Team Salaquaza

[rayquazamaster776]

Deoxys-e @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Extremespeed
- Shadow Ball/Spikes

Deoxys-E is an obligatory lead for an offensive team, setting up rocks and offering a fast Taunt, which pairs well with Wobbuffet. Nowadays, everyone prepares for Deoxys leads, so Spikes are virtually impossible to get up. Therefore, I prefer Shadow Ball, allowing me to easily defeat other Deoxys leads, as well as inflicting some damage against other Psychics.

Scizor (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 176 HP/100 Atk/232 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Roost
- U-turn

Scizor is really only here because I need a Dragon resist, but he is really not doing too well. I'm considering either changing to a more offensive set or dropping him entirely for another Steel-type, but I really can't think of anything else. This is probably my team's weak link, though he is good at eliminating things like Lugia.

Palkia @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spacial Rend
- Surf
- Thunder
- Fire Blast

Palkia is my main revenge killer, taking advantage of whatever weather condition my opponent decides to use, as well as being a good counter to other Dragons, allowing mine to set up more easily. Unfortunately, he/she/it does increase my Dragon weakness even more, but that's never been much of a problem.

Wobbuffet (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 28 HP/228 Def/252 Spd
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Encore
- Tickle
- Mirror Coat
- Counter

Wobbuffet is the first member of my "fearsome threesome", giving my Dragons plently of opportunity to start Dancing. He also pairs well with Scizor, as I can repeatedly Tickle something, then switch to Scizor and take it out with a swift Pursuit, eliminating it while taking virtually no damage. He's also good for Encoring weak attacks to send to Mence or Ray.

Salamence (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SAtk
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Blast
- Outrage

Salamence is the first member of my 'dancing duo, ripping open holes in my opponent's defence for Rayquaza to exploit, 2KOing threats such as Lugia and offensive Groudon after 1 Dragon Dance. Also, unlike a +1 Rayquaza, Mence speed ties with Timid Scarf Palkia after a Dragon Dance. Mence rarely sweeps by himself, but his attacks do leave often irrepairable holes in the opponent's team.

Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Extremespeed
- Earthquake

After Salamence has done his part, Wobbuffet often finds another Encore opportunity. Then, Rayquaza swoops in from above, ready to finish what his Dancing buddy started. I'm using Swords Dance Rayquaza due to the fact that it increases its power more quickly than a Dragon Dancer, and Salamence weakens stuff like Lugia to the point that it can't take advantage of my lack of Speed anyway. Similarly, Dragon Claw easily disposes of weakened Groudon, so Waterfall is unnecessary on this set as well.

 

[rayquazamaster776]

Threat list (taken from Shrang's RMT):


Offensive threats:

Kyogre – Palkia decimates Kyogre, but can otherwise be a problem if my Dragons can't get a boost.

Groudon – Worn down by Palkia and Salamence.

Rayquaza – Revenged by Scizor and Palkia, Mence can if it's unboosted.

Palkia – Wobbuffet revenge traps, Palkia and +1 Mence speed tie at worst.

Dialga – One of the biggest threats to my team, especially Scarfed. Hopefully, Mence can get a DD and outspeed any version.

Mewtwo – Offensive ones are 2KOed by Palkia, Wobbuffet sets up on supporters, Scizor Pursuits.

Wobbuffet – Should be fine so long as I don't try to set up on it.

Giratina-O – Palkia, Mence, Ray

Deoxys-S – My Deoxys takes no damage if they Taunt thanks to Shadow Ball. Also, Scizor.

Darkrai – Scizor, Palkia, Rayquaza revenge.

Garchomp – Depends on the set. Palkia beats anything non-Scarved, and isn't KOed by anything on the Scarf set except Outrage, and then Wobb Counters. Scizor can revenge.

Latias – Scizor, Mence if boosted

Latios – same as Latias

Ho-oh – Can be tricky, but Palkia can wear it down and it hates SR.

Shaymin-S – Scizor

Scizor – Palkia's Fire Blast is my best bet.

Mew – Scizor

Deoxys-A – Scizor, Deoxys

Lucario – Mence Intimidates, outspeeds, and KOs with EQ.

Tyranitar – Scizor.

Metagross – Mence, Palkia can revenge

Kingdra – Potentially a huge threat. Rayquaza's my best bet thanks to Air Lock.

