SM OU Song of Old: Afterlife and Rebirth (by Storm Zone & AK) Peak #1 2100+ ELO 88% GXE!!!!

[Le Val]

Intro

Hey guys, me again *eye rolls*. But this time I’m with a player who if you have been a part of Pokémon Showdown in ORAS and have been paying attention to the ladder, you probably will recognize. Widely regarded as being among the most elite Ladder heroes, Storm Zone is most known for his creative teams using uncommon Pokémon like Cradily and Meloetta as well as unpredictable sets like Rest + Sleep Talk SpDef Mega-Gyarados. Together, we’ve had a blast playing and testing teams and Pokémon on the ladder throughout Sun and Moon, trying everything from Mega-Garchomp to Delphox. But after figuring that Balance was ultimately the best playstyle to use at the moment (it still is), we set our mindset to try and zero in on the top spot of the ladder.

Peak

Afterlife peak: (see bottom)

Rebirth peak:

In mid-Sun & Moon, Storm Zone managed to peak with a team built around his signature Pokémon, Meloetta. The team would go on to peak several more times before the end of the first Generation 7 games.

But enough chatter. So, without further a-due, Storm Zone & I present...


Afterlife

General Breakdown


As stated in the introduction, balance is without a doubt the best playstyle in Generation 7. I talk a bit more about this in my last rmt VAFFANCULO, but suffice it to say that with the meta full of so many threats nowadays, balance thrives on being able to counter Bulky Offense while still dealing a lot of damage. This team is a perfect example of that, with Pokémon like Zygarde and Marowak being able to take many hits while being really tough to switch into on the opposing side. The team is quite slow, but it makes up for it with its large bulk. The team has ways of switching into pretty much everything in the metagame. Usually Marowak-Alola, Zygarde, Tapu Fini, and Celesteela are used early on in each game, with Venusaur usually being used to clean up and Meloetta to finish, but the main catalyst is Zygarde, letting the team clean up a lot easier after a lot of opposing Pokémon have been KOd or weakened. The team punishes speedier teams like Voltturn by using momentum to its own advantage. The team has several setup Pokémon that can force the game to be a lot slower, allowing you to play to the team’s strong suits.


In depth



Serpent (Zygarde) @ Leftovers
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed

Zygarde is easily one of my favorite sweepers in Sun & Moon. Its fantastic bulk, Electric immunity, and THOUSAND FREAKING ARROWS make it borderline broken in my opinion. It can set up on a ton of passive Pokémon including ones that usually would counter Ground types like Celesteela in particular. Rotom-Wash and Latios are other large threats to the team that Zygarde can beat. Substitute + Coil is a set from earlier Sun & Moon, but it still proves tried and true against fat teams and Bulky Offense. Zygarde itself is seeing a bit less usage due to the huge rise in Clefable and Tapu Bulu, but nonetheless it works great defensively and offensively on the team, also being a key component in beating stall and breaking down Defensive cores. Toxic was the conventional 4th move for Sub + Coil Zygarde, as it can punish things like Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, Unaware Clefable, and Landorus, but the need for Toxic on this team is very low. Tapu Fini’s ability itself nullifies status against all grounded targets, and a lot of offensive things that it is supposed to weaken such as frail attackers often don’t care if they take a bit of Toxic damage if any in the case of Kartana. Extreme Speed is proven to be a lot more beneficial here for the team as a whole, serving as priority to finish off weakened threats as many fast revenge killers/priority revenge killers like Latios, Mamoswine, and Greninja. Coil is really nice to compliment Zygarde’s bulk, and it allows it to Substitute against things like especially Ferrothorn, which really annoys the team since Marowak is the only Fire coverage that the team has and it gets worn down pretty quickly. Max SpDef is to give as much bulk as possible in the area that Coil doesn’t boost. Speed really is not a huge necessity for the team as stated before, so Dragon Dance while viable here, is generally outclassed by Coil in this scenario. Zygarde immensely improves the matchup vs a lot of Bulky Offense as said before, because it can significantly weaken checks like Landorus-Therian so that Marowak can come in and just spam Flare Blitz into your opponent’s face. Defensively, Zygarde’s typing is great for the team. Defensive Garchomp was very successful in ORAS, and Zygarde shares its typing as well as a bit more bulk, although Zygarde does not get Stealth Rock unfortunately. (lets pray against that for the future) It is the answer to a lot of balance-threatening Pokémon like Heatran and Volcarona. It also soft checks Volcarona and Charizard-Y, which this team hates.



