Hello, it’s me and I’m back with another RMT! In case you didn’t read the title correctly (or thought you read it incorrectly), yes, this team uses Dawn Wings Necrozma. Allow me to explain to you how I got this fabulously stupid idea:
So I’m playing with Calm Mind Ultra the other day (with Duskmane as base forme) with a team that I shamelessly copied from the Closed Forums. And what I noticed is a lot of teams use Lunala or Duskmane as their Ultra counter, with Giratina and Lugia also being extremely problematic (on the bright side, they don’t show up nearly as much). So I asked myself, “What if I can run a Ghost- or Dark- move on Ultra to smash these Pokemon to bits?” From there, the idea of CM Dawn Wings Ultra Necrozma is born. The factor of surprise is also extremely helpful, because most teams (that are not utilizing Scarf Yveltal or Darkceus) don’t prepare for Moongeist Beam on Ultra Necrozma, especially with Swords Dance being the much more popular set.
DA TEAMBUILDING PROCESS
So yeah, the teambuilding process. I think I might need some polishing there because, well, there is always room for improvement and no one told me how one should build. Basically, I pick a Pokemon that I want to build around (CM Moongeist Ultra in this case), add an offensive partner or two, then add a defensive backbone and necessary utility to round off the team, not always in that order. Usually the first few slots are easy to fit, but in the last couple of slots there are many considerations and I often fail to find what’s right for the team and sometimes just dismantle part of it to get the necessary roles. I’m also aware of the physical/special split, and I try to prevent the team from leaning too much to one side of it. Please give me some tips if you have any. Without further ado, let's get to the absolutely gruesome teambuilding process!
So yeah, you now know I’m building around Dawnwings Ultra Necrozma. You also know why I chose it. Nothing much to see here. Moving on.
Well now, since I’m using Necrozma to sweep, a wallbreaker would fit really well, and something with high special bulk that can deal with Yveltal would be nice. Primal Kyogre instantly comes to mind.
Now it’s time to give this team some defensive backbone, and there’s one Pokemon that I’ve wanted to use for a while but never had the chance to use it. That guy is Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh also carries Defog, and if you really want to know why just check the Smogon Dex. As you will see, Ho-Oh was extremely useful for the team, and despite it’s Stealth Rock weakness I do not regret picking it a single bit.
Around this point, I decided that I wanted the team to be Pdon-less. Hey, I have strayed so far from the beaten track I can run along a bit more. My next choice also demonstrates this:
What?! Mega Lucario!? Allow me to explain. So I need a check to Geomancy Xerneas (like every half-decent Ubers team), and here I decided that a defensive check won’t do because Duskmane has been eliminated by me using Dawnwings, Pdon has been eliminated by me not wanting to use Pdon, and mons like Magearna and Aegislash has been eliminated because I don’t want to use these mons on offense. So it comes down to Mega Lucario vs Mega Scizor. Well, at this time I remembered Ultra is my sole wincon, and having only one wincon can really bite a team on its behind should said wincon be unable to sweep. Mega Lucario can sweep with or without a SD, something Mega Scizor struggles to do due to its agonizing speed. And, that’s how Mega Lucario ended up on something that is not an HO team. :D
At this point, building gets difficult, as I need a Stealth Rocker, another Defogger (because I’m reluctant to have Ho-Oh be my sole Defogger), and a reliable Pdon/MMence check. After scrolling through the Smogon Dex I decided that Giratina-O would be a nice pick at this point, as it can check Pdon/MMence and can Defog.
Finally, I needed a Stealth Rocker and something that can check Marshadow and Mega Gengar. Darkceus was my choice because it can fill both of these positions.
After playing with this for a bit, I realized that I have massive problems with Primal Kyogre and I still have problems with Marshadow. I also desperately needed some speed control. Therefore, Darkceus got replaced with Crapceus and Giratina was replaced with Scarf Yveltal. This also helps me with things like MMY and Deo-A.
Well, after playing with THAT for a while, I still have problems with Rock Tomb Marshadow and Mega Salamence. I also did quite badly against status. ScarfXern replaced Scarf Yveltal so I fare better against them. The Pogre and Pdon matchups are also improved because Xerneas comes with Grass Knot.
The finished product is quite horrifying if you look at it from a common Ubers standpoint for BO. Yet this team works harmoniously and after ironing out a few kinks, I felt like I can show this to the Smogon community without them biting my face off. Now that we got through the teambuilding process, let's get to the only thing even more gruesome: the actual team!
DA ACTUAL TEAM
Death Star (Necrozma-Dawn Wings) @ Ultranecrozium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 32 Def / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Photon Geyser
- Moongeist Beam
- Power Gem
Dawn Wings Ultra Necrozma, the star of the team, partially because, you know, I built the team around it. I think I should explain this set. You already know that I want to run CM + Moongeist Beam, and Photon Geyser is all but mandatory for Ultras. This leaves the other coverage move on the fourth moveslot. My options are Earth Power, Heat Wave, Power Gem, and Dragon Pulse. In my opinion, I can get away with not running Earth Power or Heat Wave because Crapceus + Ho-Oh takes Pdon and most Steel-types pretty well. Now, between Dragon Pulse and Power Gem, Dragon Pulse hits Zygod but Power Gem hits a whole bunch of birds, most notably Ho-Oh and Yveltal, and I think I can have some of my teammates deal with Zygod. And of course, there is always the nuke that comes with Ultra Necrozma that is Light That Burns the Sky, which lets me break things like Pdon and support Arceus formes.
The EVs are a bit strange and looks like a dumb noob decided that he wanted more power and switched the SpA and Speed EVs. Well, I hopped over to the speed tiers and decided to just outspeed Marshadow, since the only things between Marshadow and max speed Ultra are +1 GeoXern (not like I can slow down GeoXern… or anything, for that matter), Shaymin-Sky, +1 Blaziken (and even noobs know better than to use Blaziken), and +1 Mega Gyarados (wtf). Sure, I give up my ability to speed-tie opposing Ultras, but I achieve some important benchmarks by running max SpA, like OHKO-ing Ho-Oh and DDMence at +1. (Fun fact: due to weird mathematical reasons I can’t reach 384 speed, so I settled with 385, which outsped +1 GeoXern anyway though I have no way to bring it to +1.)
In battle, this guy’s role is fairly obvious --- sweep the opponent's team after things like ScarfXern and Ferrothorn have been removed. A few times Dawn Wings can spinblock or block Ekiller (or if I outspeed something like Duskmane and wants Ghost STAB) but most of the time I burst ASAP. Get rid of any and all Pokemon that is faster before attempting to sweep (this includes priority), as Ultra is frail by Uber standards and a lot of Scarfers (Yveltal, Xerneas) are deadly to it. Another important thing is don’t reveal Power Gem unless you have to, as Moongeist Ultra is already uncommon and you want to keep them on their toes. However, don’t be stupid and set up as they bring Mega Gengar in. It will not end well for you. Of course, if Mega Gengar or something like that is on the other team, Ultra Necrozma probably isn’t sweeping, so use its mind-blowing power to wallbreak. Even when it can sweep, you can bring Ultra out mid-game to break and make a later sweep from Lucario or itself easier.
Oh Flip (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
This fish is an absolute beast. Modest Primal Kyogre’s Origin Pulse comes with absolutely ridiculous power and can demolish just about anything in this tier besides certain Water resists, and most of THOSE are taken care of by Kyogre’s wonderful BoltBeam coverage. The icing on the cake is that Thunder gets 100% accuracy thanks to the rain Kyogre summons and a juicy 30% chance to paralyze (hmm, maybe that’s how I can slow Xerneas). Calm Mind gives me an absolutely wonderful matchup against stall because they usually have to sack something to cripple it with status, and it is a generally good move against slower teams. The reason I didn’t choose the Water Spout is because I don’t know how to preserve Kyogre’s HP for very long, but that probably will changeif when I become a better player.
