.png)
So as Regulation G just dropped, my initial plan was to let the metagame form
itself out before I step into the game. However, after seeing some videos on
Youtube that discussed popular cores, I got excited to try one of them out, and
quite a simple composition too. It worked out quite well for me so here’s a
mini team report for those looking to find a team to play the format: I dabbled
in this format a bit with a horrid Kyogre team being rounded out with
Rillaboom, Incineroar and Farigaraf and fell flat quick.
Teambuilding:
These Pokémon didn’t really gel together in harmony and there
wasn’t much synergy or inspiration to go off of. I did get swept 2x by an Ice
Rider Calyrex. Later when I watched a video that mentioned the Trick Room core
of Calyrex Ice Rider, Incineroar, Farigaraf and Ursaluna, I felt like it was
quite worthy to give it a try.
I know from my experience thus far that the majority of
dedicated Trick Room teams do work on a sort of flow chart function. Most
basically, the premise is to set up Trick Room and sweep, making and sticking
to game plans much easier. It also funnels down what your opponent brings to
the game to counteract that. This is the reason why I got this spark of motivation
to proceed with testing out and playing this core.
The last two Pokémon were quite easy to pick on the team. I already had a Fire type on the team and had explored the theoretical potential of Rillaboom, Incineroar with Farigaraf. Additionally, Rillaboom has amazing potential in this format, being able to overwrite the Psychic and Electric terrain, both of which got a big boost in terms of usage. Lastly, the writing was on the wall to close out the FWG core, what would’ve been better than to go for Urshifu. During testing, I figured out maybe Ogrepon Wellspring would fit better, however, this is definitely the correct pick.
The Team:
 Calyrex-Ice @ Clear Amulet Ability: As One (Glastrier) Level: 50 Tera Type: Water EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 SDef
Brave Nature IVs: 0 Spe - Glacial Lance - Close Combat - Trick Room - Protect |
|
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem-White Fusion Flare vs. 252 HP / 36
SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider: 178-210 (85.9 - 101.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252 HP /
36 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider: 182-218 (87.9 - 105.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def
Kyurem-White in Snow: 130-154 (56 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 0 HP / 4 Def
Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 118-139 (67.4 - 79.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 0 HP / 4 Def
Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 177-208 (101.1 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 220 HP / 132 Def
Flutter Mane: 129-153 (81.6 - 96.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 220 HP / 132 Def
Flutter Mane: 193-228 (122.1 - 144.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def
Amoonguss: 198-234 (90.4 - 106.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO 220+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Close Combat vs. 236 HP / 20 Def
Incineroar: 188-222 (94 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO |
Clear Amulet is by far the best choice, stopping Intimidate
spam in its tracks. Close Combat, in my opinion, is much better of an option
than High Horsepower as it allows for Calyrex to hit Terapagos and Kyurem super
effectively, all the while having a much stronger option to pick off Incineroar
and Steel types in the way.
 Farigiraf @ Throat Spray Ability: Armor Tail Level: 50 Tera Type: Fire EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA Modest Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Hyper Voice - Trick Room - Twin Beam - Helping Hand |
|
252+ SpA Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mienshao:
204-240 (145.7 - 171.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Iron
Valiant: 228-268 (153 - 179.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 236 HP / 116 SpD
Amoonguss: 144-172 (65.7 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry
recovery +1 252+ SpA Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 236 HP / 116 SpD
Amoonguss: 208-252 (94.9 - 115%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry
recovery 252+ SpA Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD
Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 204-244 (115.9 - 138.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO |
Twin Beam is a nice tech option against Mienshao as well as
Iron Valiant who can be a bit of a thorn in this team’s way with their wide
guards. Furthermore for Chien Pao and Chi Yu both being more common right now,
tera fire seems like the much better tera option with much less Urshifu Single
Strike around. Helping hand is here to give some much needed boost to Urshifu’s
damage output.
 Ursaluna-Bloodmoon @ Life Orb Ability: Mind's Eye Level: 50 Tera Type: Normal EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD Modest Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Hyper Voice - Blood Moon - Earth Power - Protect |
|
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon: 170-204 (77.2 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Tera-Normal Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Blood Moon vs.