Zelda (Meloetta) @ Psychium Z / Electrium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Obviously, Meloetta is the most creative aspect of the team. Most dismiss it as “unviable” or “outclassed by Tapu Lele”, but Meloetta has several niches that can very abusable. First off, its bulk is far superior to any other offensive Psychic OR Normal type attacker in the current Overused roster (and UUBL as well). It can take lots of hits well and hit back hard. Its coverage allows it to beat hard checks like Heatran and Ferrothorn, while hitting what it needs to with a SpA stat only 2 less than Tapu Lele, Magearna, Heatran, etc. The added Normal typing on top of Psychic ensures that it can’t be revenge killed or countered by Ghost type moves from Pokémon like Gengar or Mega-Alakazam. With Calm Mind, it is able to live a Choice Specs Dark Pulse from Greninja as well as many other SpA threats. Its EVs are just enough to outspeed max speed Timid Heatran, allowing it to run Modest Nature and have a default of 390 SpA, rivaling that of Modest Magearna and Magnezone. Heatran is a large problem for the team as a whole, and so outspeeding and OHKOing it is a huge catalyst in gaining victories. Meloetta can find room to Calm Mind at least once pretty easily against teams that aren’t Hyper Offense, and it can take advantage of and 2HKO tons of defensive threats such as Tapu Bulu and Clefable. Those two in particular are mentioned because getting rid of them is VERY beneficial to Zygarde. It can use passive Pokémon like, again, Clefable as setup fodder and proceed to get at least 1 KO unless the opponent possesses a hard hitting physical threat that would force it out like Hoopa-Unbound. Focus Blast really shouldn’t need an explanation. Thunderbolt is to hit things like Celesteela and Skarmory. Psychium Z turns Meloetta into a lethal wallbreaker, able to OHKO a vast majority of the metagame just from one use of Calm Mind. The downside to this is that you are walled by Sableye, which is mainly what the other set is for. Electrium Z is great for luring and nabbing KO’s against annoying Pokémon like Celesteela, Tapu Fini, Slowbro, and of course Mega-Sableye. Either of these is fine to run but both have their drawbacks. Use whatever works for you :). Meloetta is critical in most matchups and is usually the Pokémon that finishes off the opponent late into the game.

Calcs

Offensive Calcs

+2 252+ SpA Meloetta Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 249-294 (63.1 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovers
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Psyshock vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 189-223 (55.1 - 65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Grassy Terrain recovery
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Psyshock vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Toxapex: 294-348 (97 - 114.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
+2 252+ SpA Meloetta Psyshock vs. 244 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 376-444 (53.5 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn: 286-338 (81.2 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 406-478 (105.1 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 244-288 (86.8 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Meloetta Focus Blast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 384-452 (106.3 - 125.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Electrium Z

+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 496-584 (144.6 - 170.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ SpA Meloetta Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye-Mega: 271-319 (89.4 - 105.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 156 SpD Celesteela: 530-624 (133.5 - 157.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 293-345 (104.2 - 122.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Psychium Z

+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 513-604 (134.2 - 158.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 463-546 (117.5 - 138.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Unaware Clefable: 309-364 (78.4 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovers
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 248 HP / 56 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Bulu: 280-330 (81.6 - 96.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 444-523 (124 - 146%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Meloetta Shattered Psyche (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 400-472 (101.5 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Guardian (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Protect

