Project SS AG Next Best Thing [On Hiatus]

[assaultdestiny]

Set

i brek stall (Calyrex-Shadow) @ Leftovers
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Astral Barrage
- Taunt
- Future Sight
- Will-O-Wisp / Aromatherapy / Leech Seed

Made this little set when I got to know that Caly-S got both Future Sight and Taunt, which can be a headache for Stall Teams. Even though Future Sight is quite underrated, it can be a nice surprise, especially for opposing Hyper Offense builds.
The main aim of the set is to irritate the opposing teams with the threat of Future Sight (which can also force momentum), and stopping like half a Stall matchup through Taunt. Astral Barrage is Cal-S's strongest STAB, which nails a plethora of foes. The last move is a choice; Will-O-Wisp burns Yveltal and Tyranitar on the switch-in, making Foul Play do a lot less damage, whereas Aromatherapy makes the Cal-S a very proficient cleric. Leech Seed is another nice move which also acts as a source of recovery and damages the opponent.
Leftovers is chosen as the item so as to give the Cal-S some longevity, which is required for this set to work.

 

[burgablob]

Weakness Policy Calyrex!!! Please actually read the whole thing, I know it may not sound good, but I put a lot of thought into this :)


Calyrex-Shadow @ Weakness Policy
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Endure
- Stored Power / Psyshock
- Astral Barrage
- Pollen Puff

First of all, Calyrex is already a broken sweeper, and the ability to Endure to gain boosts in both Atk and SpA is an absolute boon. While one might think that Focus Sash + Nasty Plot is a more effective tactic, it doesn't come with the Stored Power power increase. While Stored Power immediately becomes Calyrex-S's strongest psychic STAB move after Weakness Policy activates, it means that Blissey is capable of utterly walling this set. Psyshock can be used to work around common special walls such as Blissey.

But how, you may ask, does this Calyrex deal with Marshadow? If you don't go for Endure, Shadow Sneak OHKOs. If you go for Endure, Shadow Sneak 2HKOs but you still never get to attack. How can this situation be avoided? It's actually simple! Dynamax! Calyrex-S can tank Marshadow's Shadow Sneak once if it's Dynamaxed (see calcs below), allowing it to retaliate with Max Mindstorm. It's very important to go for Mindstorm as opposed to Phantasm or Flutterby because Mindstorm sets up Psychic terrain, which stops Marsh from clicking Shadow Sneak on turn two after hanging on with Focus Sash on turn 1. Plus, the first SSneak will activate Weakness Policy either way, so you'll end up with +3 SpA (you get a third boost after killing Marsh cuz of As One).

Yveltal doesn't particularly like taking a Pollen Puff / Max Flutterby either, though it'll always serve as a reliable wall due to access to powerful moves like Sucker Punch, which takes advantage of Calyrex's inability to access any priority moves. However, Snarl Yveltal isn't nearly as threatening to this Calyrex as it is to most other ones, because the -1 Spa debuff is countered by the +2 buff from Weakness Policy.

Here are some calcs! (important ones are bolded)

Defensive Calcs

252 Atk Technician Marshadow Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Calyrex-Shadow: 460-544 (67.4 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Dark Aura Yveltal Snarl vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dynamax Calyrex-Shadow: 400-472 (58.6 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Offensive Calcs

252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Max Mindstorm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Marshadow: 554-654 (172.5 - 203.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Astral Barrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 477-562 (119.8 - 141.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Max Flutterby vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 247-291 (54.1 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Max Phantasm vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 484-571 (148.4 - 175.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Will finish later.

Found out that Specs Caly is banned, I'll keep thinking :)
Reserved for Choice Specs Calyrex-S

 

[PrimalKyogre]

It may sound a little weird, but what about haze Calyrex-Shadow?

Calyrex-Shadow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Astral Barrage
- Aromatherapy
- Will-O-Wisp
With the scarf, it hits 657 speed. This is higher than many setup sweepers, even when they are at 2+ Spe (including Groudon, Zekrom, Xerneas, Zygarde, etc.) and can haze away these boosts in an emergency situation. It also can mess up the ever-so-annoying Baton Pass teams, which can come in handy occasionally. Will-O-Wisp can mess with physical attackers such as Necrozma-Dusk, Zygarde, Groudon, Zacian-C, Physical Yveltal, Dracovish, and Darmanitan-G. Astral barrage is great as always, and with the choice scarf can revenge kill other Calyrex-S and speed tie with Ditto. Aromatherapy can also help in a pinch if the rest of your team is struggling with status conditions.