Salamence – Scizor, Palkia ties after a DD.

Jirachi – Wobbuffet lols at Scarfed ones, most of my team can hit it hard.

Heatran – Palkia.

Manaphy – Always seen in Rain, so Palkia Thunders.

Ludicolo – Nothing hits it SE, but I should be able to wear it down.

Ninjask – Scizor, Rayquaza.

Infernape – Palkia.

Weavile – Scizor.

Celebi – Scizor, Wobbuffet Encores support moves.

Heracross – Scizor.

Mamoswine – Scizor.

Jumpluff – Scizor.

Shiftry – Scizor, Palkia

Gengar – Scizor.

Kabutops - Palkia's my best bet here.

Abomasnow – Palkia.

Uxie – Scizor, the rest of my team wears it down.

Magnezone – Wobb, Mence

Dugtrio – Hard to counter due to Arena Trap, but nothing really has a problem with it.


Defensive Threats:

Blissey – Rayquaza/Mence, Wobb cripples w/Encore.

Forretress – Palkia/Mence, Wobb loves to Encore Rapid Spin.

Lugia – Wobb encores->Scizor Pursuits, Mence wears it down so Rayquaza can KO with E-Speed.

Giratina – Any of my Dragons.

Skarmory – Palkia.

Cresselia – Scizor, Wobb Encores.

Bronzong – Palkia, Wobb Encores.

Deoxys-D – Wobbuffet, Scizor.

Registeel – Most of my team can handle it just fine.

 

[Friar]

Hey there,

Pretty cool team you have here! The SalaQuaza combo is absolutely deadly, and I think I have some suggestions to make the team a little more efficient at abusing this combination.

Palkia - The Choice Scarfer is a great pick to have on this team, but I think you should change the moveset to Spacial Rend / Surf / Thunder / Outrage with a Hasty Nature and an EV spread of 4 Attack / 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed. Outrage is nice to give Palkia an attack on the other side of the attacking spectrum, allowing it to 2HKO Blissey, OHKO Latias should Scizor be down, and deal with Physically weak Pokemon like CM Mewtwo reliably. With STAB the attack is still very strong, and it grants Palkia more flexibility, making it the superior option.

Salaquaza - I recommend a different set here. I think you should use Mixed Rayquaza along with your current DD Mence. MixQuaza is a great choice because it is an unexpected set and is able to nuke DD Mence checks like Groudon and Lugia on the switch in. MixQuaza will serve as your wall breaker for Mence, who can easily set up when aided by Wobbofett and sweep your opponent's team after it has been weakened by Rayquaza. Together with Palkia, Mixquaza can methodically eliminate Steel types and DD Mence counters from the opposition so that Salamence can guide your team to victory. Here is the Rayquaza set:

Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Naive / Air Lock
40 Attack / 252 Special Attack / 216 Speed
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-ExtremeSpeed
-Brick Break

This set is downright deadly both by itself and in conjunction with Salamence. Draco Meteor is the main move to use, opening holes for Salamence as well as eliminating its counters. Fire Blast is the move to use if you expect a Steel type to switch in. ExtremeSpeed is a nice revenging tool, and along with Scizor and Palkia you should have no trouble keeping enemy sweepers under control. While Outrage is usable in the last slot, I prefer Brick Break because it still 2HKO's Blissey, but also gives you a nice option against Baton Pass Mew because Rayquaza can break screens. Max Special attacks EVs to pump up Draco Meteor, and the Speed Evs make you fast enough to deal with walls such as Lugia. Basically you just need to spam Rayquaza early and midgame to get ready for a lategame Salamence sweep.

Thats all I have, good luck with your team!

 

[kevin111260]

I'm not that good with RMTs. but i'll try anyway ._.
You say that Scizor is the weak link of your team, then why don't you try a Foretress? Foretress can help you set up Spikes, which Deoxys cannot do, and it's also bulkier. Foretress resists dragon, and explosion might but a dent in Lugia.
You can also use a Lucario if you want a more offensive pokemon, and its equally capable to using SD+BUllet Punch (but not as strong). It addition, it has access to Crunch, which helps againts Lugia, and Ice Punch for dragons. Also, it takes less damage from Stealth Rock. I set i would reccomend is

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Extremespeed
- Close Combat
- Crunch

Extremespeed can get rid of the faster pokemon, while having plenty of power. You can also try BUllet Punch if you want. CLose Combat is your strongest weapon againts Groudon, but like i said earlier, Ice Punch helps againts dragons. Lucaio most likely won't be KOed by opposing dragons because of its resist.