Primal Kyogre’s role is kinda obvious: come in safely and smash holes in opposing teams when it does. Calm Mind gives me an edge against slower teams because it has more time for the power boost, which it will use to its full advantage. On the other hand, speedy teams have problems switching into its ridiculous power if they lack Ferrothorn (Pdon is hit hard by Ice Beam), so they sometimes ALSO have to resort to sacking something to attempt to take it out. However, Primal Kyogre is not in a good position to take hits, so throw Crapceus or Ho-Oh out in the storm first before securing a safe switch for Kyogre. This thing is also an absolute Pdon bait, so you can use it to your advantage and get Crapceus in for Stealth Rock.
Unfortunately, this team is one of those offensive teams that have trouble with opposing Primal Kyogre, as you will see in the threatlist.
Fat Chicken (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Recover
- Toxic
- Defog
Ho-Oh, unexpectedly, is the MVP of almost every game. Every. Freaking. Game. (except when I be stupid and send it into Stone Edge or Kyogre) While the rest of the team goes out to town and mash stuff into bits, Ho-Oh is the glue that holds everything together back at home. No, it's not just the glue. It's… (dun dun dun) the duct tape.
I can practically hear you asking things like “How is Ho-Oh so good?”, “How is Ho-Oh that good?”, “How can Ho-Oh rival the might of the almighty duct tape, which, as we all know, is the single most powerful substance on earth?”, and of course, “Does this guy even know what he is talking about? What an idiot.” Yes, I know, you are absolutely shocked, and I know that Ho-Oh doesn’t come close to the might of duct tape, but as far Pokemon go, Ho-Oh is as close as it gets. You see, for a defensive Pokemon, Ho-Oh have good offensive presence, great utility (it can remove hazards and spread status), and most importantly, recovery. Recover + Regenerator + lefties gives godlike healing powers to Ho-Oh. To be honest, I hate relying on leftovers as my only form of recovery on a defensive Pokemon, as it is often not enough and gets it worn down over time.. And don’t even get me started on Rest (though it is able to sponge other status). Ho-Oh is not like that. Ho-Oh heals over 90% of its HP with the aforementioned combo of Recover + Regenerator + lefties (using Recover gives one turn of leftovers recovery). This gives Ho-Oh ridiculous longevity and oftentimes it is the only defensive Pokemon I rely on to win the match. And all this goes without saying Ho-Oh’s absolutely massive bulk and ability to easily spread status a la Toxic and Sacred Fire.
Unfortunately, as we all know, duct tape has a weakness, and that is the dreaded vegetable peeler, the great evil of the world ready to peel the almighty duct tape from its glorious… perch, wall, sewer, whatever. Ho-Oh is no exception, and this weakness is Stealth Rock, which shreds half of its health on switch-in. Ho-Oh is also astonishingly weak to rock moves, something many jealous Pokemon use to their advantage. And Primal Kyogre blows Ho-Oh off the field with whatever Water-type attack it might have.
In battle, Ho-Oh is quite simple. Just switch into an attack that can’t 2HKO it (which is most of them) and sit there, defog, spread status, whatever. It is actually really, really good at that, despite the Stealth Rock weakness. Even at 50%, Ho-Oh still finds plenty of opportunities to come in, and it will use it to heal or spread status, whichever one it might prefer. This thing can even check SD Duskmane, and it can afford to hit it with Sacred Fire twice, activating Weakness Policy, and let Duskmane have a free Swords Dance because of Sacred Fire burns (if you are not willing to take risks, don’t do that). Most Water- and Electric-type attacks (including Thunders from Xerneas and Mega Gengar) probably won’t 2HKO Ho-Oh, with most of them being special, which makes Rock its only major weakness.
With all of its qualities and potential, even though it sounds absolutely insane, I hope you can see why I compared this to the almighty duct tape.
Chuck Norris (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat
Mega Lucario. Bet you don’t see that every day. I feel that Mega Lucario is quite underrated, though as we can tell from Mega Blaziken, frail, offensive attackers often struggle in Ubers where everything has titanic bulk. On the other hand, I think Lucario has what it takes to be a threat in Ubers - great offenses (with Adaptability boosting its STAB moves to ridiculous levels), good speed tier, and priority. It makes for a great backup sweeper for this team, as it can take advantage of the damage my other Pokemon dealt (and they deal plenty) to revenge kill or set up Swords Dance. And Close Combat does more damage than you would think - it 2HKOes Pdon and Duskmane and OHKOes Ogre after rocks.
Mega Lucario actually has quite a few roles down in the battlefield. The most obvious role it has is to revenge kill, and Adaptability Bullet Punch still hits anything that doesn’t resist it hard. Mega Lucario can deal with fatter things like Pdon and Pogre with their more powerful attacks and singlehandedly (well, with a tiny bit of help from Ho-Oh) prevents the Xerneas matchup from going down the toilet. Mega Lucario can also clean a weakened team with good speed and Bullet Punch. In addition, if it finds the chance to set up Swords Dance (rare, as it does not enjoy taking a hit), it can easily sweep a weakened team. Against stall teams, it works with Primal Kyogre to break past it thanks to its immunity to Toxic and can easily smash those @%^!#$!& blobs, and it can Swords Dance more easily with their weaker attacks. Finally, it is my team’s main anti-offense Pokemon, as it can destroy their suicide leads (particularly Cloy) and revenge their frail, offensive mons. It also singlehandedly brings the team’s matchup against webs from questionable to pretty good, because it crushes Shuckle and Smeargle easily and prevents them from setting more than one layer of hazards with Bullet Punch.
Yeah, I agree, this thing is a bit hard to use, but it is a powerful, flexible threat down there if you play him right (and most of the time, "playing it right" means "don’t get him killed and you are cool").
Dumb Pink Tree (Xerneas) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Aromatherapy
- Defog
Although Lucario packs a nice Bullet Punch, Choice Scarf Xerneas is the speed control of this team. Actually, it’s more than that. If Ho-Oh is the duct tape, Xerneas is the utility belt, the toolbox, and the fix-it guy all rolled in one. Kyogre is poisoned? Have no fear! Xerneas’s Aromatherapy is here! Pointed stones digging into Ho-Oh? Don’t worry! Xerneas’s Defog will clear them away. Marshadow ready to tear through the team? Xerneas along with its fashionable Choice Scarf and stupidly pink aura are ready to save the day!
Yeah, Scarf Xerneas is a really useful support mon. Sometimes Ho-Oh is not in a position to defog, but Xerneas is almost guaranteed to clear any hazards on the field at the cost of having to switch out after. And the rest of the team does not like status, which is why Xerneas carries Aromatherapy to help out. Grass Knot 2HKOes both Primals and hits like a truck in a place where everything weighs a million tons, while stupid pink Moonblast along with stupid pink aura maims the birdies and ghosties that doesn’t. If I’m gonna be honest, though, this is the slot that I question the most, as while Xerneas does everything else really well, it is a shaky defogger at best and I can’t really rely on it. Offensive Giratina-O is my main candidate to replace it.