 

[Frito]

Calyrex-Shadow @ Leftovers
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Disable
- Nasty Plot
- Astral Barrage

Sub + Disable Calyrex can put an extreme amount of pressure on teams with lots of mono attackers. Stuff like mono-Thousand Arrows Zygarde and mono-Sunsteel Strike NDM are food for this set. All it has to do is sub, then disable their attack and no Caly has at least 1 free turn to either sub again or Nasty Plot to boost its Special Attack to extreme levels. This set even has the ability to put pressure on SpDef Yveltal, as they often only carry 1 dark type move (as long as it's not Snarl). Working in the same fashion as the last 2 examples, Caly disables the Dark move and now Yveltal U-turns out. But wait, the 96 HP EVs make it so 0 attack Yveltal U-turn never breaks the sub, further exploiting one of Caly's few answers.

0 Atk Yveltal U-turn vs. 96 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Shadow: 77-91 (21 - 24.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

 

[Rotten]

It's time to vote. There are 10 submissions for this week. Good work w/ this one!

Nasty Plot + Will-O-Wisp by crystalizerix
Will-O-Wisp + Hex by NB402141
/ Imprison + Foul Play by Fc
Future Sight + Nasty Plot by Swastik
Physically Defensive by mbouchon
Dual Screens by nameless90
Future Sight + Taunt by AssaultDestiny
Endure + Stored Power by burgablob
Choice Scarf Haze by PrimalKyogre
Sub + Disable by Frito135

Vote for your favorite set! Remember to not vote for your own set if you have submitted one.

Voting will end on June 2nd, 3 PM GMT-4.​

 

[Frito]

/ Imprison + Foul Play by Fc

 

[Swas]

Physically Defensive by mbouchon

 

[aerobee]

Sub + Disable by Frito135

 

[NB402141]

Sub + Disable by Frito135

 

[PrimalKyogre]

Will-O-Wisp + Hex by NB402141

 

[burgablob]

Sub + Disable by Frito135

(also how do you add links like in the previous votes)

 

[nameless90]

Will-O-Wisp + Hex by NB402141
because WoW is a great supporting option that makes Hex reliable as a 130 BP move, and this is huge on a SpA attacker like this one.
Higher PP than Astral Barrage is also a good trait.

 

[assaultdestiny]

Physically Defensive by mbouchon

Tbh looks neat, nice new set.

 

[Rotten]

Frito135 has won the third week with his Substitute + Disable set! Your set will be added to the Hall of Fame and Leaderboard shortly.

Week 4 - Groudon



Groudon is an excellent and versatile threat in AG. It can choose to either be a fearsome sweeper with its excellent move combination, Swords Dance, and Dynamax, or a potent Stealth Rock setter. Notably, it can find opportunities to come in on common Pokemon like Necrozma-DM, Zekrom, and Ho-Oh and force them out. Groudon has good stats and a huge movepool; what other sets can it run?

Banned sets

Voting will start on June 6th, 3 PM GMT-4!​

 

[aerobee]

Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Fissure
- Thunder Wave
- Smack Down
- Rest

Let's play some DONS!

In the DONS metagame, the dominant Pokemon are Groudon, Gastrodon, and Donphan. With Sturdy, Donphan may seem the most viable Pokemon in the metagame, as it is not affected by Fissure; however, Smack Down goes around this issue, impressively allowing for a possible 15HKO. Even Rhydon is utterly smashed by Smack Down, which is a 38HKO.

will edit later

 

[NB402141]

Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fissure
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Stone Edge
Using restalk fissure allows don to spam fissure until it gets on low health then use rest and spam fissure again. Stone Edge allows don to hit flying type mons since fissure can not. This mon doesn't exactly need atk since it's running an ohko move so most of its evs go into hp and def. 64 speed evs allows it to outspeed or speed tie most yveltal defensive sets that way don can kill it without it roosting first. Even thought 64 goes into speed, the hp and def evs still are enough to give don a high chance to not get 2ohko by zac. Restalk also allows don to still spam fissure during sleep without making it lose pp for fissure. Restalk also gives don a longer chance to survive and kill mons.

calcs

0 Atk Groudon Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Yveltal: 214-252 (46.9 - 55.2%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Groudon: 195-229 (48.2 - 56.6%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Fc]

