This team was originally developed to test out some ideas I've had, but for the month I've used it it's netted me more wins (top uber players included) than I thought possible. I'm still relatively new to ubers, so maybe what success I have had has been due to more experience or maybe it really is the team. I appreciate any rates and suggestions.
Note: Moves have been listed in order of most usage and importance.
Darkrai @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 84 HP / 252 SpA / 172 Spd
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
- Dark Void
- Dark Pulse
- Thunder / Spacial Rend
- Ice Beam
Description: I found myself thinking allot about Scarfgar in OU and thought, "Maybe the same idea can work in ubers." Surprisingly enough, it does, albeit with a few notable differences. Scarfkrai functions as an excellent anti-lead, putting a stop to the myriad Scarfogres and Sashed Deoxys-A (no one who has faced this team for the first time ever sees it coming for some reason either) The drawback, obviously, is if Dark Void misses, Darkrai's as good as dead. I'm a bit wary of how risky this strategy is. Admiteddly, I tend to play him differently depending on who I'm facing it. If it's someone I don't recognize, I generally Dark Void first. If it's someone I know, then I it varies, depending on their lead and team.
Dark Pulse is for general STAB, but the nature of this team generally means I'll only do okay damage with it. At best, I'm picking off weak stuff with it. It's usually a last ditch effort. I originally ran Spacial Rend over Thunder for additional Palkia coverage, but I'm testing out Thunder atm. The additional Kyogre coverage and para chance is appealing, as is the 100% accuracy in the rain (I should note though, that it's far from a OHKO on Kyogre - I hit for 65% or so when I first tried it out and promptly died to Surf). Ice Beam is very uncommon move for Darkrai, but perfect on a Scarfer, allowing me to stop DDing Rayquazas (and, if need be, to knock a hefty 60+% out of Groudon). The shift from DD to SD Rayquaza in the metagame somewhat eskews the original purpose of the move, but an SD Extremespeed fails to OHKO, so it still works just fine. It's also the least committal way for this team to stop Rayquaza.
EVs: The EVs are designed specifically to outrun max speed scarfed base 90s, specifically Kyogre and Palkia, and also for neutral nature Rayquazas. I don't know how many base 90 scarfers run max speed though, so any input would be appreciated.
Jirachi @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Light Screen / Reflect
- Toxic
- Healing Wish
Description: Yeah, how's that for unexpected. Certainly not the standard ubers Jirachi. After Dark Void (or Darkrai's unfortunate death), I usually switch in Jirachi next. Stealth Rock is my #1 priority, although I've been hardly scientific about it. In general, my idea was "Break sashes, bring down HP for some crucial kos, and for minor residual damage", but that's not a very good way of thinking (In fact, only a moment ago did I do actual damage calcs and discover that my Rayquaza always OHKOs the standard Lugia after an SD, even without Stealth Rock; the only crucial KO I can think of is CB Deoxys' Pursuit against fleeing Latiases). Stealth Rock, in general, has been helpful, but if there's an improvement to be made I'd like to hear it.
The choice between Light Screen and Reflect was tough. I originally ran Reflect, but the only physical threats I have any fear of are Groudon and Rayquaza, and my current team has a "Do or die" approach to those two anyway, so I switched to Light Screen, which seemed more appropriate in general. I originally ran Fire Punch over Toxic until I realized that was retarded. Toxic does me much better service, especially in conjunction with Wobbuffet, who I can usually use to stall to death the bigger threats to my team.
Healing Wish is an original option (AFAIK, I'm the only person I've ever seen use it). I've chosen it over Wish for a number of reasons. If I wanted Wish, I'd need U-turn, Protect, or maybe even both to heal my team. I don't have the moveslots for that. I'll be using Healing Wish only when Jirachi's about to die and has served his purpose already. He'd generally be death fodder anyway, so I might as well put him to good use. Finally, and most importantly, Healing Wish is immediate, complete, and total healing, including status. The turn I use Healing Wish, if I'm slower, my opponent has already attacked, so deciding what to go to is easy. If I'm faster, I need to use prediction to know what my opponent's going to do (should he stay in), but the crux of the matter is that I'll know whether or not he's switched. My only reservations with this move is that, for a team like this, I seldom have more than single pokemon in a critical state, so I'm not "maximizing the potential of the move". Still, it erases Stealth Rock damage (Rayquaza) and negates the effects of T-spikes (Wobb, who was the original primary reason for Healing Wish) and sleep (Kyogre or Darkrai). In general though, Healing Wish only sees moderate use, due to the other moves' higher priority and Jirachi being my general "switch-to" to take attacks.
EVs: Shuca Berry gives me insurance against Groudon, Metagross, and Rayquaza, for that extra turn, so I can afford to maximize special defense.