Celesteela has to be one of the best Pokémon in the whole meta right now. Its typing, movepool, and stats are all super awesome and I really love splashing it onto all kinds of teams from Offense to Stall. Celesteela is great on balance teams because it counters Tapu Lele + Alakazam as well as Mega-Pinsir. Its great typing also translates into role compression, making it not only a Fairy/Psychic check, but also a ground immunity, meaning it can switch into Pokémon like Landorus-Therian and Garchomp’s Earthquakes so that you can preserve Tapu Fini for later in the game if necessary. Leech Seed is great for passive damage onto Pokémon like Zapdos, while Earthquake can lure not only Heatran but Magnezone as well, which can really be helpful if you are facing something like Magnezone + Tapu Lele or Magnezone + Mega-Pinsir. Celesteela can soak up many hits and slowly recover it off through Leech Seed + Leftovers used with Protect. It can punish Choice Scarf users by forcing them out so that you can get a free turn to Leech Seed. Furthermore, Celesteela can take advantage of many Pokémon that would try to set up against the rest of the team. An example is Swords Dance Mega-Scizor, which is forced out by bluffing Flamethrower. Be sure not to play your cards too early or you will become setup fodder for the likes of Kartana and Ferrothorn on top of Scizor. Heavy Slam is used to 2HKO Mega-Pinsir and pick up KOs vs weakened Pokémon in order to gain a SpDef boost from Beast Boost. Make sure you use protect a lot to scout for potential Knock Offs, as getting your Leftovers Knocked is just about the last thing you want. So be careful when switching into Clefable, Landorus-Therian, Kartana, and Tornadus-Therian.



Rex (Venusaur) (M) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 31 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

Venusaur’s main job is to be a sponge for all kinds of threats to balance including Mega-Gyarados and Tapu Koko, as well as providing a reliable counter for many Rain abusers namely Swampert and Kingdra. Sludge Bomb is missing, so it can’t effectively counter Tapu Bulu, but other members of the team make up for it especially Celesteela. Also the loss of being able to poison Pokémon like Zapdos is not really that huge of a price to pay for being able to hit the Pokémon it really needs to. Earthquake mainly lures Heatran, which as stated is a huge nuisance for the team, as it can set up Stealth Rock, Taunt many team members, and provide a constant stream of damage through the use of Magma Storm. Not only hitting Heatran though, but Earthquake allows Venusaur to counter other dangerous wallbreakers, namely Mega-Mawile (as it can pick up a 2HKO every time while Hidden Power [Fire] only does a max roll of 50) and get solid damage off on Charizard-X. Hidden Power [Fire] is actually needed here on top of Earthquake since Celesteela lacks Flamethrower/Fire Blast to hit Scizor and Kartana. Likewise however, lack of Sludge Bomb to hit Tapu Bulu and Clefable is made up for by Celesteela’s Heavy Slam, so it is evened out in the end. The team really appreciates a blanket check like Venusaur, especially one that can 1v1 Greninja and take care of Tapu Fini. Its typing allows it to soak up Toxic Spikes as well as Leech Seed and Spore/Sleep Powder/Stun Spore. Venusaur is not meant to be a huge SpDef wall, and especially with teammates Tapu Fini, it isn’t relied upon that heavily anymore to deal with Ash-Greninja as it would be. So as a result, it is fine to run max Def for its EVs. It gives it a lot more physical bulk to work with, while still having more than sufficient SpDef to still check special attacking Electric and Water types. Venusaur’s strong Special Attack stat can make it a good cleaner later in the game, being able to win many 1v1s due to the recovery gained out of using Giga Drain.