In battle, Xerneas does exactly what I described above. The only hitch is that I need to time Aromatherapy and Defog properly, as even though I’m almost guaranteed to get to use those moves (yay, Choice Scarf!), I usually have to switch out afterwards (boo, Choice Scarf!). Xerneas is also a decent revenge killer and is my team’s main answer against Marshadow and Zygod. Xerneas often dies around early- and mid-game, as I have found it difficult to maintain the offensive momentum of the team while it is locked in Defog or Aroma against Pokemon like Primal Kyogre so I just sack it and revenge kill. However, I can’t afford to let an opposing Pokemon like Duskmane setup when Xerneas is locked into Defog or Aroma (this is where, again, Ho-Oh shows how good it is by holding the team together). Did I mention that the rest of the team hates status? Xerneas also play assistant for Ho-Oh, curing its poison when necessary and helping it keep its longevity. The rest of the team also don’t mind getting un-statused, and if an important member is statused, it’s worth sacking Xerneas to cure him and bring in whoever you want for free.
Yeetmaster (Arceus-Ground) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 24 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
Arceus, the master of yeets, incarnated in his majestic Crap forme. Strangely, this is one of the most commonly seen formes of Arceus. Have people got no taste? Jokes aside, though, Crapceus (ok, maybe jokes are not aside after all :D), in my opinion is a great lead as it can deal with other common leads like Pdon and Duskmane, and it usually is able to set up rocks due to its good bulk. As a result, he is my go-to lead against “normal” playstyles (offense to semistall) unless I think I can profit from trying to anti-lead my opponent’s lead.
There is more to Crapceus than setting rocks, though. This guy forms a defensive backbone with Ho-Oh, though oftentimes Ho-Oh does most of the work and this guy seems to be only here to check Pdon. However, he is better at checking physical attackers and is my main switchin to Pdon, MMence, and Ray. The fact that it comes with recovery is also nice.
Like I said, Crapceus is my usual lead unless I think I can punish their HO leads with Mega Lucario. His goal is to keep rocks up throughout the match, and I usually sack him if doing so can take out the opposing defogger. He is also the team’s strongest Pdon counter and my main switchin to it. A nice trick is to spam Recover until Precipice Blades misses or run out of PP, though they can crit you. (By the way, did anyone realize how much PP Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse have, especially considering their power? Hydro Pump only has 8 PP.) But hey, hax is a part of the game. You’ve got to embrace it, otherwise you would go screaming “I HAD THIS SET UP PERFECTLY AND HE CRIT ME AND I DIED” or something like that every time hax messes things up. And here we are using hax to make Precipice Blades miss while hoping that it doesn’t crit (and that he doesn’t have Fire Punch or Fire Blast). On top of that, he can tank Duskmane pretty well and can Ice Beam if it turns out to be Ultra.
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And here it is, the strangest Ubers team in existence. It looks right at first glance (at least when you see teams with Pikachu or Eevee you know something is wrong), but when you look closer, it’s disgustingly horrible --- no Pdon, no defensive Steel-type, and somehow the wincons are Dawnwings and Mega Lucario. Then you look even closer, and for some reason this team has actually picked up some synergy. It is a peculiar yet viable team.
DA THREATLIST
The threatlist. Every team has one of them, but this team has quite an lopsided one (mostly offensive Pokemon). Well, what do you know, this is quite a lopsided team, so that’s expected, right? Without further ado:
Primal Groudon: I feel like almost every team is weak to some kind of Pdon unless they carry multiple checks. Well, luckily, this team has multiple Pdon checks in Ho-Oh and Crapceus. The kind of Pdon this team have trouble with is the mixed SD set and the offensive support set if it have a rock move, as it can take Crapceus with whatever Fire move it have and kills Ho-Oh with the rock move. The offensive support set is especially annoying as it can also set rocks. I usually deal with it by somehow having it face a healthy Crapceus. Crapceus will Judgement before Pdon uses Eruption (if it has it) which will reduce Eruption to pathetic power. If it has Overheat, Crapceus will survive with a bit of health and kill it. Worst case scenario Lucario can 2HKO it and Xerneas 2HKOes 0 HP / 0 SpD variants after rocks .
Mega Gengar: Not very hard to deal with for the rest of this team (though Kyogre have to watch for Thunders), but it basically invalidates Ultra Necrozma sweeping as an option. Annoying. However, this is one of the easiest mons for Lucario to set up on if it lacks Focus Blast, as Shadow Ball fails to OHKO. Lucario then sets up SD and kills with Bullet Punch (its got a 93.8% chance to KO after rocks). If it does have Focus Blast, the rest of the team can still handle it.
Marshadow: Kinda like Mega Gengar, except it can only stop Necrozma after some chip. However, Close Combat OHKOes Lucario and it is kinda difficult to remove beforehand, especially if they see that Marshadow can stop both my sweepers and try to preserve it. It also takes out Ho-Oh if it have Rock Tomb, which makes it harder to fight than Mega Gengar. On the bright side, Ho-Oh walls it if it lacks Rock Tomb and the rest of the team can handle it pretty well.
Primal Kyogre: This is possibly the single most difficult mon to deal with. It usually comes out early and tries to trash the team with Water Spout/Origin Pulse. My best case scenario is to have Lucario facing it after it switched into rocks. Otherwise, I’ll have to sack something (usually Groundceus or Xerneas) to get Lucario in. Xerneas carries Grass Knot almost solely to improve the Kyogre matchup.
Fairyceus / Waterceus - Both of these are ridiculously annoying. Darkceus is manageable by Mega Lucario and Crapceus falls to Kyogre. However, these two Arceus formes can live forever and spread status to the entire team, especially if Xerneas already died. Fairyceus is the more difficult one to deal with because Waterceus is weak to Kyogre's Thunder. Calm Mind variants are also extremely annoying. Fortunately they can’t do much damage without Calm Mind or Toxic, and Kyogre can zap Waterceus with Thunder while Ho-Oh + Xerneas can try to wall Fairyceus.
Crapceus: This thing. I implied that I can deal with support or CM variants of this, but SD is a different thing entirely, especially if it has ExtremeSpeed (it's more common than you might think). I usually have to sack a mon or two after it gets a boost.
Mega Salamence: Sub DD variants with either Refresh or Facade, though rare, are extremely difficult to deal with. Ho-Oh can deal with non-sub or Facade/Refresh-less variants, and Crapceus and Xerneas can deal with non-DD variants, but Sub DD with a move that can deal with status looks like it’s designed to foil this team. My only hope is to not let it set up the sub or DD or have Xerneas in when it sets up either. The only reason he's not colored red is because he is (barely) stoppable with correct play and that particular variant doesn't show up often.
Mega Mewtwo Y: Fast, strong, and packs good coverage makes it a bit difficult to deal with. It have lacking physical bulk, though, and I can take it out with Xern+Lucario. Not way too hard to deal with, just make sure the team's not too weakened for it to sweep. Heal with Xern and let Ho-Oh take most of the hits
Deoxys-Attack: A faster MMY that can hit hard on the physical side as well. However, it have absolutely horrible bulk, which means Lucario and Xerneas should handle it well.
HO/Webs suicide leads: These are not hard to deal with, but playing against them correctly early on is extremely important. Always, always lead with Mega Lucario because it has Bullet Punch, therefore making sure only one layer of hazards are up, max. It is also immune to Toxic, which is the most common form of annoying moves they can pick. Take them as close to 1% as you can, then Bullet Punch before they can do anything else. If they somehow manage to set up their hazards (maybe Meteor Mash missed, idk) you can use Xerneas as a “suicide defogger” to counter their suicide lead, and Xerneas might even survive.
Palkia: He doesn’t appear often, but when he does I have to hope it’s not a scarf. Scarf variants are a nightmare to deal with if they have Thunder and Ice Beam. LO variants are also difficult to fight and are a nightmare to switch in. I wish they gave it base 90 Speed like Dialga and Giratina.