Wobbuffet @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
- Encore
- Mirror Coat
- Counter
- Safeguard / Destiny Bond / Charm
Description: Darkrai was my first thought when building this team. Wobba, the second (and, I should note, he's also the primary inspiration for the title of this thread). A number of people have stated, "Wobba can't function in ubers because it's too frail." I was unsure and had my doubts that the idea had ever seen extensive testing, so I decided to give it a shot. The first three moves are all "standard"; I'll comment on them soon enough. I haven't seriously been using my fourth moveslot; I should be, but I haven't done much experimentation yet. I've been running Destiny Bond by default, but that doesn't seem to make much sense. Safeguard might be the best, but hell, this is an RMT, so I'm hoping for suggestions.
Wobba's played the same as he is in standard. Just keep him away from the SE stuff and you'll be fine. Encore non-attacking moves and, should they be Toxiced, sit there and wait for it to pile up. If you haven't Toxiced them, switch to another pokemon (usually Rayquaza or Kyogre for SD/CM) for a free turn. If they attack, Counter or Mirror Coat. There's no reason to go into specific examples.
EVs: In case of emergencies Wobba might need to take physical strikes, so there's significant EV investment there. Obviously, however, special defense has been optimized. It's much more bulky than I ever imagined. An offensive Kyogre's Surf is a 3HKO. Metalkid's calculator says a +1CM Latias Dragon Pulse is a 4HKO, but my experiences are that it's a 3HKO. Scarfed pokemon don't stand a chance.
Deoxys-A @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Thunderpunch
- Extremespeed / Ice Punch
Description: No one expects the Spanish CB Deoxys-A Inquisition! CB Deoxys-A is extremely uncommon, and this moveset even less so, and as such, I tend to play him differently depending on my opponent and their expectations. Pursuit is the most important move on this set, allowing me to pick off fleeing Blisseys and Latis for a OHKO. Ideally, I want to catch one (preferably the latter) in an Encore as they CM to avoid Mirror Coat, giving me a free kill. Reality doesn't often work out that way, and Deoxys-A is forced in to deal with their threat immediately. Against Blissey, I have the threat of Superpower, but I'm helpless against the Latis if they decide to stay in. Whether they stay in or go out may be linked to my health (if I'm at 100%, they probably fear I'm Scarfed). Against anyone who knows this team, I'm in even bigger trouble. Ice Punch would really help me out, but I'm unsure of what move it should go over.
Superpower and Thunderpunch tend to see circumstantial use. Unless I'm picking off a threat with Pursuit, I tend to reserve Deoxys for later on in the game. This allows me to scout their team and remove prominent switch-ins for Superpower or Thunderpunch. In today's metagame, there are few uber pokemon that resist these on a team, usually two per team. If I can't take them down, then I need to predict carefully. This should go without saying, but, obviously any choice Deoxys-A is very difficult and risky to use. I depend on him for quite allot, so I need to play him carefully so as not to lose him to Scizor.
Extremespeed is probably the least necessary move on this set. It's helpful for picking off stray enemy Deoxys-A and for chipping off damage on threats that my team has trouble with, but I'm unsure if it's value is enough to warrant it a slot over Ice Punch.
EVs: Max attack and speed are standard. The nature is for an extra punch, netting me a few crucial KOs (Superpower, for example, OHKOs Palkia).
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SpA)
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Extremespeed
- Earthquake / Overheat / Draco Meteor / Dragon Claw
Description: SD Rayquaza serves as a midgame clearer and scouter. He usually takes down at least one pokemon with him and often gives me critical information about my opponent's team. Even if I know my opponent's team already, Rayquaza lends himself to midgame attacking. Outrage is the attack of choice, although if my opponent brings in a Rayquaza counter and I have nothing to switch-to, I Extremespeed just to bring them in to KO range for one of my other pokemon (in particular, the Latis, who Deoxys promptly revenge kills).
EQ doesn't see much use though. There's little EQ is KOing that Outrage already doesn't. I'm open to suggestions for an alternative move. I've considered Overheat and Draco Meteor, but I'm struggling to imagine a realistic scenario where I could use them (I don't imagine asking my opponent to switch in Scizor to Overheat would help). Maybe Dragon Claw, so that I'm not always trapped in like with Outrage.
EVs: Max speed allows me to outspeed all non-scarfed base 90s and the standard Lugia. I'm wary of the strategy though. Is there a reason Lugia doesn't go with neutral nature max speed (which edges out Jollyquaza by two points)?
Kyogre @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spd
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
- Surf
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Description: This is what it's all for. Kyogre's my sleep absorber and primary endgame sweeper. Hopefully all of Kyogre's counters have been annihilated at this point. If not, then I just CM up and pray that my opponent doesn't crit. I don't need to explain how this works. If possible, I try to hide that he's a Restalker until later in the match. Most of the time, I'm forced to bring out Kyogre earlier in the match, to take hits and whatnot. That works fine really. Most people switch in the Latis or their main Kyogre counter immediately. Depending on what their counter is, I can either stay in and continue to CM or switch to Wobbuffet and take them out without too much trouble.
EVs: Standard for the set. EVed to take physical hits and outrun speedy Tyranitars, although I've never seen one on the uber ladder before.
That's about it. Lay it on me, smogon. I spent a good portion of the day writing this out, so it's pretty late now. I'll be on for another hour or so tonight if you have any questions. After that, I'll respond to everything in the morning. Thanks.