Calamity (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast
- Defog

Tapu Fini is the most important Pokémon Defensively on the team along with Celesteela, and its utility helps out the team a whole lot. As with the most teams, its typing is among the main reasons why it was selected for the build, filling in holes like Ash-Greninja, and Zygarde. Misty Surge is a really nice ability for the team, since both wincons are susceptible to status moves like Toxic and Will-O-Wisp, even while Zygarde has Substitute to combat passive damage. Taunt is a really important move here especially since it allows Tapu Fini to keep Pokémon like Clefable, Chansey, Hippowdon, and Mantine from recovering. Given that the team is rather passive at first glance, being able to keep as much damage as possible that you do inflict is really important. Because of these things, Tapu Fini plays the role of a Stallbreaker quite well, preventing status ailments and preventing opposing Pokémon from healing back up. Tapu Fini is also able to deal large amounts of damage itself. While not exactly regarded as a wallbreaker, Nature’s Madness literally does 50% to everything, which can really hurt Pokémon like Tapu Bulu, who are then blocked from healing back up via Horn Leech by Celesteela or Venusaur. Defog is here of course to remove hazards. Toxic Spikes aren’t really a problem given that the team has both Venusaur and Misty Terrain, but 5/6 members of the team are damaged by Spikes and none bar Venusaur have any reliable means of healing off damage, so Spikes can become a problem if not dealt with quickly. Tapu Fini is also responsible for switching into Offensive Dragon types like Charizard-X, Garchomp, Zygarde, and Dragonite. Its bulk usually lets it get off a Moonblast or two against many set up sweepers which may include Volcarona, Manaphy, Clefable, and probably most importantly Hawlucha. Riding on top of that, note that Tapu Fini must be kept as healthy as possible in matchup against Hawlucha, which would otherwise ruin your day. The same goes for Zygarde matchups. Tapu Fini should be played carefully in general though since it does not have any form of recovery other than Leftovers and it is going to be very important throughout the game. Tapu Fini comes in against a lot of different Pokémon, but be careful that it isn’t taking too much damage at a time. Make sure you scout potential threats to Tapu Fini such as Groundium Z Zygarde, Grassium Z Heatran, Thunder Punch Charizard-X, or Thunderbolt Latias/Latios.



Phantom (Marowak-Alola) (M) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang

Marowak is a really interesting choice nowadays. It is mostly only useful on Trick Room teams, however its amazing typing + ability let it beat a lot of large team threats like Charizard Y, Zapdos, and Tapu Koko. Marowak gets up stealth rocks and also can deal very large amounts of damage with its powerful STAB moves. Flare Blitz in particular can be a great nuke and it is able to soft check Pokémon like Ferrothorn, Clefable, and Celesteela, which are very common and annoying Defensive threats. Of course, Marowak has several major drawbacks, the most obvious being that it is weak to Stealth Rock as well as not having any form of recovery. It is countered by the most common Pokémon in the metagame and is setup fodder for big Pokémon like Zygarde. It is probably the weakest link in the chain on the team, but it preforms its niche role very effectively and fits snugly amongst the rest of the team. Maximum attack + Thick Club makes Marowak a super hard hitter, and a pain to face especially for Trick Room teams.

So there is the first version, Afterlife. But unlike the infamous Wish Killer team, it doesn’t keep up with the metagame after a while.


Rebirth

Reasoning


The meta is constantly shifting and adapting, and the team was starting to not preform up to its previous standards, although it is still a very good team. But with the new currents meta in mind, and previous weaknesses still affecting the team, we ended up making a revision, a rebirth of the team. The concept is very similar, almost identical in construction, and many roles are still in the same places. But on paper at least the team looks entirely different. Only 3 Pokémon from the original team are remaining, however that does not mean that the team is really any different in practice. The defensive type coverage of the team was retained as best as possible, since that was what made the team so successful in the first place, but a few roles changed amongst the different slots. Alolan-Marowak was the first change made, since it has become a liability in most games and only works in very specific matchups. A fire type was much needed, and with the loss of Stealth Rock as well as a fire user, that left little options for us to work with. The solution ended up being to change Zygarde to Landorus-Therian and replace Marowak with a fire type wincon, which we decided on Charizard X, also meaning that we had to swap Venusaur for Amoonguss. So here is the new team:


In depth



Quintessa (Meloetta) @ Electrium Z / Psychium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Meloetta’s role is pretty much exactly the same as before, except for one rather significant change. There are no alterations to the set itself, rather the way it is used throughout the game. Previously, Meloetta was a finisher for the team, often the Pokémon that got the last KO. But now, Meloetta has to be used during mid-game in order to weaken or lure Charizard counters, most notably Heatran and Tyranitar. Meloetta is still a very solid and hard hitter that can set up on a lot of Pokémon and can still deal a lot of damage to opponents. Electrium Z really helps out Charizard and Landorus-Therian, being able to hit Pokémon like Celesteela, Skarmory, Mantine, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro. There really isn’t any change at all on paper however, so I’ll just keep this section brief and move on.