Kyogre (the regular kind): Yeah, this. Scarf Kyogre is basically an instant loss as it can smash my team with full HP Water Spout. The only thing I can do is to use Grass Knot on Xerneas and burst Dawnwings. I’d have to sack Xern and leave a massive dent on Ultra, which is not good. Although he is really rare he earned the red marking by being able to cleanly plow through my team.
DA MATCHUPS
Hyper Offense: Thanks to Xerneas and Mega Lucario, I have a pretty good matchup against HO. Lucario is really, really good at killing suicide leads, and Xerneas + Lucario can take down most offensive mons quickly while my other mons can deal with bulkier targets like Pdon and Duskmane. Naganadel + Kyogre can be very annoying but it can be played around. Overall I think I have a pretty good matchup against HO
Offense: This gets a bit tricky, as offense in ubers is a bit hard to deal with. General strategy is to use Ho-Oh + Crapceus to try to wall as many threats as you can and revenge kill mons that you can't. If Mega Lucario manages to get a Swords Dance, awesome! But most of the time Lucario will have massive trouble setting up and you just have to weaken the opposing them for Ultra to attempt a sweep. I have a good matchup, but it's anyone's game.
Bulky Offense: A bit harder to fight than Offense, as these will be bulkier so Xerneas/Mega Lucario gets a lot less useful. They will usually have 1-2 speedy mons, so you should really target those while breaking down their defensive core as quickly as possible. Again, use Ho-Oh + Crapceus to try to wall as many threats as possible. One good thing is that it will be easier for Kyogre to come in and break. Against BO, it juse depends on who plays better, who have the better matchup Pokemon-to-Pokemon, and who the hax favors.
Balance: This Ultra Necrozma really shines. Kyogre is much easier to bring in here and often does massive damage before going down, where Necrozma can take advantage the lack of extremely fast mons (most of the time) to attempt to clean. Mega Lucario is also at its best, as it can find opportunities to set up and attack. Opposing Primal Kyogre is problematic, and Primal Groudon will always be a threat, but I think I have a good matchup against Balance.
Semi-Stall: Kyogre is an absolute monster against these teams, able to beat the heck out of these mons. Lucario is useful for any Blobs that show up, and he can easily find setup opportunities. Most of the time, they can't put enough pressure on Groundceus to keep rocks down. Ultra still have it's incredible nuke, and Ho-Oh and Groundceus can live incredibly long. The most important member against these teams, however, is Xerneas, as Defog and Aromatherapy is incredibly important against teams who love to spam hazards and poison. If I play it right, I think I have a good matchup.
Stall: If you say the pattern, you probably would have figured out that Kyogre is at its absolute best here. Calm Mind is an incredible asset against Stall, and +1 Origin Pulse 2HKOes Blissey. It's not too uncommon for Kyogre to singlehandedly mow down half of the opposing team. Mega Lucario is still great to take out Blissey and it can mind a massive amount of setup opportunities off the Blobs. I can beat most stall staples one-on-one, so if I play well, switch smart, and hope that hax don't rear its ugly head, I have a pretty good chance to win the game. Keeping Xerneas alive is number one priority, as its ability to remove status and hazards is invaluable.
Webs: Mega Lucario lays waste to any and all Webs leads, basically having them play 5v6. If they do not bring in said lead, they won't have a chance to set up webs later in the game unless said lead is Shuckle. Shuckle's contrary is extremely annoying, so never try to defog against it - just kill it and bring Ho-Oh later. Besides that, it's basically HO.
Veil/Screens: Screens can get difficult with Klefki's stupid bulk and Deoxy's insane speed. Smart Deoxys players will use Reflect first so MLuke won't bring it to Bullet Punch range. Because of that, Mega Lucario can't KO either Deoxys or Klefki before they set up both screens, and combined with Xerneas it can be deadly. On the bright side, Alolan Ninetales is much easier to deal with because Bullet Punch OHKOes Ninetales before it can set veil. I know viel is extremely niche but I have seen a couple of those. So basically, Veil is 5v6, but Screens are much more difficult to deal with.
Psychic Terrain: The main problem is that MMY becomes much more threatening because Psystrike reaches absolutely ludicrous power. Deoxys-A isn't much far behind, and deals massive damage on both sides. My problem is that Psychic Terrain prevent Mega Lucario's Bullet Punch from working, which is my main way of dealing with MMY. Fortunately, Xerneas is still fast and can revenge Deoxys-A. However, matchups against these teams are real dicey due to MMY's ridiculous speed and power.
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Final Remarks:
- Embrace hax. A lot of the time people go knock themselves out to stop hax, and I can’t blame them. But if it’s there, it’s there. Don’t knock yourself out trying to stop it or rip your hair out if it happens. This team has a lot of hax involved, what with Sacred Fire burns and Crapceus spamming recover hoping for a Precipice Blades miss. By using this team, I have learned to embrace hax. Using teams like this do that.
- Water Spout is broken on Kyogre, primal or not. ‘Nuff said.
- Fake it till you make it. You might want to make it look like that Dawn Wings is the Swords Dance Ultra variant, or that Xerneas have Geomancy, or that Ho-Oh is an offensive variant, I don’t know. Keep them on their toes, especially with Pokemon that have diverse sets that play very differently.
- Finally, and most importantly, don't be afraid to use strange things!! Sure, you can use stuff like RP Pdon or GeoXern (and I'm not saying you shouldn't --- they're pretty great), but the thing is, I guarentee that they will have a check/counter for these. On the other hand, people don't expect to see Mega Lucario or a CM Ultra Necrozma based on Dawn Wings, so you'd have that element of surprise. This can knock them a bit off-balance right from the start if they didn't prepare for them. In Pokemon, strange, if handled correctly, can be absolutely amazing.
- A lot of work went into this RMT. You might have noticed that it is much, much longer than my other two. I guess it’s kinda because the other two are “Please help me I need help” RMT’s but this one is a “I like my team so I want to show it to the Smogon community but I still would like suggestions” RMT.
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Shoutouts:
So… I have a couple, because now that I’ve been a member for a bit I actually kinda sorta know people.
Thank you to ElectricEpic384 for being the first person to be nice to me in the forums! I need to clear up one thing, though. Shadow Peashooter > Bombard Mint all the way. It shoots LASERS. And when you give it plant foot it shoots nukes. NUKES. There is no way for Bombard Mint to top da lasers and da NUKES.
Also, thanks to Flyingtypemaster3 on Pokemon Showdown for helping with this team. You were the first real experienced player I played and I really enjoyed playing you (though I beated you anyway). I asked like an army of people in the Ubers chatroom for advise and only you answered. I'm sorry I don't have our replay.
Thank you for reading so far! I know I'm being a massive pain to have you read a wall of text, so I think I owe you something (especially if I want people to reply to the post). Here it is:
Am I still being a massive pain? :D
So I’m playing with Calm Mind Ultra the other day (with Duskmane as base forme) with a team that I shamelessly copied from the Closed Forums. And what I noticed is a lot of teams use Lunala or Duskmane as their Ultra counter, with Giratina and Lugia also being extremely problematic (on the bright side, they don’t show up nearly as much). So I asked myself, “What if I can run a Ghost- or Dark- move on Ultra to smash these Pokemon to bits?” From there, the idea of CM Dawn Wings Ultra Necrozma is born. The factor of surprise is also extremely helpful, because most teams (that are not utilizing Scarf Yveltal or Darkceus) don’t prepare for Moongeist Beam on Ultra Necrozma, especially with Swords Dance being the much more popular set.
