I am trying to get this done early, and I think I already got the data. Galarian Zapdos was thankfully banned so I won't be covering it, but I tried scarf and it mowed through a team's offense so that was fun.
Bold Grassy Seed Latias
Intro: Ok, the first thing that came into my head after seeing this was just use Mew, but I am obligated to try and get data on why this is so here I am to explain why you should just use Mew, or even Reuniclus.
Latias (F) @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Calm Mind
- Mystical Fire
- Recover
Spread: The idea was since I cannot outspeed Rachi naturally and was not worried about Rotom in the slightest, I opted to just get the jump on max speed Kommo-o with this spread. The added bulk was so that I did not have to be as worried as Krook despite deciding not to outspeed it, and Mystical Fire was there to handle things like Scizor that could give the set any potential problems. It was fine on some occasions, others not as much, and some I was thinking why am I forcing myself to play this.
Experience:
This replay kind of exemplifies my problem with Latias as a Stored Power abuser; these things are usually a hax magnet for how long they commit themselves to the field throughout several games, but it becomes especially worse when the added Dragon typing makes it weak to all of Fairy, Ice, and opposing Dragons, meaning there's a wider net of moves that can deal massive damage at the inevitable time RNG decides to screw you over, and the limited defense boost means that chipping it into potential crit range is easier.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1238586178-pzi15rwyyt0kk52nqdk8l430qflay5hpw
Another problem I had was the bold restriction; while it did help me tank a couple hits from Krook (first replay), the loss in speed means I was not able to outspeed Jirachi and recover before I got flinched to death in classic Jirachi fashion (second replay). I'll admit, I did fumble pretty hard in the second replay, but it felt really awkward and clunky getting this on field safely regardless. After a couple of other games of not having too many opportunities to bring in this Latias, I decided it was not worth playing it like this and abandoned the idea.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1238405127-9sfzxn90cdfrybepffhymxhl3dtidbepw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1238573602-h2tmxycyw30olfwwzw871h0a0jwvba3pw
:
https://pokepast.es/520d983d97e15d2e
This was the team I tried. The idea was for Keldeo draw in mons like Slowking and Toxic to make life for Lati immensely easier which was fine at in that last replay I sent. Jirachi was there just to take the hits from opposing Latias and pass Wish U-Turn, but that ended up being not happening given how hard it can be pressured; I mostly ended up using it as a pivot to opposing Lati anyways since even Mystical Fire was not even doing too much to it given the spread. Rotom was here to patch up things against Mamo as it usually does for my teams, break through Amoongus and defensive Steela and provide Defog. Nidoqueen was the prerequisite stealth rocker which she filled her role decently as, not to mention being a decent Volt Switch block. Lastly, I used Scarf Bulu to make up for the speed lost with Lati, and it did its job okay...ish.
Conclusion: Do not run Latias like this, the regular Calm Mind set is still good at setting up for a break or sweep while still retaining its ability to switch in and out comfortably without making the timing uncomfortable to manage with Bulu's terrain, and the loss in speed is way too detrimental for a bold nature to really work. Stored Power mons in general are pretty meh in the current metagame as is, but at least Mew is not shackled to Bulu, punishes Toxic attempts thanks to Synchronize to which it can then Rest it off, has the Item slot opened up for Chesto to bring it back from the dead, and Cosmic Power is still as unholy as ever at making the mon hard to kill, crits be damned.
Nidoqueen
Intro: On a much brighter note, this mon has actually been one of my more favorites to build with since Toxic Spikes is becoming better against offense. It took a little bit, but I think I got a decent hang on how to work with her highness.
Nidoqueen @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 208 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Toxic Spikes
Spread: This is what I used most of the time; hitting 240 speed is a nice benchmark so that Adamant Bisharp can't pull any tricks like switching into Sludge Wave and threatening with Knock Off, the rest is pumped into Special Attack. The special bulk is not necessarily because I wanted to win the mirror match with other Queen, but so that I can make it so that its special defense higher than its regular defense for any random Porygon-Z users. Unnecessary maybe, so change it up however you see fit. Fire Blast is generally the coverage option of choice since Hippowdon is no longer in UU and Celesteela is prominent, but I do find myself wanting Flamethrower for its accuracy on occasion.
Experience:
After I gave up on Grassy Seed Latias, I decided to change up the team and go with Choice Scarf Latias, Stealth Rock on Jirachi to enable Nidoqueen to run Toxic Spikes, and Bulk Up Zarude, and that proved to be a massive mistake. The first replay was beyond hell for me truly, this was awful, after this point I was just switching around to see what would work. It was not all bad, as shown in the second replay at the bottom where the double layer came in super clutch at the end against hyper offense, but it all felt so clunky that I had to ask for help on how to fix the team up.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1238646557-7k7y1ouij57v1o5wzis4gmlsdxky0rjpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1239130046-tbhrchguzn4m1nilq0i5onr4uiyhqf5pw
The end result was me starting from scratch; no matter what I did the team still played awkwardly, so I looked through the Gen 7 analysis for Nidoqueen, which I know isn't the best thing for building in current gens, but it did help me a lot in how to improve building with Queen's general strengths in mind. It was also during this time where I got the heads up from players like Estarossa that defensive Nidoqueen is not worth going into so I immediately ditched the idea of even trying, instead focusing more on offense again.
