metagame, thus allowing it to perform as a fantastic wall breaker. Moreover, thanks to Mewtwonite Y, it becomes quite bulky on the special side, which is a useful feature that helps it to function as an anti-lead because of Taunt. When paired with pseudo-hazers like Giratina-O and physical attackers like Arceus, it also increases the offensive pressure, which is necessary in order to bunch holes in the opposing stall teams.

As for the moveset, Psystrike is main STAB move, dealing great damage to specially defensive Pokèmon like Blissey and Sylveon. Fire Blast and Ice Beam are coverage moves, with the former revenge-killing Scizor and the latter nailing Giratina and Yveltal. Taunt prevents opposing stall teams to set up entry hazards and spam status moves. Finally, the EVs spread allows Mewtwo to out-speed the majority of fast threats such as Arceus and Lucario, but note that mega evolution is required not to be revenge-killed by Choice Scarf Kyogre.

Thanks to its amazing bulk, great offensive power and good coverage moves, Extreme Killer Arceus is always something to fear. In addition, Extremespeed allows it to be one of the best revenge-killers of the game, as it can finish off powerful sweepers like Xerneas, Mewtwo and Rayquaza. It also has a wonderful synergy with Clefable, as Heal Bell removes status conditions like burn and the Fairy-type makes the First Gen Pokémon a solid check of Giratina and Yveltal.

As for the moveset, Extremespeed and Swords Dance are the main moves of the set, with the former nailing every Pokémon with +2 priority except Giratina and Gengar and the latter boosting Arceus Attack to super-high levels. Earthquake is for Heatran, Groudon-Primal and Giratina, while Magic Coat is a nice original move which is used to avoid getting burnt by Will-O-Wisp and can make Arceus work as a good anti-lead. However, if Giratina-O and Gengar are too much annoying, Shadow Claw is the preferred option. Finally, the EVs spread grants an amazing bulk, also allowing Arceus to outspace neutral 95 base speed Pokémon.

Even if Alpha Sapphire has increased Kyogre's already incredible offensive skills with a brand new Primal Evolution, the Choice Scarf set remains an easy way to deal with fast sweepers like Lucario and Gengar. Moreover, thanks to Drizzle, it can support Steel- and Grass-type Pokémon like Ferrothorn, which can be useful if the opposing team includes Fire-type ones like Reshiram and Ho-Oh. In conclusion, the fact that the Water-type legendary checks and revenge-kills threats like Yveltal and Genesect makes it one of the best partners for Arceus.

Scald and Water Spout are the main STAB moves, with the former having a high chance to burn switch-ins like Ferrothorn and the latter out-damaging even super-effective Thunder when at full health. Thunder gives Kyogre good coverage against Flying- and Water-type Pokémon, while Ice Beam nails Dragon-type ones like Zekrom. As for the EVs spread, both Special Attack and Speed are maximized to reach a great offensive power and outspace Deoxys-A and Mewtwo.

Ferrothorn has always been one of the most efficient walls and utility counters of the Overused tier. In Black & White, it was always on the top ten of the usages and also in XY it is probably the best entry hazards user. However, the Grass / Steel-type Pokémon has its flaws even in the Ubers tier, because of its wonderful typing and bulk, which allow him to check Kyogre surprisingly well. Moreover, when paired with Kyogre, it becomes a sturdy tank thanks to Drizzle, which weakens Fire-type attacks.

Gyro Ball is the main STAB moves as it is much useful to nail fast sweepers like Xerneas and Mewtwo. Leech Seed and Protect is quite an annoying combo, as it grants a good recovery while also dealing damage to bulky Pokémon like Lugia. Stealth Rock is a wonderful support move, which allows Arceus, Mewtwo and Kyogre to OHKO many threats which would be otherwise 2HKOed. As for the EVs spread, HP and Special Defense are maximised in order to take hits from the likes of Kyogre and Giratina.

Giratina-O is one the most reliable Defog users by virtue of its ability to switch in easily, avoid being revenge-killed by Gengar and defeat common Taunt and entry hazards users. In addition, it is a great check of very common threats in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, like Arceus and Groudon-Primal. In fact, its wonderful typing allows it to be a good switch-in against Fighting- and Ground-type Pokémon like Blaziken and Landorus-T, which makes it one of the best partners of Clefable. Last but not least, it is one of the best Rapid Spin blocker, also because it is a good check of Excadrill and Ferrothorn.