DA TEAMBUILDING PROCESS
So yeah, the teambuilding process. I think I might need some polishing there because, well, there is always room for improvement and no one told me how one should build. Basically, I pick a Pokemon that I want to build around (CM Moongeist Ultra in this case), add an offensive partner or two, then add a defensive backbone and necessary utility to round off the team, not always in that order. Usually the first few slots are easy to fit, but in the last couple of slots there are many considerations and I often fail to find what’s right for the team and sometimes just dismantle part of it to get the necessary roles. I’m also aware of the physical/special split, and I try to prevent the team from leaning too much to one side of it. Please give me some tips if you have any. Without further ado, let's get to the absolutely gruesome teambuilding process!
So yeah, you now know I’m building around Dawnwings Ultra Necrozma. You also know why I chose it. Nothing much to see here. Moving on.
Well now, since I’m using Necrozma to sweep, a wallbreaker would fit really well, and something with high special bulk that can deal with Yveltal would be nice. Primal Kyogre instantly comes to mind.
Now it’s time to give this team some defensive backbone, and there’s one Pokemon that I’ve wanted to use for a while but never had the chance to use it. That guy is Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh also carries Defog, and if you really want to know why just check the Smogon Dex. As you will see, Ho-Oh was extremely useful for the team, and despite it’s Stealth Rock weakness I do not regret picking it a single bit.
Around this point, I decided that I wanted the team to be Pdon-less. Hey, I have strayed so far from the beaten track I can run along a bit more. My next choice also demonstrates this:
What?! Mega Lucario!? Allow me to explain. So I need a check to Geomancy Xerneas (like every half-decent Ubers team), and here I decided that a defensive check won’t do because Duskmane has been eliminated by me using Dawnwings, Pdon has been eliminated by me not wanting to use Pdon, and mons like Magearna and Aegislash has been eliminated because I don’t want to use these mons on offense. So it comes down to Mega Lucario vs Mega Scizor. Well, at this time I remembered Ultra is my sole wincon, and having only one wincon can really bite a team on its behind should said wincon be unable to sweep. Mega Lucario can sweep with or without a SD, something Mega Scizor struggles to do due to its agonizing speed. And, that’s how Mega Lucario ended up on something that is not an HO team. :D
At this point, building gets difficult, as I need a Stealth Rocker, another Defogger (because I’m reluctant to have Ho-Oh be my sole Defogger), and a reliable Pdon/MMence check. After scrolling through the Smogon Dex I decided that Giratina-O would be a nice pick at this point, as it can check Pdon/MMence and can Defog.
Finally, I needed a Stealth Rocker and something that can check Marshadow and Mega Gengar. Darkceus was my choice because it can fill both of these positions.
After playing with this for a bit, I realized that I have massive problems with Primal Kyogre and I still have problems with Marshadow. I also desperately needed some speed control. Therefore, Darkceus got replaced with Crapceus and Giratina was replaced with Scarf Yveltal. This also helps me with things like MMY and Deo-A.
Well, after playing with THAT for a while, I still have problems with Rock Tomb Marshadow and Mega Salamence. I also did quite badly against status. ScarfXern replaced Scarf Yveltal so I fare better against them. The Pogre and Pdon matchups are also improved because Xerneas comes with Grass Knot.
The finished product is quite horrifying if you look at it from a common Ubers standpoint for BO. Yet this team works harmoniously and after ironing out a few kinks, I felt like I can show this to the Smogon community without them biting my face off. Now that we got through the teambuilding process, let's get to the only thing even more gruesome: the actual team!
DA ACTUAL TEAM
Death Star (Necrozma-Dawn Wings) @ Ultranecrozium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 32 Def / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Photon Geyser
- Moongeist Beam
- Power Gem
Dawn Wings Ultra Necrozma, the star of the team, partially because, you know, I built the team around it. I think I should explain this set. You already know that I want to run CM + Moongeist Beam, and Photon Geyser is all but mandatory for Ultras. This leaves the other coverage move on the fourth moveslot. My options are Earth Power, Heat Wave, Power Gem, and Dragon Pulse. In my opinion, I can get away with not running Earth Power or Heat Wave because Crapceus + Ho-Oh takes Pdon and most Steel-types pretty well. Now, between Dragon Pulse and Power Gem, Dragon Pulse hits Zygod but Power Gem hits a whole bunch of birds, most notably Ho-Oh and Yveltal, and I think I can have some of my teammates deal with Zygod. And of course, there is always the nuke that comes with Ultra Necrozma that is Light That Burns the Sky, which lets me break things like Pdon and support Arceus formes.
The EVs are a bit strange and looks like a dumb noob decided that he wanted more power and switched the SpA and Speed EVs. Well, I hopped over to the speed tiers and decided to just outspeed Marshadow, since the only things between Marshadow and max speed Ultra are +1 GeoXern (not like I can slow down GeoXern… or anything, for that matter), Shaymin-Sky, +1 Blaziken (and even noobs know better than to use Blaziken), and +1 Mega Gyarados (wtf). Sure, I give up my ability to speed-tie opposing Ultras, but I achieve some important benchmarks by running max SpA, like OHKO-ing Ho-Oh and DDMence at +1. (Fun fact: due to weird mathematical reasons I can’t reach 384 speed, so I settled with 385, which outsped +1 GeoXern anyway though I have no way to bring it to +1.)
In battle, this guy’s role is fairly obvious --- sweep the opponent's team after things like ScarfXern and Ferrothorn have been removed. A few times Dawn Wings can spinblock or block Ekiller (or if I outspeed something like Duskmane and wants Ghost STAB) but most of the time I burst ASAP. Get rid of any and all Pokemon that is faster before attempting to sweep (this includes priority), as Ultra is frail by Uber standards and a lot of Scarfers (Yveltal, Xerneas) are deadly to it. Another important thing is don’t reveal Power Gem unless you have to, as Moongeist Ultra is already uncommon and you want to keep them on their toes. However, don’t be stupid and set up as they bring Mega Gengar in. It will not end well for you. Of course, if Mega Gengar or something like that is on the other team, Ultra Necrozma probably isn’t sweeping, so use its mind-blowing power to wallbreak. Even when it can sweep, you can bring Ultra out mid-game to break and make a later sweep from Lucario or itself easier.
Oh Flip (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
This fish is an absolute beast. Modest Primal Kyogre’s Origin Pulse comes with absolutely ridiculous power and can demolish just about anything in this tier besides certain Water resists, and most of THOSE are taken care of by Kyogre’s wonderful BoltBeam coverage. The icing on the cake is that Thunder gets 100% accuracy thanks to the rain Kyogre summons and a juicy 30% chance to paralyze (hmm, maybe that’s how I can slow Xerneas). Calm Mind gives me an absolutely wonderful matchup against stall because they usually have to sack something to cripple it with status, and it is a generally good move against slower teams. The reason I didn’t choose the Water Spout is because I don’t know how to preserve Kyogre’s HP for very long, but that probably will change
Primal Kyogre’s role is kinda obvious: come in safely and smash holes in opposing teams when it does. Calm Mind gives me an edge against slower teams because it has more time for the power boost, which it will use to its full advantage. On the other hand, speedy teams have problems switching into its ridiculous power if they lack Ferrothorn (Pdon is hit hard by Ice Beam), so they sometimes ALSO have to resort to sacking something to attempt to take it out. However, Primal Kyogre is not in a good position to take hits, so throw Crapceus or Ho-Oh out in the storm first before securing a safe switch for Kyogre. This thing is also an absolute Pdon bait, so you can use it to your advantage and get Crapceus in for Stealth Rock.
Unfortunately, this team is one of those offensive teams that have trouble with opposing Primal Kyogre, as you will see in the threatlist.