These replays just show Nidoqueen's defenses in full display despite the fact I'm not running much bulk on this one. In both replays, the team was able to handle Terrakion well, with or without the poison. The first replay shows that since mons like Amoongus (in this case Roserade) on bulkier teams keep the toxic spikes off pretty effortlessly, mons like Terrakion can stick around longer, but since I figured it was a Choice Scarf set, dancing around the moves required a lot less prediction. The second replay shows that even if only 2 mons are affected by Toxic Spikes, the small time to set up can still be worth it; Toxic Spikes absolutely ruined Terrakion and Bulu against Skarmory, and allowed Nidoqueen and Lycanroc to clean up after the former was healed by Healing Wish.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1239740401-lpnl9dqwf3q7mttv3xaxl00vyrsdgvzpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1241797077-rqbl8imfiaenf2mdht7kvf7i4cgtyz1pw
Sometimes Toxic Spikes are needed, sometimes they're not; I debated with myself if they changed this match in any significant way since the mons that were effected would have been killed by the attacks anyways, but at the very least it served as an emergency check if Kommo-o got to setup safely if anything. Honestly, outside of hitting Ninetales and Celesteela potentially with Sludge Wave and Fire Blast respectively, I usually use Nidoqueen as death fodder for hyper offensive teams to bring the actual anti offense mons.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1242403014-t7atilzg6jt690816pys2bdtfv9d0e4pw
The Team:
https://pokepast.es/db577af5bf2bdb40
A lot of pieces ended up being the same from the team that originally did not work out, but with some notable differences. Including but not limited to; a decent Latias set, Skarmory over Jirachi which has been a much better defensive steel type on the team, Lycanroc over Keldeo cause the team needed a better breaker, and Swords Dance Bulu over Choice Scarf.
I actually really liked playing this team; Bulu Queen is a pairing I have been appreciating a lot more since even a layer of T-Spikes will net the opponent more damage than health from the Terrain, and of course Bulu is a reliable water and ground resist while assisting Queen with her weakness to Earthquake spam. I make it a point to outspeed Jolly Azumaril with Bulu at least cause I was traumatized once by a Belly Drum Variant one time and do not want to suffer that again. I was originally using Terrakion but I ended up liking Lycanroc a lot more for its access to priority to pick off Blaziken more efficiently while still having a good Swords Dance user and its access to Psychic Fangs came in clutch on several Kommo-o players while hitting opposing Nidoqueen and Amoongus. Skarmory has amazing synergy with Toxic Spikes thanks to additional Rocky Helmet chip while being a sponge that switches into Amoongus. A fun thing I learned playing is after a Flying type uses Roost and lands for the turn, they'll gain health back from Grassy Terrain so that's neat to keep in mind if Skarmory is just outside of gaining back Sturdy after the initial Roost.
Rotom-Heat has honestly been my least favorite member on the team; I just generally dislike defog Rotom-Heat, but for a mon that provided hazard removal, helps against Nidoqueen's worst enemy Mamoswine, and has further utility in Volt Switch and Pain Split for momentum and longevity, it got the job done. Latias has been a game to game performer, no surprise there, its my favorite scarf mon; spamming Draco Meteors to soften the opponents up to then Healing Wish end game to the mon they're most weak to is a thing of beauty.
There are a couple of ways to fix the team to your liking if you want. Bulkier teams packing Amoongus and something like Rhyperior for Rotom were hard to deal with since Rhyperior just switches back to Amoongus on the Bulu, and Amoongus is a great soaker for T-Spikes; changing out Toxic Spikes on Nidoqueen for Stealth Rock so that Skarmory can use regular Spikes to keep damage on the both of them should prove more useful against those bulky teams. Losing one of the big tools against offense is not ideal, but between scarf Latias, Lycanroc, and Skarmory, it's not like it becomes unwinnable. You can try 4 attack Lycanroc for the additional coverage, but I generally prefer the added wall breaking potential SD provides. Using Zen-Headbutt over Darkest Lariat on Bulu is an option, but the team is already a bit weak to 3 attack Latias, so I personally do not recommend it.
Conclusion: If you couldn't tell before, I definitely liked testing Nidoqueen a lot more; even with a low bulk investment she still a solid check to one of the best mons in the tier, Zeraora, and outside of that her unique typing and expansive coverage allow her to fight common defensive structures no other mon can quite replicate. Not the most slappable mon on every team, but she is worth considering and putting in the extra effort to make room for Toxic Spikes over Stealth Rock can be quite rewarding.
Well I wanted to finish this early, ended up wrapping it up on the last day, goddamn it.
, and also investigate the mysteries of Seed Latias 
! Post a response to this thread with your Research Week 24 name, and the pokemon you plan to use, and start your scientific adventure!