Good Luck on your team.
BTW, where did you get the pictures for your RMT? The big ones for the team? They look really cool.

 

[franky]

Hello rayquaza,

I don't rate uber teams often, but I'll give in my two cents with this strategy. Personally, I would aim to go for a MixQuaza set as well. I've toyed with this combo for a bit, and punching physical walls with Draco Meteor really puts the icing to the cake. With most of Salamence's counters weakened from Rayquaza, Salamence can sweep sufficiently easier. You can alternate this combo by using MixMence + Dragon Dance Rayquaza if you wish. I prefer MixQuaza because it packs more punch than Salamence, and DD Mence hits relatively hard anyways. You can find the set suggested from Friar.

You say Scizor is your weak link, maybe you can look for a Choice Scarf Jirachi over Scizor at the moment. I had good experience with Choice Scarf Jirachi since it ultimately accomplishes the same role as Scizor minus the STAB U-turn. What benefits will you gain? You add a reliable Rayquaza check since Rayquaza can easily shrug off Bullet Punch with near-abysmal EVs into Attack. It can toast Scizor with Fire Blast, and proceed to hurt your team. Palkia is hurt badly from Extremespeed, and I generally don't like using Palkia to check Rayquaza. Its just too risky. In addition to checking Ray, you can also check the Lati family by coming in on their attacks and U-turning or Iron Heading them to death. The set is Iron Head / U-turn / Trick / Ice Punch with the nature Jolly and the EVs 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe. Trick makes an excellent move for crippling stall, and opening up set up opportunities for your Dragons. Trick also handles Lugia attempting to wall Iron Head to no ends. Lastly, Ice Punch makes a fantastic move to hit the omnipresent Dragons for super effective damage. (Rayquaza mostly, and to a lesser extent Salamence).

As for other options, look for 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe with the same nature on Deoxys. I never really found the Special Attack EVs to be benefical for Deoxys since it focuses on deploying hazards rather than dish damage. With the bulk, you can set up more Spikes and take more hits better. (from experience). overall gl.

 

[Iconic]

Just to add on to what the other raters have already mention. While I love the fact that you're trying out the Salamence/Rayquaza combination, you've effectively committed 2/3rds of your team in attempting this fairly fragile strategy, with Deoxys dying early and Wobb only able to score about a kill a game. This means that if you're unable to pull it off or set it up correctly, your team doesn't have the resistances or general synergy to overcome even one miniscule mistake. I would encourage you to try to add a little bit of bulk on your team, or simply go all out offense (meaning you'd have to get rid of Palkia). I would definitely choose the former though, and j.franky's suggestion to use Jirachi is an excellent way to start. A Scarf set could work over Scizor, but maybe you could also try out a Bulky Jirachi set.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
252 HP/40 Def/216 SpD
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Protect/U-turn

Pretty standard for Jirachi in Ubers. Granted your team is fairly offensive, Jirachi could be a nice asset to your team. With a plethora of resistances, and only a 2x weakness to Fire-type moves (or 0x weakness in the rain), Jirachi is one of the sturdiest Steel-types to use. Feel free to play with the moveset, but Body Slam and Iron Head are used exactly how they are in OU: to spread paralysis and flinch things. Wish would be a fantastic addition to your team, allowing you to heal Wobbuffett, which will drastically increase its potential to net a more than one kill a game. Protect is somewhat of a filler but allows for extra Leftovers recovery and may be helpful at low HP after having used Wish.

It's totally understandable if you don't like the idea of adding such a bulky Pokemon on your fast-paced team, but with the lack of current synergy, your team may very well need it. If not, definitely try the Scarf build like j.franky said, and consider replacing Palkia with a different Poke with better residences, but still maintains the strength and offense of this team. Maybe something like Groudon or Dialga could take Palkia's place if you deem it necessary.

Anyways I really love your team, as offense has always been my style of choice in Ubers. I bid you good luck with it and hope any changes you make will benefit your team!