Fat Chicken (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Recover
- Toxic
- Defog
Ho-Oh, unexpectedly, is the MVP of almost every game. Every. Freaking. Game. (except when I be stupid and send it into Stone Edge or Kyogre) While the rest of the team goes out to town and mash stuff into bits, Ho-Oh is the glue that holds everything together back at home. No, it's not just the glue. It's… (dun dun dun) the duct tape.
I can practically hear you asking things like “How is Ho-Oh so good?”, “How is Ho-Oh that good?”, “How can Ho-Oh rival the might of the almighty duct tape, which, as we all know, is the single most powerful substance on earth?”, and of course, “Does this guy even know what he is talking about? What an idiot.” Yes, I know, you are absolutely shocked, and I know that Ho-Oh doesn’t come close to the might of duct tape, but as far Pokemon go, Ho-Oh is as close as it gets. You see, for a defensive Pokemon, Ho-Oh have good offensive presence, great utility (it can remove hazards and spread status), and most importantly, recovery. Recover + Regenerator + lefties gives godlike healing powers to Ho-Oh. To be honest, I hate relying on leftovers as my only form of recovery on a defensive Pokemon, as it is often not enough and gets it worn down over time.. And don’t even get me started on Rest (though it is able to sponge other status). Ho-Oh is not like that. Ho-Oh heals over 90% of its HP with the aforementioned combo of Recover + Regenerator + lefties (using Recover gives one turn of leftovers recovery). This gives Ho-Oh ridiculous longevity and oftentimes it is the only defensive Pokemon I rely on to win the match. And all this goes without saying Ho-Oh’s absolutely massive bulk and ability to easily spread status a la Toxic and Sacred Fire.
Unfortunately, as we all know, duct tape has a weakness, and that is the dreaded vegetable peeler, the great evil of the world ready to peel the almighty duct tape from its glorious… perch, wall, sewer, whatever. Ho-Oh is no exception, and this weakness is Stealth Rock, which shreds half of its health on switch-in. Ho-Oh is also astonishingly weak to rock moves, something many jealous Pokemon use to their advantage. And Primal Kyogre blows Ho-Oh off the field with whatever Water-type attack it might have.
In battle, Ho-Oh is quite simple. Just switch into an attack that can’t 2HKO it (which is most of them) and sit there, defog, spread status, whatever. It is actually really, really good at that, despite the Stealth Rock weakness. Even at 50%, Ho-Oh still finds plenty of opportunities to come in, and it will use it to heal or spread status, whichever one it might prefer. This thing can even check SD Duskmane, and it can afford to hit it with Sacred Fire twice, activating Weakness Policy, and let Duskmane have a free Swords Dance because of Sacred Fire burns (if you are not willing to take risks, don’t do that). Most Water- and Electric-type attacks (including Thunders from Xerneas and Mega Gengar) probably won’t 2HKO Ho-Oh, with most of them being special, which makes Rock its only major weakness.
With all of its qualities and potential, even though it sounds absolutely insane, I hope you can see why I compared this to the almighty duct tape.
Chuck Norris (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat
Mega Lucario. Bet you don’t see that every day. I feel that Mega Lucario is quite underrated, though as we can tell from Mega Blaziken, frail, offensive attackers often struggle in Ubers where everything has titanic bulk. On the other hand, I think Lucario has what it takes to be a threat in Ubers - great offenses (with Adaptability boosting its STAB moves to ridiculous levels), good speed tier, and priority. It makes for a great backup sweeper for this team, as it can take advantage of the damage my other Pokemon dealt (and they deal plenty) to revenge kill or set up Swords Dance. And Close Combat does more damage than you would think - it 2HKOes Pdon and Duskmane and OHKOes Ogre after rocks.
Mega Lucario actually has quite a few roles down in the battlefield. The most obvious role it has is to revenge kill, and Adaptability Bullet Punch still hits anything that doesn’t resist it hard. Mega Lucario can deal with fatter things like Pdon and Pogre with their more powerful attacks and singlehandedly (well, with a tiny bit of help from Ho-Oh) prevents the Xerneas matchup from going down the toilet. Mega Lucario can also clean a weakened team with good speed and Bullet Punch. In addition, if it finds the chance to set up Swords Dance (rare, as it does not enjoy taking a hit), it can easily sweep a weakened team. Against stall teams, it works with Primal Kyogre to break past it thanks to its immunity to Toxic and can easily smash those @%^!#$!& blobs, and it can Swords Dance more easily with their weaker attacks. Finally, it is my team’s main anti-offense Pokemon, as it can destroy their suicide leads (particularly Cloy) and revenge their frail, offensive mons. It also singlehandedly brings the team’s matchup against webs from questionable to pretty good, because it crushes Shuckle and Smeargle easily and prevents them from setting more than one layer of hazards with Bullet Punch.
Yeah, I agree, this thing is a bit hard to use, but it is a powerful, flexible threat down there if you play him right (and most of the time, "playing it right" means "don’t get him killed and you are cool").
Dumb Pink Tree (Xerneas) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Aromatherapy
- Defog
Although Lucario packs a nice Bullet Punch, Choice Scarf Xerneas is the speed control of this team. Actually, it’s more than that. If Ho-Oh is the duct tape, Xerneas is the utility belt, the toolbox, and the fix-it guy all rolled in one. Kyogre is poisoned? Have no fear! Xerneas’s Aromatherapy is here! Pointed stones digging into Ho-Oh? Don’t worry! Xerneas’s Defog will clear them away. Marshadow ready to tear through the team? Xerneas along with its fashionable Choice Scarf and stupidly pink aura are ready to save the day!
Yeah, Scarf Xerneas is a really useful support mon. Sometimes Ho-Oh is not in a position to defog, but Xerneas is almost guaranteed to clear any hazards on the field at the cost of having to switch out after. And the rest of the team does not like status, which is why Xerneas carries Aromatherapy to help out. Grass Knot 2HKOes both Primals and hits like a truck in a place where everything weighs a million tons, while stupid pink Moonblast along with stupid pink aura maims the birdies and ghosties that doesn’t. If I’m gonna be honest, though, this is the slot that I question the most, as while Xerneas does everything else really well, it is a shaky defogger at best and I can’t really rely on it. Offensive Giratina-O is my main candidate to replace it.
In battle, Xerneas does exactly what I described above. The only hitch is that I need to time Aromatherapy and Defog properly, as even though I’m almost guaranteed to get to use those moves (yay, Choice Scarf!), I usually have to switch out afterwards (boo, Choice Scarf!). Xerneas is also a decent revenge killer and is my team’s main answer against Marshadow and Zygod. Xerneas often dies around early- and mid-game, as I have found it difficult to maintain the offensive momentum of the team while it is locked in Defog or Aroma against Pokemon like Primal Kyogre so I just sack it and revenge kill. However, I can’t afford to let an opposing Pokemon like Duskmane setup when Xerneas is locked into Defog or Aroma (this is where, again, Ho-Oh shows how good it is by holding the team together). Did I mention that the rest of the team hates status? Xerneas also play assistant for Ho-Oh, curing its poison when necessary and helping it keep its longevity. The rest of the team also don’t mind getting un-statused, and if an important member is statused, it’s worth sacking Xerneas to cure him and bring in whoever you want for free.
Yeetmaster (Arceus-Ground) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 24 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
Arceus, the master of yeets, incarnated in his majestic Crap forme. Strangely, this is one of the most commonly seen formes of Arceus. Have people got no taste? Jokes aside, though, Crapceus (ok, maybe jokes are not aside after all :D), in my opinion is a great lead as it can deal with other common leads like Pdon and Duskmane, and it usually is able to set up rocks due to its good bulk. As a result, he is my go-to lead against “normal” playstyles (offense to semistall) unless I think I can profit from trying to anti-lead my opponent’s lead.