Do you hate winning? If so, I have the perfect Groudon set here:


Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 80 Def / 52 SpD / 76 Spe
Impish Nature
- Double Team
- Rest
- Bulk Up
- Rollout

With bulk to always be 4HKO'd by Yveltal Foul Play, Attack to always OHKO unboosted Zygarde-C with max power Rollout, and Speed for min speed Yveltal and Xerneas, this Groudon set will never do anything. The idea is to Double Team up to +6 as well as Bulking up, essentially making it unkillable on the physical side and forcing special attackers to have to actually hit. Rollout is the strongest move you can get that's neutral against everything with it's 480 max BP, so while terrible this set is fun and can probably cheese a few wins.

Calcs

+6 48 Atk Groudon Rollout vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde-Complete: 636-749 (100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 48 Atk Dark Aura Yveltal Foul Play vs. +1 252 HP / 80+ Def Groudon: 127-151 (31.4 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Always a 4HKO as you bulk up

 

[nameless90]

Eject Pack Overheat Groudon

Groudon @ Eject Pack
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hone Claws
- Precipice Blades
- Stone Edge
- Overheat


One of the key factors of the pokemon battles is the momentum.
Eject Pack turns Overheat into a strong Fire-type move that mickmicks Volt Switch/U-turn while hitting decently hard thanks to the combination of Sun+base 100 SpA, which is still workable.

4 SpA Groudon Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn in Sun: 368-436 (104.5 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So, you can get rid of Ferrothorn without relying on a +2 Precipice Blades.

I picked Hone Claws over SD because this isn't a set reliant on Blunder Policy and Groudon has a lot of troubles with accuracy.

 

[TailGlowVM]

Paradancer

Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Precipice Blades
- Stone Edge
- Thunder Wave

Paradancer Groudon is a classic set from past generations of Ubers. The idea is that in the early game, when your opponent might expect Groudon to set up, most of the time you should click Thunder Wave, crippling switch-ins to Groudon like Lunala and defensive Kyogre, as well as punishing aggressive switches into offensive Pokemon that are faster and force it out like Calyrex-S. It then can be used to sweep in the late game, or simply wallbreak like another set against a bulkier team. It has an advantage over Rock Polish in that it doesn't always force Groudon to take as much damage setting up, and slower teammates can also take advantage of paralysis. Other EV spreads could probably work, but this one is simply max Attack and outruns a paralyzed Choice Scarf Kyogre and a paralyzed non-Choice Scarf Calyrex-S with the rest dumped in HP. Leftovers are used to provide a small amount of recovery as this set needs to stick around in the long term to be effective.

 

[Turtonator44]

SubSalac

Groudon @ Salac Berry
Ability: Drought
EVs: 32 HP / 224 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Precipice Blades
- Stone Edge

SubSalac Groudon is an old set from ADV Ubers. The idea is to sub to low HP and then turn the tables on offensive teams. While dynamax sweeper groudon is more potent, this set could be used on offensive teams that want their groudon to function better outside of dynamax. 32 HP lets groudon’s sub never be broken by tarrows from defensive zygarde.

0 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Groudon: 73-87 (20.9 - 24.9%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

Swords Dance allows Groudon to be even more threatening. The choice of Precipe Blades and Stone Edge as coverage is pretty standard. +2 Precipe Blades is capable of OHKOing a major portion of the AG metagame, and stone edge hits the flying types that can avoid it.

Edit: 32 HP is to make zygarde unable to break groudon’s sub, I made a typo earlier.

 

[baconeatinassassin]

Groudon @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 240 HP / 64 Def / 180 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bulk Up
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Rest

You could just slap Rest onto Stealth Rock + Toxic or bulky Swords Dance Groudon, but here's an attempt to come up with something slightly more original. Bulk Up + Rest allows Groudon to act as a fairly solid check to common setup sweepers such as Zekrom, Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM and variants of Zygarde-C lacking the reasonably uncommon Dragon Tail, and takes advantage of common defensive cores by using defensive Necrozma-DM and Yveltal as setup fodder and threatening Eternatus with Earthquake. Dragon Tail allows Groudon to bypass Coil Zygarde-C, phaze sweepers attempting to setup alongside it and accrue chip on other opposing checks, with Groudon able to drop Rock-type coverage with Ho-oh usage plummeting, although Stone Edge or Rock Tomb still works. The EVs allow Groudon to outspeed the majority of defensive transformed Zygarde-Cs and bulky Kyogres as well as avoid the 3HKO from Yveltal's Foul Play, while the rest is dumped into special defense.

