Tomas Elliot Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 (edited) INTRO Welcome everyone to my newest RMT. This time, I felt like doing something in the Uber tier, just to see if old strategies are still capable of holding their own or if the latest newcomers of the tier (Xerneas and Yveltal) have made so much of an impact to actually force a major change in the landscape of the tier where everything goes... The results? Well, apparently we are still in the middle of the "noob season", as in, too few time has passed since the release of the new games, and both PO and Showdown are crowded with random kids who can't wait to use a team including Mega Blaziken, Mega Lucario, Mega Gengar (you wouldn't believe how many noobish teams with more than one Pokemon holding a Mega Stone I have faced...), Greninja, Xerneas and Yveltal, bcos cool. So yeah, I haven't really faced any serious competition to form an opinion yet: I did face a couple of true pros who gave me some nice ideas, but 98% of battles were against noobs. I have therefore decided to post the team here because maybe, if we put a bit of thought into it and we join forces to do further testing, we might be able to understand where the evolution of this tier is going. Despite being usually taken by storm by random noobs, Ubers is still a fun tier to play competitively if you have the right mindset and preparation: and with only two new Pokemon being introduced in the tier (Zygarde seems to be really bad, so it doesn't really count) it seems to me that the old legends can still shine this generation... Side note: to symbolize the fact that all these Pokemon are from older generation, I nicknamed them after ancient Jewish myths. The nicknames in the in-depth sections are links to Wikipedia pages which explain the myths behind the names. AT A GLANCE It doesn't take a genius to understand what this team is all about: it is a classic semi-stall team, whose focus is to wear down opponents by abusing indirect damage, waiting for the right time for Rayquaza to come out and attempt to set-up and sweep. Even if it doen't find the right opening to set-up with Dragon Dance, Rayquaza can still finish off worn out Pokemon with Extremespeed. It is a very basic team, but it seems to be capable of taking on any threat of the current Uber metagame, at least in theory... Behemoth @ LeftoversTrait: DroughtEVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 DefImpish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)- Earthquake- Stealth Rock- Thunder Wave- Roar According to Word of God, Behemoth is the mythical creature that Pokemon designers took inspiration from when they created Groudon. The Continent Pokemon has been a prominent force of the Uber tier since it first came out in RSE, even if it wasn't as omnipresent as its counterpart Kyogre back then. But since gaining access to Stealth Rock in Gen 4, it has suddenly become one of the most valuable physical walls of the tier: I am not saying that offensive sets like the dual dancing one are bad, but its defensive one (the very one you see here) is simply unrivaled: Thunder Wave to cripple many offensive threats, Stealth Rock and Roar, so many walls would kill to have access to such useful moves. STAB EQ which is capable of dishing out a lot of damage even uninvested is just the icing on the cake. New weather mechanics mean its ability is only useful to take a Water move for neutral damage, but that is not really a problem, given that I was not planning to abuse Sun anyway. All in all, a great Pokemon and arguably one of the best Stealth Rock users in the tier. You can rarely go wrong with this guy... Agrat @ EvioliteTrait: Natural CureEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDefBold Nature (+Def, -Atk)- Wish- Protect- Seismic Toss- Heal Bell Apparently, Agrat was the name of a being related to the concept of sacred prostitution: that means the name is very appropriate for Chansey, given that the word one is most likely to use to describe her, after being walled to hell and back, is "bitch". There is literally no Special (or even Mixed) attacker in the world that is capable of taking her out before she can do her job, and thanks to Wish and Heal Bell she has an easy time keeping the rest of the team healthy. The only problem is that she cannot touch Mega Gengar, which in turn can trap her and proceed to slowly kill her, hurting the team in the process. And the fact that she is usually my main switch-in to take Gengar on doesn't help with that. I am really considering, to solve this problem, to run Blissey over Chansey: the evolved form actually has some kind of offensive presence, and while opposing Mega Gengar wastes 5 turns to bring her down, she can at least fight back with the likes of Flamethrower or Ice Beam, healing herself with Wish and Protect in the process. I might really try this change in the near future, Blissey is still a hell of a special wall, has still a great synergy with Groudon and most importantly Giratina, and can still keep the rest of the team alive and healthy. She'd be worse at taking unexpected physical hits, but well, one only needs a bit of prediction... However, Chansey can easily take on Mega Mewtwo Y while Blissey can't (damnit Psystrike), so yeah, I guess it is a matter of deciding which between Mega Gengar and Mega Mewtwo Y I fear the most... Dybbuk @ LeftoversTrait: PressureEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDefImpish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)- Dragon Tail- Rest- Sleep Talk- Will-O-Wisp The lord of the Distortion World returns in Gen 6 to do what it has been doing best since first coming out in Gen 4: be the best physical wall around. One heck of a physical bulk AND access to Will-O-Wisp, physical attackers will have a very hard time getting past it. Recently I have seen more and more people running a more special-oriented