There is more to Crapceus than setting rocks, though. This guy forms a defensive backbone with Ho-Oh, though oftentimes Ho-Oh does most of the work and this guy seems to be only here to check Pdon. However, he is better at checking physical attackers and is my main switchin to Pdon, MMence, and Ray. The fact that it comes with recovery is also nice.
Like I said, Crapceus is my usual lead unless I think I can punish their HO leads with Mega Lucario. His goal is to keep rocks up throughout the match, and I usually sack him if doing so can take out the opposing defogger. He is also the team’s strongest Pdon counter and my main switchin to it. A nice trick is to spam Recover until Precipice Blades misses or run out of PP, though they can crit you. (By the way, did anyone realize how much PP Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse have, especially considering their power? Hydro Pump only has 8 PP.) But hey, hax is a part of the game. You’ve got to embrace it, otherwise you would go screaming “I HAD THIS SET UP PERFECTLY AND HE CRIT ME AND I DIED” or something like that every time hax messes things up. And here we are using hax to make Precipice Blades miss while hoping that it doesn’t crit (and that he doesn’t have Fire Punch or Fire Blast). On top of that, he can tank Duskmane pretty well and can Ice Beam if it turns out to be Ultra.
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And here it is, the strangest Ubers team in existence. It looks right at first glance (at least when you see teams with Pikachu or Eevee you know something is wrong), but when you look closer, it’s disgustingly horrible --- no Pdon, no defensive Steel-type, and somehow the wincons are Dawnwings and Mega Lucario. Then you look even closer, and for some reason this team has actually picked up some synergy. It is a peculiar yet viable team.
DA THREATLIST
The threatlist. Every team has one of them, but this team has quite an lopsided one (mostly offensive Pokemon). Well, what do you know, this is quite a lopsided team, so that’s expected, right? Without further ado:
Primal Groudon: I feel like almost every team is weak to some kind of Pdon unless they carry multiple checks. Well, luckily, this team has multiple Pdon checks in Ho-Oh and Crapceus. The kind of Pdon this team have trouble with is the mixed SD set and the offensive support set if it have a rock move, as it can take Crapceus with whatever Fire move it have and kills Ho-Oh with the rock move. The offensive support set is especially annoying as it can also set rocks. I usually deal with it by somehow having it face a healthy Crapceus. Crapceus will Judgement before Pdon uses Eruption (if it has it) which will reduce Eruption to pathetic power. If it has Overheat, Crapceus will survive with a bit of health and kill it. Worst case scenario Lucario can 2HKO it and Xerneas 2HKOes 0 HP / 0 SpD variants after rocks .
Mega Gengar: Not very hard to deal with for the rest of this team (though Kyogre have to watch for Thunders), but it basically invalidates Ultra Necrozma sweeping as an option. Annoying. However, this is one of the easiest mons for Lucario to set up on if it lacks Focus Blast, as Shadow Ball fails to OHKO. Lucario then sets up SD and kills with Bullet Punch (its got a 93.8% chance to KO after rocks). If it does have Focus Blast, the rest of the team can still handle it.
Marshadow: Kinda like Mega Gengar, except it can only stop Necrozma after some chip. However, Close Combat OHKOes Lucario and it is kinda difficult to remove beforehand, especially if they see that Marshadow can stop both my sweepers and try to preserve it. It also takes out Ho-Oh if it have Rock Tomb, which makes it harder to fight than Mega Gengar. On the bright side, Ho-Oh walls it if it lacks Rock Tomb and the rest of the team can handle it pretty well.
Primal Kyogre: This is possibly the single most difficult mon to deal with. It usually comes out early and tries to trash the team with Water Spout/Origin Pulse. My best case scenario is to have Lucario facing it after it switched into rocks. Otherwise, I’ll have to sack something (usually Groundceus or Xerneas) to get Lucario in. Xerneas carries Grass Knot almost solely to improve the Kyogre matchup.
Fairyceus / Waterceus - Both of these are ridiculously annoying. Darkceus is manageable by Mega Lucario and Crapceus falls to Kyogre. However, these two Arceus formes can live forever and spread status to the entire team, especially if Xerneas already died. Fairyceus is the more difficult one to deal with because Waterceus is weak to Kyogre's Thunder. Calm Mind variants are also extremely annoying. Fortunately they can’t do much damage without Calm Mind or Toxic, and Kyogre can zap Waterceus with Thunder while Ho-Oh + Xerneas can try to wall Fairyceus.
Crapceus: This thing. I implied that I can deal with support or CM variants of this, but SD is a different thing entirely, especially if it has ExtremeSpeed (it's more common than you might think). I usually have to sack a mon or two after it gets a boost.
Mega Salamence: Sub DD variants with either Refresh or Facade, though rare, are extremely difficult to deal with. Ho-Oh can deal with non-sub or Facade/Refresh-less variants, and Crapceus and Xerneas can deal with non-DD variants, but Sub DD with a move that can deal with status looks like it’s designed to foil this team. My only hope is to not let it set up the sub or DD or have Xerneas in when it sets up either. The only reason he's not colored red is because he is (barely) stoppable with correct play and that particular variant doesn't show up often.
Mega Mewtwo Y: Fast, strong, and packs good coverage makes it a bit difficult to deal with. It have lacking physical bulk, though, and I can take it out with Xern+Lucario. Not way too hard to deal with, just make sure the team's not too weakened for it to sweep. Heal with Xern and let Ho-Oh take most of the hits
Deoxys-Attack: A faster MMY that can hit hard on the physical side as well. However, it have absolutely horrible bulk, which means Lucario and Xerneas should handle it well.
HO/Webs suicide leads: These are not hard to deal with, but playing against them correctly early on is extremely important. Always, always lead with Mega Lucario because it has Bullet Punch, therefore making sure only one layer of hazards are up, max. It is also immune to Toxic, which is the most common form of annoying moves they can pick. Take them as close to 1% as you can, then Bullet Punch before they can do anything else. If they somehow manage to set up their hazards (maybe Meteor Mash missed, idk) you can use Xerneas as a “suicide defogger” to counter their suicide lead, and Xerneas might even survive.
Palkia: He doesn’t appear often, but when he does I have to hope it’s not a scarf. Scarf variants are a nightmare to deal with if they have Thunder and Ice Beam. LO variants are also difficult to fight and are a nightmare to switch in. I wish they gave it base 90 Speed like Dialga and Giratina.
Kyogre (the regular kind): Yeah, this. Scarf Kyogre is basically an instant loss as it can smash my team with full HP Water Spout. The only thing I can do is to use Grass Knot on Xerneas and burst Dawnwings. I’d have to sack Xern and leave a massive dent on Ultra, which is not good. Although he is really rare he earned the red marking by being able to cleanly plow through my team.
DA MATCHUPS
Hyper Offense: Thanks to Xerneas and Mega Lucario, I have a pretty good matchup against HO. Lucario is really, really good at killing suicide leads, and Xerneas + Lucario can take down most offensive mons quickly while my other mons can deal with bulkier targets like Pdon and Duskmane. Naganadel + Kyogre can be very annoying but it can be played around. Overall I think I have a pretty good matchup against HO
Offense: This gets a bit tricky, as offense in ubers is a bit hard to deal with. General strategy is to use Ho-Oh + Crapceus to try to wall as many threats as you can and revenge kill mons that you can't. If Mega Lucario manages to get a Swords Dance, awesome! But most of the time Lucario will have massive trouble setting up and you just have to weaken the opposing them for Ultra to attempt a sweep. I have a good matchup, but it's anyone's game.