252 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider: 187-221 (90.3 - 106.7%) -- 37.5% chance to
OHKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Helping Hand Blood Moon vs.
252 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider: 208-247 (100.4 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Helping Hand Earth Power vs.
236 HP / 124+ SpD Incineroar: 296-351 (148 - 175.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Earth Power vs. 236 HP / 124+
SpD Incineroar: 198-234 (99 - 117%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO |
 Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unseen Fist Level: 50 Tera Type: Water EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Adamant Nature - Surging Strikes - Close Combat - U-turn - Rock Tomb |
|
252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 0 HP /
4 Def Calyrex-Shadow Rider on a critical hit: 126-153 (72 - 87.4%) --
guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits)
vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Calyrex-Shadow Rider on a critical hit: 168-204 (96 -
116.5%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP
/ 164+ Def Chi-Yu on a critical hit: 198-240 (122.2 - 148.1%) -- guaranteed
OHKO 252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Helping Hand Surging Strikes (3
hits) vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Tera-Ghost Chi-Yu on a critical hit: 147-174
(90.7 - 107.4%) -- approx. 43.8% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Helping Hand Surging Strikes (3
hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Calyrex-Shadow Rider on a critical hit: 192-228 (109.7
- 130.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO |
 Rillaboom @ Meadow Plate Ability: Grassy Surge Level: 50 Tera Type: Grass EVs: 252 HP / 228 Atk / 28 SpD Adamant Nature - Fake Out - Grassy Glide - Wood Hammer - Taunt |
|
228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 220 HP / 132 Def
Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 102-120 (64.5 - 75.9%) --
guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera-Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 220 HP
/ 132 Def Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 136-160 (86 - 101.2%) --
12.5% chance to OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera-Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 4 HP /
0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike in Grassy Terrain: 208-248 (118.1 - 140.9%) --
guaranteed OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 4 HP / 0 Def
Urshifu-Rapid Strike in Grassy Terrain: 156-186 (88.6 - 105.6%) -- 31.3%
chance to OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Helping Hand Grassy Glide vs. 4 HP
/ 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike in Grassy Terrain: 234-276 (132.9 - 156.8%) --
guaranteed OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Helping Hand Grassy Glide vs. 220
HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 151-178 (95.5 - 112.6%) -- 68.8%
chance to OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def
Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Grassy Terrain: 93-109 (53.1 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed
2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 244 HP / 0 Def
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in Grassy Terrain: 134-158 (61.1 - 72.1%) -- guaranteed
2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Helping Hand Grassy Glide vs. 244
HP / 0 Def Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in Grassy Terrain: 200-236 (91.3 - 107.7%) --
43.8% chance to OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera-Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 244 HP
/ 0 Def Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in Grassy Terrain: 180-212 (82.1 - 96.8%) --
guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Groudon in Grassy Terrain: 254-300 (122.7 - 144.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO 228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Groudon in Grassy Terrain: 116-140 (56 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery 36+ SpA Protosynthesis Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252
HP / 28 SpD Rillaboom: 174-206 (84 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery 252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252
HP / 28 SpD Rillaboom: 175-207 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO |
Rillaboom works really well, just as well as I thought it
would. Rillaboom also provides an out for me in the case I am unable to set up
Trick Room with its strong Grassy Glides. I preferred to keep Taunt over some
offensive coverage as Amoonguss checks need to be solidified as much as
possible for a team like this.
 Incineroar @ Sitrus Berry Ability: Intimidate Tera Type: Grass EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Impish Nature - Fake Out - Flare Blitz - Knock Off - Parting Shot |
 Incineroar @ Safety Goggles Ability: Intimidate Tera Type: Dragon EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Impish Nature - Fake Out - Flare Blitz - Knock Off - Parting Shot |
|
252 SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Electro Drift vs. 252
HP / 76 SpD Incineroar in Electric Terrain: 229-270 (113.3 - 133.6%) --
guaranteed OHKO 252 SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Electro Drift vs. 252
HP / 76 SpD Tera-Grass Incineroar in Electric Terrain: 114-135 (56.4 - 66.8%)
-- guaranteed 2HKO |
252 SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Electro Drift vs. 252
HP / 76 SpD Tera-Dragon Incineroar in Electric Terrain: 114-135 (56.4 -
66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
Incineroar is one of the best Pokémon in the format and for
great reason too. It is the name of the game when it comes to pivoting.