calcs

Setup sweepers without Dynamax:
+1 224 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 117-138 (29.1 - 34.4%) -- 99.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252+ Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 201-237 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- 75.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. +1 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 135-159 (33.6 - 39.6%) -- 17.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Dragon Claw vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 142-168 (35.4 - 41.8%) -- 82.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

All three of Zygarde-C, Necrozma-DM and Zekrom cannot break a healthy Groudon, unless Necrozma-DM is Life Orb and the Groudon user decides to Bulk Up instead of attacking.

Setup sweepers with Dynamax:
+1 224 Atk Zygarde Max Quake vs. +1 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 112-133 (27.9 - 33.1%) -- 87.5% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252 Atk Teravolt Zekrom Max Wyrmwind vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 229-270 (57.1 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Teravolt Zekrom Max Wyrmwind (base: Outrage) vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 320-378 (79.8 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252+ Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Max Steelspike vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 261-307 (65 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Max Steelspike vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 339-399 (84.5 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Dynamax Zygarde-C cannot break Groudon; the other two can, but even in a worst-case scenario in terms of sets, a healthy Groudon should be able to stall out at least 2 Dynamax turns without Dynamaxing itself, which should allow teammates an easier time.


Other physical attacks:
0 Atk Dark Aura Yveltal Foul Play vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 126-148 (31.4 - 36.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Marshadow Close Combat vs. 240 HP / 64+ Def Groudon: 175-208 (43.6 - 51.8%) -- 9.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery


Special attacks:
+1 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Astral Barrage vs. 240 HP / 180 SpD Groudon: 318-375 (79.3 - 93.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 SpA Eternatus Flamethrower vs. 240 HP / 180 SpD Groudon in Sun: 122-144 (30.4 - 35.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[PrimalKyogre]

Paralysis Spreader

Groudon @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Double Team
- Dragon Tail / Roar
- Rest

A set meant to paralyze as much of the opponent’s team as possible. After a few double teams, it’ll be very hard to hit, especially when you couple that with Paralysis. This can force a Dynamax, and with it’s gigantic bulk, you can stall out a few turns of the Dynamax. Rest further bolsters it’s ability to stall Dynamax, as if you can take a hit and rest it off, they’re nearly guaranteed to take up all three DMAX turns, just to stop your Groudon. With your ability to avoid most attacks, Rest is very helpful if you happen to get statuses or need to heal off some hits, and the Chesto Berry wakes you up immediately, allowing for a one-time-full-recovery with no drawbacks. Dragon Tail and Roar force opponents out, which lets you paralyze other Pokémon that come in and stop setup Pokémon that want to boost their attacking stats to break past you. Dragon Tail accumulates some more chip damage, but has a hard time getting past Substitutes due to it’s low power. Zacian and Xerneas also can’t be forced out if you run dragon tail, but you can always pair Groufon with Necrozma-Dusk for this (plus, you can get 75% recovery paired with Groudon’s drought!). Roar doesn’t get the chip damage, but it more reliably forces out the opponent and can mess up Baton Pass shenanigans. Groudon finds a nice opportunity to set up it’s double teams on defensive Necrozma-Dusk Mane, as it is immune to NDM’s Thunder wave and can shrug off Sunsteel Strikes with it’s massive defense and Rest. Groudon appreciates support from Kyurem-White, as a dynamaxed Kyogre is the most reliable way to OHKO Groudon, but KyuW is the best way to deal with a Dynamaxed Kyogre (unless, of course, you feel the need to use Shedninja instead).

 

[burgablob]

Reserved for SRock + DTail Groudon

 

[Rotten]

It's time to vote. There are 8 submissions for this week! burgablob, your submission won't be included because you didn't have your nomination up in time.

Fissure + Smack Down by mbouchon
Fissure + RestTalk by NB402141
Double Team + Bulk Up by Fc
Eject Pack + Overheat by nameless90
ParaDancer by TailGlowVM
SubSD + Salac by Turtonator44
Bulk Up + Dragon Tail by baconeatinassassin
Paralysis Spreader by PrimalKyogre

Vote for your favorite set! Remember to not vote for your own set if you have submitted one.

e: voting for Fc's set​

 

[Pokemh]

Double Team + Bulk Up by Fc