Hello! I am Vaboh, a newer face on Smogon, and have with me here my first RMT. I have never been an avid ladder player. However, as the new HA starters dropped, I just had to try them all out on the ladder. Like many others, my favorite new tool is Libero Cinderace. The power boost it gets from stab is very noticeable and has definitely made it a top threat in the last few weeks of this SS meta. Of the many Libero Cinderace teams I have built and tested on the ladder, this is by far my favorite. Since the current SS meta is coming to a close and I have no more SS tours to play, I would like to share this team. Enjoy!
Peak:
Building Process
Of course, this team is built around the new Libero Cinderace. I chose to go with the band set as the sheer power of it is capable of achieving amazing feats such as ohkoing Rotom-heat and 2hkoing Kommo-o and Hippowdon after a little chip with high jump kick. The band set is very fun to use as you just nuke everything in your sight.
When looking for an offensive partner for Cinderace, I realized Cinderace and Kyurem have phenomenal synergy. Cinderace's most common checks which are Hippowdon, Kommo-o, and Toxapex all get bopped by Kyurem. Kyurem also appreciates Cinderace's ability to pressure Clefable.
This is the defensive back bone I have chosen for the team. Since Dracovish is now banned, this back bone I feel covers the majority of the meta game without being too passive.
Lastly, I have chosen Zeraora to round off the team as it gives extra speed control and is overall a great Pokemon. I was looking at Dragapult but felt Zeraora was just a better fit.
This team is meant to be played very aggressively and pressure the opponent heavily. Keeping momentum is key and you must do your best to never take your foot off the pedal. Lets now look at how the sets and how the team functions.
The Team
Cinderace @ Choice Band
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Zen Headbutt
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
The Pokemon that the team was built around. This thing is an absolute menace. I chose to go with the choice band set over the bulk up set because of the immediate damage it provides. Pyro Ball is to destroy Clefable and also hit ghost types hard, specifically Aegislash which walls otherwise. Zen Headbutt is mainly for Toxapex but also hits Kommo-o hard. High Jump Kick is the strongest move for Cinderace achieving crazy feats as previously mentioned. Here are some calcs to show its strength.
252 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace High Jump Kick vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 277-327 (91.4 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Kommo-o: 187-222 (52.8 - 62.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Hippowdon: 189-223 (45 - 53%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Finally, U-turn is the last move to make Cinderace not rely so much on getting the right predictions. You don't need to predict the correct check they are going to and can instead U-turn to the next member of the team.
Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
As I said earlier, Cinderace and Kyurem have incredible synergy to make a powerful breaking core. Cinderace is able to U-turn on its most common checks being Hippowdon, Kommo-o, and Toxapex and bring Kyurem in to start breaking. Kyurem, although fell off for a bit, has come back to being extremely broken I feel. I have chosen the standard choice specs spread here as it is one of the most fearsome breakers in the tier. I went with modest nature instead of timid because it has a better chance to 2hko Clefable after chip/lefties knocked and overall, the power boost is very noticeable. When using Kyurem, early game, you want to stay in on a Clefable hard switch in as you can live a Moonblast. Opponents usually opt for wish after eating a Kyurem Ice beam to try to stall it out. To keep Clefable at low health, the play is usually to go hard Cinderace on a protect so Clefable can't heal up fully and is forced out. Now, Clefable will not be able to check Kyurem any longer.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 7 Spe
- Wish
- Protect
- Teleport
- Moonblast