Bulky Offense: A bit harder to fight than Offense, as these will be bulkier so Xerneas/Mega Lucario gets a lot less useful. They will usually have 1-2 speedy mons, so you should really target those while breaking down their defensive core as quickly as possible. Again, use Ho-Oh + Crapceus to try to wall as many threats as possible. One good thing is that it will be easier for Kyogre to come in and break. Against BO, it juse depends on who plays better, who have the better matchup Pokemon-to-Pokemon, and who the hax favors.
Balance: This Ultra Necrozma really shines. Kyogre is much easier to bring in here and often does massive damage before going down, where Necrozma can take advantage the lack of extremely fast mons (most of the time) to attempt to clean. Mega Lucario is also at its best, as it can find opportunities to set up and attack. Opposing Primal Kyogre is problematic, and Primal Groudon will always be a threat, but I think I have a good matchup against Balance.
Semi-Stall: Kyogre is an absolute monster against these teams, able to beat the heck out of these mons. Lucario is useful for any Blobs that show up, and he can easily find setup opportunities. Most of the time, they can't put enough pressure on Groundceus to keep rocks down. Ultra still have it's incredible nuke, and Ho-Oh and Groundceus can live incredibly long. The most important member against these teams, however, is Xerneas, as Defog and Aromatherapy is incredibly important against teams who love to spam hazards and poison. If I play it right, I think I have a good matchup.
Stall: If you say the pattern, you probably would have figured out that Kyogre is at its absolute best here. Calm Mind is an incredible asset against Stall, and +1 Origin Pulse 2HKOes Blissey. It's not too uncommon for Kyogre to singlehandedly mow down half of the opposing team. Mega Lucario is still great to take out Blissey and it can mind a massive amount of setup opportunities off the Blobs. I can beat most stall staples one-on-one, so if I play well, switch smart, and hope that hax don't rear its ugly head, I have a pretty good chance to win the game. Keeping Xerneas alive is number one priority, as its ability to remove status and hazards is invaluable.
Webs: Mega Lucario lays waste to any and all Webs leads, basically having them play 5v6. If they do not bring in said lead, they won't have a chance to set up webs later in the game unless said lead is Shuckle. Shuckle's contrary is extremely annoying, so never try to defog against it - just kill it and bring Ho-Oh later. Besides that, it's basically HO.
Veil/Screens: Screens can get difficult with Klefki's stupid bulk and Deoxy's insane speed. Smart Deoxys players will use Reflect first so MLuke won't bring it to Bullet Punch range. Because of that, Mega Lucario can't KO either Deoxys or Klefki before they set up both screens, and combined with Xerneas it can be deadly. On the bright side, Alolan Ninetales is much easier to deal with because Bullet Punch OHKOes Ninetales before it can set veil. I know viel is extremely niche but I have seen a couple of those. So basically, Veil is 5v6, but Screens are much more difficult to deal with.
Psychic Terrain: The main problem is that MMY becomes much more threatening because Psystrike reaches absolutely ludicrous power. Deoxys-A isn't much far behind, and deals massive damage on both sides. My problem is that Psychic Terrain prevent Mega Lucario's Bullet Punch from working, which is my main way of dealing with MMY. Fortunately, Xerneas is still fast and can revenge Deoxys-A. However, matchups against these teams are real dicey due to MMY's ridiculous speed and power.
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Final Remarks:
- Embrace hax. A lot of the time people go knock themselves out to stop hax, and I can’t blame them. But if it’s there, it’s there. Don’t knock yourself out trying to stop it or rip your hair out if it happens. This team has a lot of hax involved, what with Sacred Fire burns and Crapceus spamming recover hoping for a Precipice Blades miss. By using this team, I have learned to embrace hax. Using teams like this do that.
- Water Spout is broken on Kyogre, primal or not. ‘Nuff said.
- Fake it till you make it. You might want to make it look like that Dawn Wings is the Swords Dance Ultra variant, or that Xerneas have Geomancy, or that Ho-Oh is an offensive variant, I don’t know. Keep them on their toes, especially with Pokemon that have diverse sets that play very differently.
- Finally, and most importantly, don't be afraid to use strange things!! Sure, you can use stuff like RP Pdon or GeoXern (and I'm not saying you shouldn't --- they're pretty great), but the thing is, I guarentee that they will have a check/counter for these. On the other hand, people don't expect to see Mega Lucario or a CM Ultra Necrozma based on Dawn Wings, so you'd have that element of surprise. This can knock them a bit off-balance right from the start if they didn't prepare for them. In Pokemon, strange, if handled correctly, can be absolutely amazing.
- A lot of work went into this RMT. You might have noticed that it is much, much longer than my other two. I guess it’s kinda because the other two are “Please help me I need help” RMT’s but this one is a “I like my team so I want to show it to the Smogon community but I still would like suggestions” RMT.
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Shoutouts:
So… I have a couple, because now that I’ve been a member for a bit I actually kinda sorta know people.
Thank you to ElectricEpic384 for being the first person to be nice to me in the forums! I need to clear up one thing, though. Shadow Peashooter > Bombard Mint all the way. It shoots LASERS. And when you give it plant foot it shoots nukes. NUKES. There is no way for Bombard Mint to top da lasers and da NUKES.
Also, thanks to Flyingtypemaster3 on Pokemon Showdown for helping with this team. You were the first real experienced player I played and I really enjoyed playing you (though I beated you anyway). I asked like an army of people in the Ubers chatroom for advise and only you answered. I'm sorry I don't have our replay.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1190597630 vs HO (that was the game when I realised that leading with Lucario was a good idea)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1190598910 vs Balance
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1191181723-oq2v8bbrqpgek3ypterjja2zrkkhby9pw vs Offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1196153552-d80ut2eogr0q8y99ddry2111jiatyxtpw vs HO again (I was dumb and forgot Nihilego can be a HO suicide lead)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1199304290 vs Stall (I accidentally clicked defog instead of aroma on T23)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1190598910 vs Balance
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1191181723-oq2v8bbrqpgek3ypterjja2zrkkhby9pw vs Offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1196153552-d80ut2eogr0q8y99ddry2111jiatyxtpw vs HO again (I was dumb and forgot Nihilego can be a HO suicide lead)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-1199304290 vs Stall (I accidentally clicked defog instead of aroma on T23)
Almost forgot to add this:
My main account. Now see this:
The account I used exclusively for this team. And it's somehow higher than my main. LOL.
Currently shooting for 1500!
My main account. Now see this:
The account I used exclusively for this team. And it's somehow higher than my main. LOL.
Currently shooting for 1500!
Death Star (Necrozma-Dawn-Wings) @ Ultranecrozium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 32 Def / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Photon Geyser
- Moongeist Beam
- Power Gem
Oh Flip (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Fat Chicken (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Recover
- Toxic
- Defog
Chuck Norris (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat
Dumb Pink Tree (Xerneas) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Aromatherapy
- Defog
Yeetmaster (Arceus-Ground) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 24 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 32 Def / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Photon Geyser
- Moongeist Beam
- Power Gem
Oh Flip (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
Fat Chicken (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Recover
- Toxic
- Defog
Chuck Norris (Lucario-Mega) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Close Combat
Dumb Pink Tree (Xerneas) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Aromatherapy
- Defog
Yeetmaster (Arceus-Ground) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 24 SpD / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
Thank you for reading so far! I know I'm being a massive pain to have you read a wall of text, so I think I owe you something (especially if I want people to reply to the post). Here it is:
Am I still being a massive pain? :D
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