Guardian (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Protect

Celesteela’s role really has not changed either. It is still the Fairy and Flying resist of the team, as well as another Heatran lure and a general blob. Just like with Meloetta, nothing about it has changed on paper, and not a whole lot if any at all in gameplay, so there is again no further need to repeat any else of what was stated previously.



Calamity (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast / Scald
- Defog

Tapu Fini is the last Pokémon that has remained the same from the last version. But unlike Meloetta and Celesteela, Tapu Fini’s role has really changed a lot to accommodate the replacements. A lot is still the same though. Tapu Fini is still the main method of Hazard Control, as well as being a Stallbreaker with the combination of Taunt and Nature’s Madness. But Tapu Fini proves to be a very good teammate for Charizard because Misty Terrain helps prevent it from being Toxiced or Paralyzed while in Mega form, letting it set up easier against things like Chansey and Clefable without risking being statused. This also of course helps out Meloetta, which often stays in play for more than 3 turns at any crucial moment. Tapu Fini is the team’s main blanket check to things that especially force out Landorus, Meloetta, and Celesteela. Natures Madness can be used to dent big Charizard or Meloetta would-be checks like Magearna and Tapu Bulu (for Meloetta), and Unware Clefable and Gastrodon (for Charizard). Taunt is obviously to prevent these now weakened Pokémon from healing off the 50% damage dealt to them. Moonblast is again just for general STAB purposes. Tapu Fini is also really important to keep throughout the game because of its ability to summon Misty Terrain. I stated the benefits of Misty Terrain earlier in this section, but those conditions usually occur at the end of the game (with protecting Charizard mainly). Tapu Fini is a bit more pressured to check Heatran now, with the absence of Zygarde, but hopefully you will be able to get off enough damage onto Heatran that it won’t annihilate Tapu Fini along with the rest of the team. This is where Scald comes in. Scald is optional and I personally prefer Moonblast, but if Heatran becomes a problem to switch into and you need a hard counter, Scald can work.



Tiger (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian can pretty much do it all, being able to fit onto almost any kind of team or archetype while still providing strong Offensive and Defensive support. The team needed another Stealth Rocker and something that could check physical threats, while maintaining Defensive type synergy with the rest of the team. Also the team needed a super hard hitter to break through annoying Pokémon like Unaware Clefable, Gastrodon, and Mega-Sableye. Also Pokemon like Toxapex were a problem and Landorus-Therian can punish many ladder players who are part of the infamous “stay in on landorus and try to get a scald burn” group. Despite having no bulk investment, Landorus still blanket checks tons of Pokémon. As opposed to running a more conventional item for offensive Landorus such as Earth Plate, Leftovers helps make up to a certain extent for the lack of bulk EVs by giving it a bit more sustainability. Additionally, Knocking opposing Landorus’ Rocky Helmets is also beneficial for Charizard, as it will take less recoil from Flare Blitz every time Landorus switches into it, and the extra recovery helps it heal off Rocky Helmet damage for itself that may be acquired from Knocking Skarmory.



Fungus (Amoonguss) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stomping Tantrum
- Giga Drain