As for the moveset, Defog is the main support move, preventing Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web users like Tentacruel and Smeargle from setting up entry hazards. Draco Meteor and Shadow Sneak are two STAB moves with different functions: the former allows Giratina-O to deal decent damage to any Pokémon which is not a Fairy-type, the latter is a solid priority move that nails Gengar and Mewtwo. Finally, Hidden Power [Fire] is a coverage move that hits Scizor and Ferrothorn. The EVs spread allows Giratina-O to survive a Shadow Claw from Arceus-Normal after Swords Dance, also granting a good offensive power.

Even if most people think that Xerneas and Klefki are the only Fairy-type Pokémon which can be used in the Uber tier and Clefable may seem like an odd choice, it is actually a decent defensive threat which is particularly effective in balanced teams. First of all, it is a good check of many specially oriented threats, such as Xerneas, Reshiram and Palkia. Moreover, it has a fantastic trait - Unaware - to prevent threatening sweepers like Xerneas from starting a sweep. In fact, it has great sinergy with Ferrothorn, as it can not only counter annoying status moves like Will-O-Wisp, but also form a wonderful defensive core which is similar to the SkarmBliss one and make the team more balanced.

As for the set details, Wish and Heal Bell are the main moves, with the former being a reliable support move and the latter mainly healing Arceus from Burn and Mewtwo from Paralysis. Moonblast is used to prevent Clefable from being completely vulnerable to Taunt and hit Dragon-type Pokémon. Finally, Protect is not only a form of recovery, but also a scouting move, which is useful against Choice Scarf users like Zekrom and Darkrai. As for the EVs spread, Special Defense is invested to make Clefable one of the bulkiest special sponges; on the other hand, HP are maximized to take some physical hits like Psystrike and Psyshock from the likes of Mewtwo and Xerneas.

: The main problem with Groudon-Primal is that it has coverage moves like Lava Plume and Dragon Claw, which can be a problem for Ferrothorn and Giratina-O, but also its fantastic traits, which transforms it into the best Kyogre counter. Anyway, Giratina-O and Arceus are great checks, as they can nail it with Earthquake and tank hits thanks to their good bulk. Moreover, Mewtwo is a decent lure, as Fire Blast deals heavy damage under the sun and Groudon is one of the few checks.

: Mewtwo is a threatening sweeper for almost every team. Thanks to its wonderful movepool, it can revenge-kill the majority of the Uber tier: it can even heavily damage its "checks" like Yveltal and Klefki with coverage moves like Ice Beam and Fire Blast. As for my team, the best answers are Arceus and Kyogre, as the former can revenge-kill it with Extremespeed and Shadow Claw and the latter can outspace with Choice Scarf.

Alright, my Rate My Team thread is finished! Construnctive criticism is appreciated, so that I can consider any changes thanks to your comments. If you want to try the team on Pokémon Online, Showdown or Wi-Fi Connection, you can check the Export to Text below.

As for the usage tips, you have to be careful when the opposing team includes lots of sweepers and wall-breakers like Dragon Dance Rayquaza and Calm Mind Kyogre, as Giratina-O and Ferrothorn are quite good checks but can't take many powerful attacks like Dragon Ascent and Origin Pulse, especially if entry hazards are on the field. Moreover, you have to keep momentum thanks to Defog and double switches, so that Arceus, Kyogre and Mewtwo are able to revenge-kill the opposing threats. Therefore, good skills of prediction are required to break through stall teams, also granting the staying power of bulky Pokémon like Clefable, mainly against offensive ones. Finally, remember that mach-up is quite important when you're playing Uber, so try to understand which could be the opposing leader, to prevent entry hazards users like Deoxys-A to set Stealth Rock with Arceus and Mewtwo and check offensive leaders like Groudon and Kyogre with Giratina-O and Ferrothorn.