Every team that is not hyper offense requires Clefable or else it is inherently a worse team in my eyes. The support it provides is too great to give up. Here, I chose the wish teleport set. Wish teleport gives my breakers in Kyurem and Cinderace much better longevity as they are both weak to stealth rocks. Teleport also keeps up the momentum for this team and gets in Cinderace and Kyurem in to safely break. 7 speed IVs are used here to have the slowest teleport possible vs opposing Clefable and also outspeed 4 EVs Hippowdon. Clefable is also the only check for Kyurem and Timid Nasty Plot Hydreigon on the team.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Hippowdon acts as a check to the hard hitting physical attackers in the tier and is also the rocker. It beats things my team would otherwise auto lose to such as Excadrill and Terrakion. It also beats the new Libero Cinderace which is everywhere on the ladder right now. Hippowdon is simply the best rocker in the tier to me and I'm using it over something like Kommo-o because it beats Excadrill more reliably. Leftovers is the item of choice over rocky helmet to avoid the 2hko from Choice Band Cinderace's High Jump Kick. I chose to go with whirlwind over toxic because whirlwind is very useful for set up sweepers and also making sure Wish Clefable can not heal. I put 12 speed EVs on Hippowdon to out speed and punish Clefables running 7 speed IVs . Although situational, it can come in handy.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 80 SpD / 180 Spe
Careful Nature
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Mandibuzz is the defogger of choice or something like Corviknight because Hippowdon already checks the physical attackers in the tier. Mandibuzz beats ghost types, mainly Aegislash, which would be a huge threat otherwise. Additionally, Mandibuzz checks the new Grassy Surge Rillaboom. The speed EVs are so that I hit 241 speed to be faster than jolly Aegislash and Adamant Bisharp. Rest are dumped into special defense to check the special attacking ghosts in the tier. I chose to go with foul play over knock off so that Mandibuzz can act as an emergency check to Bisharp and Excadrill. I considered taunt at first for the final move but decided on U-turn to keep up momentum and safely get in my breakers.
Zeraora @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
The last member of the team is Zeraora, which offers extra speed control as I felt Cinderace was not enough. Although this set has fallen off a bit recently, I opted for the bulk up set. I believe this set is very underrated as bulk up can clean up teams easily. With Hippowdon and Kommo-o being constantly pressured by Cinderace and Kyurem, I felt that I did not need to use 4 attacks Zeraora with Play Rough to hit Kommo-o and Grass Knot to hit Hippowdon. This allowed me to opt for a Zeraora that could sweep more easily in Bulk Up. Zeraora usually is able to clean up the late game after Hippowdon and Kommo-o are either heavily chipped or dead. Plasma Fists and Close Combat are both a given on Bulk Up Zeraora. The last slot I chose Knock Off to hit Dragapult and Aegislash while also having the ability to permanently cripple opposing Pokemon.
Threats
Cloyster is easily the biggest threat to the team. There is no counter play to a Cloyster that already has set up a shell smash. You can not allow Cloyster free set up whatsoever on this team. This means making sure you don't choice lock yourself on Kyurem and Cinderace into moves that can't kill Cloyster. You must always click Foul Play with Mandibuzz or Whirlwind with Hippowdon if Cloyster is attempting to set up on these two Pokemon. Foul Play will always kill Cloyster if it decides to click shell smash and you move after. However, with the given EV spread for Mandibuzz, Cloyster only outspeeds if it is a Jolly nature.
Toxapex is annoying to deal with if it has Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes severely cripples the team and usually must be defogged off right away to allow Kyurem and Cinderace to not be easily chipped down in combination with rocks.
The Pokemon on this team that can break Primarina's sub all sustain heavy damage from it. Usually, I use Zeraora to break the sub and force a switch but this can only be done twice if Zeraora is brought in healthy. It is important to not allow Primarina too many opportunities to set up.
Kyurem is broken. Clefable will switch in once but really can't recover to full health if they switch out to something that threatens it like Excadrill or Cinderace. It is important to make the necessary doubles to give Clefable chances to heal up.
Close Combat variants click and claim. Nothing much you can do, just have to play aggressively to make sure Conkeldurr doesn't get too many free chances to claim a kill.
Conclusion
This team is very fun to use and rewards you greatly if you play aggressive. Libero Cinderace is a wonderful tool to abuse and has really made these last weeks of this current SS meta fun. I would like to thank my friends here on Smogon as they have really brightened my life up as silly as it may sound. Shoutout to the Zoomer gang for being a great group of people. Shoutout to US West for taking a chance on me and helping me integrate myself into the Smogon community. Lets go get that back to back blue.
Importable
https://pokepast.es/02e3a11a86a8d8d9