Amoongus replaces Mega-Venusaur on this version, and it is pretty obvious why at first glance. Indeed, it does the same thing type-wise as Venusaur, and has the same coverage. But now with Regenerator, you have a much better way of retaining HP, which has a few huge of benefits. I shouldn't have to explain the mechanics of Regenerator so I will only talk about the benefits it holds over manual recovery, and more specifically Synthesis. With Regenerator, you can now run 4 attacks, which means that you can also now hold the Assault Vest, allowing you to now beat Heatran 1v1 with Stomping Tantrum. Also since Amoonguss is a pivot, you are regaining HP every time you double. Further more, Regenerator is a lot more reliable and consistent than Synthesis since it is not nerfed by any weather conditions (Rain in particular since Amoonguss is very important to the Rain matchup) and is not limited on PP. This was Venusaur’s main issue, as it was not able to preform to the best of its expectations on the team due to its lack of reliable recovery + no Leftovers. As stated before, you can now run 4 attacking moves on Amoonguss. This was another problem for Venusaur since it was not able to use its typing and Ability to beat Tapu Bulu/other Fairies, Ferrothorn/Scizor/Kartana, Heatran, AND Swampert/other Waters all in one. While Amoonguss is a lot more passive than Venusaur however, it makes up for it due to its longevity, move slots, and bulk from Assault Vest. Amoonguss checks a vast majority of the same things that Venusaur did, with exceptions like Calm Mind Magearma and Mega-Mawile.



Devastator (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 248 HP / 136 SpD / 124 Spe
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

Charizard is the biggest change to the team. It mainly replaced Marowak in terms of its typing and coverage, but Charizard is now the new wincon of the team, being able to take advantage of a variety of Pokémon to set up on. Those who have played high up in the ladder since the beginning of Generation 7 back in 2016 will probably recognize the moveset as that which was used by a player named ocnj10. The whole point of this Charizard is to be able to set up against a variety of Pokémon that would otherwise overwhelm its ability to set up such as Greninja (pre Ash form), defensive Landorus-Therian, Choice Scarf Tapu Lele, Weavile, Mega-Lopunny, Mega-Latios (without Draco Meteor), Mega-Medicham, and others by being able to use Will-O-Wisp and cut their attack stat in half. This does at times conflict with Misty Terrain, but the only time you really want Charizard to have Misty Terrain up is when it is trying to get enough Dragon Dances to sweep. Will-O-Wisp is a really great early game and mid-ground tactic that is effective in luring Landorus, Tyranitar, as well as Zygarde and the occasional Azumarill too. Burns can also be helpful against opposing Pokémon that rely on Leftovers a lot like Rotom-Wash and again Landorus-Therian. Charizard’s EV spread was originally made by robopoke, and it gives Charizard enough bulk to avoid tons of 2HKOs (some only after burn in the case of Landorus-Therian). Defensive Charizard X is not something incredibly knew to metagame history and it did see usage in ORAS as well as a little bit in SM, but giving it also the power to sweep and put huge holes into opposing teams makes it a very underrated threat in the current metagame. Of course, this set is completely walled by Pokémon that are immune to Fire type moves. Obviously the most notable of these is Heatran. Prior to the Arena Trap ban, I had actually created several teams using this set with Eject Button + Dugtrio to get rid of Heatran. But obviously now that that strategy is illegal currently, the set has hit a bit of a rough patch, especially with Heatran being one of the best Pokémon in the tier at the moment. But Heatran is not in every matchup, and the team has plenty of ways to deal with Heatran whether by luring it or walling it. Charizard is not only used as a sweeper though. Charizard’s surprising bulk and unique defensive typing allows it to counter huge threats especially Volcarona. It can also be used to check Zapdos, Calm Mind Clefable, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Koko, Shift Gear Magearna, Kartana, Ferrothorn, Scizor, Jirachi, and many more (I won’t list all of them haha). All of these, it can also set up on, with perhaps the exception of other set up Pokémon like Swords Dance Kartana. Charizard of course has defensive flaws such as being weak to ground and rock, therefore making it easier to break with moves like Earthquake and Stone Edge, plus the obvious drawback of being 4x weak to Stealth Rock before Mega Evolution and 2x weak after Mega Evolution. It is prone to Toxic and Paralysis and has no immunities. Despite this, it can use playing the role of a pivot to its advantage and be able to dish out loads of damage with Tough Claws + Dragon Dance boosted Flare Blitzes. This is by far one of the most fun sets that I have used in USUM and Generation 7 as a whole.

