Other Metagames The Leviathan's Wrath - A Gen8 AG Team

[burgablob]

The Leviathan's Wrath
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Hey everyone! Welcome to this RMT. The Leviathan's Wrath is a semi-stall I built around Calm Mind Kyogre. After demolishing most of my opponents using one of these in one of the standard AG room tours with a test team, I decided to put some more work into creating a team where this star could truly shine. While Choice Scarf Kyogre variants have been seeing a lot of usage in the current metagame, bulky Calm Mind is definitely a viable playstyle if supported correctly. Let me start with the teambuilding process.

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As mentioned above, I wanted to build around a Calm Mind Kyogre. Since this is a semi-stall, Kyogre serves as the bulky setup sweeper. The rest of the team is mainly just to support it.

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It's difficult to build any sort of team in the current AG metagame without some sort of Yveltal variant. I went for specially defensive to check Calyrex-S and most other Psychic-type sweepers.

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It's also necessary to bring some sort of Zacian-C check, whether this is Quagsire or NDM. I brought a Rocky Helmet variant of the latter to deal recoil damage to Zacian.

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Specially defensive Ferrothorn augments this team by stopping opposing offensive Kyogres and other special sweepers. Iron Barbs can also help chip mons with contact moves, though it's lack of physdef EVs mean that it won't take many hits. It's better to use NDM's rocky helmet for chipping away at opponents.

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Lunala helps Necrozma out by burning and phazing mons that the latter doesn't have the defense to deal with. Shadow Shield protects it from the first blow, letting it cripple mons with Will-O-Wisp before they grow out of hand.

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For the final member of this team, I first opted for a Marshadow. However, after speaking to Tic-Tac-Toe Guru I swapped it out for Eternatus. Eternatus has much greater defensive utility and better coverage than Marsh, making it the better fit for this team.

Now that that's all out of the way, we can actually look at the sets! Let's start with Kyogre.

Kyogre @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Scald
- Ice Beam​

Kyogre is the glue that holds this whole team together. When it's not hammering targets with STAB Scald that's further boosted in the rain, it can soak up hits with its high defense and use Calm Mind to boost its Special Defense and Special Attack to astronomical levels. While some people have told me to swap out Ice Beam for Block to trap targets and set up with Calm Mind, I've found that the coverage Ice Beam provides is invaluable to Kyogre. Plus, it's clutched out multiple times, such as by freezing an opposing Cosmic Power Eternatus against Geysers, allowing me to win the game. Max HP and Defense let it take as many hits from physically offensive Pokémon as possible, as Kyogre has no way to boost its physdef. Rest allows Kyogre to heal and shrug off any non-volatile status conditions.

Yveltal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Snarl
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
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Yveltal is a solid specially defensive tank, acting as a defensive pivot against Calyrex-S and a myriad of other specially offensive Pokémon. Snarl helps Yveltal check Baton Pass Calyrex variants to wear away at Nasty Plot buffs after Baton Pass. Roost gives it much-need longevity, and U-Turn allows it to scout potentially threatening mons and check them before they gain momentum. Defog lets Yveltal act as the hazard control for this team, stopping Hazard Stack strategies from wearing down the team. Max special defense and HP EVs allow it to tank the greatest number of hits possible from opposing specially offensive mons. HDB serves to eliminate Yveltal's otherwise crippling weakness to Stealth Rock.

Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 140 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def / 112 Spe
Impish Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Morning Sun
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
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As mentioned above, Necrozma is this team's primary Zacian-C check. 112 Speed EVs are just enough to let it outspeed 252+ Speed Timid Zacian-C after it is paralyzed by Thunder Wave. Rocky Helmet deals recoil damage to Zacian-C and other mons with contact moves. Most notably, it absolutely punishes Life Orb Pheromosa if it goes for Triple Axel and King's Rock Weavile if it goes for Beat Up. Stealth Rock helps chip away at focus sash users. Sunsteel Strike gives Necrozma a way to deal damage other than recoil and something to do if it's Taunted. Prism Armor greatly augments Necrozma's utility, allowing it to shrug off hits that would otherwise deal considerable damage to it.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
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Ferrothorn greatly complements Yveltal, allowing this team to stop most special attackers in their tracks. Pokémon like Choice Scarf Kyogre, who can do great damage to Yveltal with its Thunder/Water Spout, find themselves struggling against Ferrothorn. The Leech Seed + Leftovers combo allows Ferrothorn to recover a large amount of health in a single turn. Protect allows Ferrothorn to scout opposing sets and make sure that they aren't packing a Fire-Type move. Spikes and Gyro Ball give Ferro things to do on free turns: Spikes can deal significant chip damage to your opponent's Pokémon if their hazard control has been eliminated, and Ferrothorn's ridiculously low base speed allows Gyro Ball to reach 150 base power against faster targets.

Lunala @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Def / 40 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Hex
- Roar​

Lunala is another Pokémon that I was really excited to try out. After seeing a similar set in action, I wanted to give this a go myself. It's turned out to be invaluable, and has won me many a match. Heavy-Duty Boots protect Lunala from chip damage from hazards, allowing Shadow Shield to weaken your opponent's attacks. Will-O-Wisp helps further incapacitate physical mons. While Ice Beam can be used over Hex to threaten Zygarde and Garchomp, the 2x power bump that Hex receives after Lunala uses Will-O-Wisp was too good to refuse. Lunala's Roar effectively phazes targets and can deal significant chip damage if Necrozma's Stealth Rock and Ferrothorn's Spikes are active. When facing Baton Pass teams, save Lunala for the very end; most baton pass strategies don't have Ingrain, allowing you to shock your opponent by phazing their Pokémon at the last possible turn, stopping their sweep and winning the game.

Eternatus @ Power Herb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 16 Def / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 220 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Dynamax Cannon
- Meteor Beam
- Flamethrower
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Eternatus wraps up the team very nicely, taking care of the odds and ends that the other Pokémon here can't cover. The spread-out EVs allow it to hit hard and fast, while still soaking up most attacks with its amazing natural bulk. Dynamax Cannon is a powerful STAB that threatens most other dragon-types and can deal great damage on the switch-in. Power Herb lets Meteor Beam charge in a single turn boosting its already-high special attack and dealing massive damage to common Flying-Types like Ho-Oh and Yveltal. Flamethrower shreds Steel-types like opposing Necrozma-Dusk-Manes and Ferrothorns.

Overall, this is a semi-stall that I've been having a lot of success on the ladder with lately. However, I know that, with the help of the Smogon community, I can improve it even further. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated.

Shout-Outs

Tic-Tac-Toe Guru
NB402141
Bread Sandwich
Mbouchon

All of the people above have massively helped with this team, I can't thank you guys enough.

Finally, Here's a Poképaste of the whole team.

Poképaste

https://pokepast.es/fe54fb3d51ae8e58