variant, but I honestly don't need anything like that: in my team, Giratina's main duty is to counter Blaziken, which it does perfectly with the pure physical build. The special moves that might threaten it are perfectly covered for by Chansey and Arceus, so no problem at all. Dragon Tail is a very good phazing move, dealing damage and forcing switches: however, the fact that it doesn't affect Xerneas and that it doesn't have perfect accuracy (let alone the fact that it can be stopped by Substitute) sometimes give me headhaches... Still, I don't dare going for Roar, because an attacking move to avoid being Taunted is required. Rest-Talk as recovery option of choice, since it can easily abuse the free turns provided by the switches it forces to heal itself. Hell, sometimes I don't even get to use Sleep Talk: wall a physical attacker, use Rest as the opponent switches in a special attacker, switch to Chansey to take the special hit, use Heal Bell, Giratina is once again ready for action... Yahweh @ Iron PlateTrait: MultitypeEVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDefCalm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)- Will-O-Wisp- Recover- Perish Song- Judgment The god of the Pokemon world doesn't have the highest BST (is this some kind of blasphemy?) anymore now that Mega Evolution is in town, still it retains its trademark versatility that is unmatched in the metagame, making it easy to find a spot in any team either as a wall, a supporter, a Defogger (yes it does get that, I am not running it because it hurts moy strategy more than it helps it, but it is definitely an option) or even a sweeper thanks to the infamous Extremekiller set. Here we have a wall/support variant whose main duty is to counter Xerneas (which is forced to rely on the horrid accuracy of Focus Blast, and even if it hits it deals around 60% damage at +2, so Xerneas can still be defeated by playing cleverly.), Yveltal and all the Ice Beam- and Draco Meteor-using stuff. Perish Song is a nice way to force switches, to stop Baton pass chains and to end the battle when the opponent is left with one Pokemon, Will-O-Wisp helps taking physical hits from mixed sweepers or even purely physical ones, once they are burnt they are pretty much dead (and with help from Giratina spreading burnt is damn easy), Recover and Wishes from Chansey keep the god alive, and Judgment punishes the aforementioned Xerneas even uninvested... And the great thing about all this is that the weaknesses of this set all grant a free switch-in to a companion (if the opponent tries to attack me with a Fire or Fighting move I switch to Giratina, if he goes for the EQ I switch to Rayquaza, which is especially good to attempt a sweep); Arceus Poison can basically do the same job, with the added bonus of being able to remove Toxic Spikes for this Rapid Spin-less team, but a weakness to Psychic is definitely something I don't want, because I would make it far easier for Xerneas to break through (it would be able to use the far more reliable Psyshock as a coverage move) and because I would really find problems dealing with Mega Mewtwo Y then, speciall if I do decide to try Blissey over Chansey... Golem @ Focus SashTrait: PressureEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpdJolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)- Extreme Speed- Knock Off- Spikes- Taunt My designated lead in 99% of matches. Deoxys-A is a natural born suicidal lead: with its speed it is guaranteed to be able to set up Spikes, Taunt cripples a lot of things commonly used as leads, Knock Off is godly this Gen, and it is great to spam early on, and Extremespeed llows me to get the last laugh after Deo is left with only 1 HP, being able to still hurting something before being taken down... I will not recklessly allow it to suicide however if I see an Arceus in the team preview: apparently, people are starting to use that to Defog away entry hazards, a strategy that Giratina (which is still the best anti-Rapid Spin in existance) cannot stop... So yeah, that Taunt can be more precious than expected later on! Ziz @ Life OrbTrait: Air LockEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 SpdHasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)- Dragon Dance- Outrage- Extreme Speed- Fire Blast As mentioned earlier, Words of God claims the Weather Trio is inspired to jewish myths, with Groudon representing the Behemoth, Kyogre representing the Leviathan, and Rayquaza representing Ziz, the flying creature able to end their conflict. It definitely doesn't look the part, but if Game Freak say so... Anyway, this is a set-up mixed sweeper with a priority move. Need I say more? A team like this needs something to finish off the opponent's Pokemon after wearing them down, and Rayquaza is my weapon of choice, also because its stats make it one of the best wall-breakers in the history of Pokemon. It is hard to argue that Gen 3 gave us the best legendaries to play with, I am using 3 of those in this team, and at least another one is as prominent in Ubers as these 3 are, if not more... CONCLUSIONS So yeah, this is the team. In Gen 5 a team like this would have been a very good one, but I honestly belive that the Ubers metagame hasn't changed that much with the advent of the new generation, given that the dominant threats of the tier are more or less the same, and a single Fairy-type newcomer is not enough to shift the balance of power... What are your thoughts on this regard? Let me know in your comments to this topic. And if you use this team for yourself to do further testing, don't forget to share your results here! THE IMPORTABLE Groudon @ LeftoversTrait: DroughtEVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 DefImpish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)- Earthquake- Stealth Rock- Thunder Wave- RoarChansey (F) @ EvioliteTrait: Natural CureEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDefBold Nature (+Def, -Atk)- Wish- Protect- Seismic Toss- Heal BellGiratina @ LeftoversTrait: PressureEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDefImpish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)- Dragon Tail- Rest- Sleep Talk- Will-O-WispArceus-Steel @ Iron PlateTrait: MultitypeEVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDefCalm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)- Will-O-Wisp- Recover- Perish Song- JudgmentDeoxys-A @ Focus SashTrait: PressureEVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpdJolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)- Extreme Speed- Knock Off- Spikes- TauntRayquaza @ Life OrbTrait: Air LockEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 SpdHasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)- Dragon Dance- Outrage- Extreme Speed- Fire Blast Edited December 17, 2013 by Tomas Elliot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamina Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Team seems a bit weak to ho-oh (sub/roost/sacred fire/bravebird). It can easily set up a sub on four of your pokemon and than precede to sweep the rest of team with either brave bird or sacred fire (especially since you have a groudon in your team). Imo deo-a seems a bit odd in your team since it is most effective as a spiker in a HO where opponent will not have the time to defog or rapid spin. but in a semi-stall team you give your opponent many opportunities to get rid of hazards. I guess replace it with another spiker who is bulker and can counter Ho-oh (like rock pokemon). idunno i'm not that good in uber Also if you want Arcues steel to better counter Xernes i think Judgement -------> Iron head + appropriate nature change its physical damage and has the added benefit of being able to flinch a pokemon with less speed (like other chancies) hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Elliot Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Deo-A is definitely the weak link of the bunch, but I have no idea of what to replace it with! I do need a spiker but I understand your point, I will welcome any suggestion that is a bit more specific And I am going to try Iron Head over Judgment, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Pretty similar to my team, actually. I use Deoxys-D for stalling (RestTalk Spikes are surprisingly effective) which, though I've been told Deoxys-A might work better, has worked out fairly well with my limited testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapphire Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Mewtwo Y. Psystrike/Ice Beam/Shadow Ball/Aura Sphere. Mewtwo Y goes home after 6 attacks. I ran a similar team and while Mewtwo X was killed pretty easily, Mewtwo Y destroyed my team extremely quickly. I'd replace Deoxys with Power Herb Xerneas myself. Also what is with those tags at the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Elliot Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Mewtwo Y deals around 40% to Chansey with Psystrike. All other moves it learns deal less, with Aura Sphere (supereffective!) dealing around 23% (and even if Mewtwo Y WAS a problem, I honestly fail to see how Xerneas solves it)... As of now, Ho-oh and the rare but deadly Perish Song Mega Gengar are much bigger threats than Mewtwo, Ho-oh in particular... From the top of my head: how about SubClaw Zekrom? It was one of the most effective Pokemon in Ubers last gen, and it is a good counter to Ho-oh... However, what made it so powerful was the ability to boost the accuracy of Dragon Tail and phaze while safe behind a Sub, thanks to its surprisingly good bulk, but with Xerneas around is filling the team with Dragon Tail users a good idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapphire Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Xerneas can sweep. He wasn't suggested to deal with Mewtwo, more to help in general. And, you're sure Y only does 40%? He 2hkos Blissey... As for SubRom, I'd be wary of using more than 2 dragons, due to Zerneas. If Xerneas manages to set up, you essentially can't use any Dragons till you kill him. tbh. the only thing I see in your team at the moment capable of dealing with a sweepeing Xerneas is Arceus. And that's if he isn't running Close Combat [due to the huge boost he gets from Geomancy, a lot of Xerneas run close combat and some atk EVs to deal with chansey and steel types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Elliot Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Xerneas gets Close Combat? I didn't know that... All the Xerneas I have faced so far didn't have it... Well, this complicates things a lot... Meanwhile, further testing has indicated that Ho-oh is indeed the biggest problem for this team, so yeah, I'd need a dedicated Ho-oh counter that doesn't increase my weakness to Xerneas (if it does use Close Combat, I can still beat it after hazards and Def drop, thanks to Extremespeed... Of course, I need to avoid getting more weak to it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapphire Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yeah. I used to run Blissey in Ubers [for wishpassing]. Having Xerneas ram a Close Combat into her face killed that plan. Can't Groudon kill Ho-oh? With Rocks Ho-oh takes 50% damage right off the bat, and with a single Roar he's basically dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Elliot Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Regenerator is Ho-oh's hidden ability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapphire Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 (edited) Derp. 2 Roars then. Or you could run Stone Edge on Rayquaza [it gets that right]? Edited December 17, 2013 by Secundum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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