Conclusion

Well, thanks so much for reading! We worked really hard on this post and we both hope you enjoyed it. Here are the two teams for import:

Afterlife

Serpent (Zygarde) @ Leftovers
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed

Zelda (Meloetta) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Guardian (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Protect

Rex (Venusaur) (M) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

Calamity (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast
- Defog

Phantom (Marowak-Alola) (M) @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang

Rebirth

Quintessa (Meloetta) @ Psychium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Guardian (Celesteela) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Protect

Calamity (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness
- Moonblast
- Defog

Tiger (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake

Amoonguss @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stomping Tantrum
- Giga Drain

Devastator (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

Feel free to give any feedback and support of any kind is always greatly appreciated. I am waiting on Storm Zone for a Screenshot of his #1 Peak on the Ladder but for now I will keep that one.

I'd like to give some shoutouts because I will get murdered by these people if I don't lol

haha no shoutouts I'm too lazy!!!!!!!

Have a nice day :)

bonus

Storm Zone: Nah longest game in history was in tournaments room
AnnaKartanna: yeah
Storm Zone: 2234 turns
AnnaKartanna: wait
AnnaKartanna: i mean in tournament history
AnnaKartanna: lol
Storm Zone: Oh th
Storm Zone: Lol th
Storm Zone: Ignore my tab its gay and ends every sentence th
Storm Zone: With th th
AnnaKartanna: lol
Storm Zone: lol th
AnnaKartanna: lmaoo
Storm Zone: Omg th
Storm Zone: ....th
Storm Zone: What sorcery th
Storm Zone: Lool th
AnnaKartanna: im crying
Storm Zone: :-:re
Storm Zone: Okay re
AnnaKartanna: lmao
Storm Zone: It changed to re re
AnnaKartanna: what
Storm Zone: What the hell re
Storm Zone: Why is it ending with re now re
Storm Zone: .....re
Storm Zone: Ya re
Storm Zone: This tab re
Storm Zone: IS ebolaids re
Storm Zone: .re

Bye!!

 

[HCJB]

Hey congrats on the peak, especially with the GXE too. I really like your use of Meloetta, which is criminally underrated. I was hoping you might have some replays, to see how the team plays in practice?

Anyway, you've obviously made the team with a real eye for synergy, so there really isn't that much to suggest. I would say have you considered Fightinium-Z over Electrium-Z on Meloetta? Most of the threats you mention that you use Gigavolt Havoc for (Skarmory, Celesteela, Fini, Slowbro and Mantine) all seem to be more on the passive end of things, or are at least slower than you if they use CM themselves (Fini occasionally and Slowbro), so it seems like CM + Thunderbolt would probably do well enough to take these mons out. Fightinium-Z seems like a superior coverage option (especially with the Ghost immunity, discouraging the usual switching into a Ghost type on a predicted Fighting type attack) and further it means you don't have to take chances on Focus Blast's crappy accuracy, plus All-Out Pummelling has slightly increased BP than TBolt Gigavolt Havoc (190 vs. 175).

Other than that, there really isn't anything more I can think of! Congrats again, great job.

 

[Le Val]

Hey congrats on the peak, especially with the GXE too. I really like your use of Meloetta, which is criminally underrated. I was hoping you might have some replays, to see how the team plays in practice?

Anyway, you've obviously made the team with a real eye for synergy, so there really isn't that much to suggest. I would say have you considered Fightinium-Z over Electrium-Z on Meloetta? Most of the threats you mention that you use Gigavolt Havoc for (Skarmory, Celesteela, Fini, Slowbro and Mantine) all seem to be more on the passive end of things, or are at least slower than you if they use CM themselves (Fini occasionally and Slowbro), so it seems like CM + Thunderbolt would probably do well enough to take these mons out. Fightinium-Z seems like a superior coverage option (especially with the Ghost immunity, discouraging the usual switching into a Ghost type on a predicted Fighting type attack) and further it means you don't have to take chances on Focus Blast's crappy accuracy, plus All-Out Pummelling has slightly increased BP than TBolt Gigavolt Havoc (190 vs. 175).