Export to Text

Mewtwo @ Mewtwonite Y
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Psystrike
- Taunt

Arceus @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Extremespeed
- Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance

Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Thunder
- Water Spout

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 208 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 Def / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Earthquake

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

 

[haxiom]

Hey MisterBobobo,

This team is pretty good, and the RMT is pretty well done. It actually looks more akin to a team I'd see in XY. As such, I think it could use some changes to better suit it for the ORAS metagame. Currently, I feel like Fire Blast / Overheat Ekiller, Salamence, and Xerneas are all pretty threatening since Ekiller pretty comfortably sweeps you it has a Fire-type move to get past Ferrothorn, your only play being juggling intimidates but it just sets up more anyways. Salamence can beat you pretty easily, as does Xerneas since Sylveon can take a hit but do nothing in return, Xerneas just Focus Blasts Ferrothorn, and Ekiller can only revenge it if it has taken significant damage; luckily it's setup opportunities are relatively limited. Groudon is annoying too. In general, most of the issues of the team stem from overpressuring Lando-T to check practically every physical attacker in the meta, leaving the team easily overwhelmed.

So here are my thoughts on changes. Scarf Kyogre is an underwhelming option in ORAS, mainly because Groudon gets free turns vs it, so I suggest you change it to a Calm Mind Primal Kyogre set. Then, I think condensing Ferrothorn and Sylveon as Klefki helps you in general, getting paras on Salamence and Xerneas, while keeping spikes and stuff. I would then add Giratina-O, which can help you with Mewtwo, Ekiller, Groudon, while deterring Salamence setup with Will-O-Wisp. Finally, changing Lando-T to Primal Groudon would probably be more optimal, as it tends to oust Lando-T for a spot thanks to it's better offensive prowess and ability to check both Kyogre and Xerneas as well. You end up a bit weak to Arceus-Ghost, so running Refresh Arceus can help with that and stall teams in general.

I'll edit in sets a bit later.

OPTIMIZATION:

Max Speed MMY is probably ideal to outspeed or tie with things on the turn it evolves. Ekiller tends to run Max speed as well to outspeed unevolved Gengar so that it cannot use Destiny Bond or Focus Blast. If you keep Lando-T, I suggest running a physically defensive spread as opposed to an offensive one due to how burdened it is.


Good luck!

 

[MisterBobobo]

Thank you very much for your rates haxiom and Steeljackal, I think you were right as my team was quite weak to Primal-Groudon and Geomancy Xerneas. Your suggestions were so helpful, as I decided to replace Landorus-T with Giratina-O to solve my weakness to Groudon and add Defog support. I also put Clefable over Sylveon because of Xerneas (it is actually a good check thanks to Unaware and helps me with Palkia and Reshiram). As a consequence of this, I had to give Ferrothorn Stealth Rock and remove Spikes, as Landorus-T was replaced by Giratina-O. Tell me what you think about the changes =)

CHANGES IN RED!

 

[XNightmareX]

Hey MisterBobobo! Nice team and wonderful graphics in this thread! If it was a XY team, I think it would be simply amazing, but now the Uber metagame has changed so much, so I think your team needs answers to new threats like Primal-Groudon and Xerneas. Anyway, I would suggest a Mixed Attacker set for Giratina, because it can be a good lure for Groudon and a nice priority user that can kill Mewtwo.

Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 180 Atk / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Rash Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Defog

 

[Thugly Duckling]

This is a gorgeous RMT dude

 

[MisterBobobo]

Thank you Thugly Duckling and XNightmareX for your rate. I've just changed moveset and EVs spread of Giratina-O and I have to say that it works pretty well, also because Hidden Power [Fire] helps me against teams which include Ferrothorn and Scizor.

 

[Steve Angello]

Hey there MistereBobobo,
that is a nice team you have updated there from PO player Seele. He was using Fairyceus, Giratina and Tentacruel. In my opinion you should change Giratina-O back to Giratina-A, but with Toxic instead of Willowisp, to hit PGroudon and Ho-Oh which seem rather problematic for you. Forthermore it is conspicuous, that Mega Salamence is most likely your biggest problem. That's why you should use Arceus Rock over Ekiller, because it does not help you that much, like Arceus Rock would do. There is not much to say about your updated version of that team, I used to play that team a lot last year and it is really strong.

Hope I was able to help you. :]

sets

1. 
   Arceus-Rock @ Stone Plate
   Trait: Multitype
   EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spd
   Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
   - Judgment
   - Will-O-Wisp
   - Recover
   - Defog
   
   Giratina @ Leftovers
   Trait: Pressure
   EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
   Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
   - Dragon Tail
   - Toxic
   - Rest
   - Sleep Talk