Other than that, there really isn't anything more I can think of! Congrats again, great job.

First off thanks for your input. Fightinium Z is something that I am willing to try out, however I feel like Psychium Z is really just superior here. Z Focus Blast makes up for accuracy as you stated, but that doesnt really seem worthy of dedicating a whole Z Crystal to, especially if you are now walled by Defensive Landorus-Therian. Meloetta's role is very similar to that of CM Tapu Lele. Tapu Lele typically runs Taunt on Fightinium Z so that it can stallbreak while OHKOing Ferrothorn and Heatran without any boosts. Calm Mind is typically run with Psychium Z though. But given that their roles are so similar, and Fightinium Z Tapu Lele is quite good, I am willing to try it out :)
Thanks again ^^

 

[HCJB]

First off thanks for your input. Fightinium Z is something that I am willing to try out, however I feel like Psychium Z is really just superior here. Z Focus Blast makes up for accuracy as you stated, but that doesnt really seem worthy of dedicating a whole Z Crystal to, especially if you are now walled by Defensive Landorus-Therian. Meloetta's role is very similar to that of CM Tapu Lele. Tapu Lele typically runs Taunt on Fightinium Z so that it can stallbreak while OHKOing Ferrothorn and Heatran without any boosts. Calm Mind is typically run with Psychium Z though. But given that their roles are so similar, and Fightinium Z Tapu Lele is quite good, I am willing to try it out :)
Thanks again ^^

No problem, and yes Psychium Z would also be good, but on your Rebirth team only Electrium Z is listed. I gather you change between both like in the Afterlife version of the team? In any case, I think either Psychium Z or Fightinium Z would be better than Electrium Z. Congrats again on the peak.

 

[Le Val]

Ah, I missed that thanks! will be editted

 

[boot]

I really like this team so far. I have been using it for around an hour and the one thing I don't like about it is mega charizard. I'm personally not a fan of the flare blitz roost because I think that it kills momentum. Is it possible to run something like Flame Charge on the charizard instead to keep your momentum or would that hurt the teams overall synergy?

 

[mikekap]

I really like this team so far. I have been using it for around an hour and the one thing I don't like about it is mega charizard. I'm personally not a fan of the flare blitz roost because I think that it kills momentum. Is it possible to run something like Flame Charge on the charizard instead to keep your momentum or would that hurt the teams overall synergy?

Flame Charge is too weak, and you have already Dragon Dance for the speed boosts. Maybe you could replace with Fire Punch, but I think blitz achieves more damage generally even unboosted.....

 

[flareaqua]

I really like this team so far. I have been using it for around an hour and the one thing I don't like about it is mega charizard. I'm personally not a fan of the flare blitz roost because I think that it kills momentum. Is it possible to run something like Flame Charge on the charizard instead to keep your momentum or would that hurt the teams overall synergy?

Flare Blitz really is irreplaceable in this set. Fire Punch and Flame Charge don't have the same power, and miss out on crucial KOs:

calc

+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 343-405 (107.5 - 126.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 216-255 (67.7 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flame Charge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 144-169 (45.1 - 52.9%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO

Flare Blitz

0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 44 Def Amoonguss: 530-626 (122.9 - 145.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 372-440 (108.4 - 128.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 372-440 (102.4 - 121.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 361-426 (128.4 - 151.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 104+ Def Celesteela: 506-596 (127.4 - 150.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Fire Punch

0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 44 Def Amoonguss: 336-396 (77.9 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 236-278 (68.8 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 236-278 (65 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 228-268 (81.1 - 95.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Fire Punch vs. 248 HP / 104+ Def Celesteela: 320-378 (80.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

As you can see, you will need more boosting with Fire Punch; realistically speaking, you may not be able to get more than +1 or +2, or rather, you should not get greedy with boosting. Those KO's are important; these Pokemon may not stay in and they cannot really switch in, but in the event that you are sending Charizard-X against them, you need to secure the KO. A Celesteela could scout your use of Fire Punch, and at the next turn Leech Seed you as it knows it can take it.