Much-needed coverage is also added through Flare Blitz and Knock Off. Parting
Shot further solidifies the defense of this team. Both Rillaboom and Incineroar
interchangeably and sometimes in tandem with one another work great for
positioning around difficult spots. In games, such as Trick Room mirrors, where
speeds are a bit ambiguous and I am a bit hesitant to set up my own Trick Room,
these two work to provide much-needed disruption to allow my slower Pokémon to
work.
There are two sets I am debating between and its quite a
toss up at this point. More testing is definitely needed. The first set has
tera grass with sitrus berry which works well, the other set is safety goggles
with tera dragon. Both the sets are aimed to serve as a hard counter to
Amoonguss, hat I need more information on is whether I need to expend my tera
on incineroar in those Amoonguss matchups or not. Furthermore going directly
for safety goggles means that I have a direct switch in option to spores. Tera
dragon gives it a slightest edge over tera grass as F/W/G cores are running
rampant + Miraidon with the right set can OHKO certain Incineroars, which tera
grass does save you from but a tossup isn’t the best when they are paired with
a fire type in the back in case of grass tera. I say this is a debatable thing
as I sometimes find myself needing the extra recovery from sitrus berry, on the
other hand the threat of Amoonguss is quite eminent.
Matchups and Modes
|
Teams |
Strategies |
|
No non prankster taunt on ghost types or tera ghost mons + have fake
out |
Farigaraf + Incineroar |
|
Tera ghost Chi-yu + Flutter Mane, Mienshao + Calyrex Shadow |
Urshifu + Farigaraf |
|
No fake out users, no prankster taunt, |
Incineroar/Rillaboom + Calyrex |
|
Modes of the Team: |
|
|
Farigaraf + Incineroar/ Rillaboom with Calyrex and Ursaluna in the
back |
Farigaraf/ Calyrex + Rillaboom + Incineroar + Ursaluna/ Calyrex. |
|
Farigaraf/ Calyrex + F/W/G core |
|
So this was it from my end! I just wanted to quickly roll
out this report in case others want a team to use. I feel it is quite simple
yet effective, at least in this early stage of the format. If things pan out
right, I might keep developing and use this team throughout the entire format.
I will keep updating, either this post or a new short form post for the changes
I make to this team. I may also add more in detail calcs as I get to learn and
improve the team. Bye for now!
Bad Matchups:
 Taunt Fluttermane |
·
228+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera-Grass Rillaboom
Helping Hand Wood Hammer vs. 212 HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain:
438-516 (278.9 - 328.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO ·
52 Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Flare Blitz
vs. 212 HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane: 157-186 (100 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO |
  Clear Amulet Groudon |
·
252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Helping Hand Blood Moon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Groudon: 285-335 (137.6 - 161.8%)
-- guaranteed OHKO ·
252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Earth
Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tera-Fire Groudon: 244-291 (117.8 - 140.5%) --
guaranteed OHKO |
 Clear Amulet Calyrex Ice Rider with Snow and Aurora Veil |
·
252+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike
Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Ice Rider in Snow on a
critical hit: 72-90 (34.7 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO ·
252+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike
Helping Hand Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Ice Rider in
Snow on a critical hit: 102-126 (49.2 - 60.8%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to
2HKO ·
252+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike
Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 220 HP / 20 Def Ninetales-Alola in Snow on a
critical hit: 120-144 (68.1 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO ·
252+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike
Helping Hand Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 220 HP / 20 Def Ninetales-Alola in
Snow on a critical hit: 180-216 (102.2 - 122.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO ·
228+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Helping
Hand Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera-Water Calyrex-Ice Rider in Grassy
Terrain through Aurora Veil: 237-280 (114.4 - 135.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO |
The Change:
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One of the glaring issues was non prankster taunt coming
from ghost types rendering my team unable to outright set up a trick room. This
could be easily solved by the employment of a follow me user. With the initial
reason I got back into VGC was to give one of my gen 9 favorites in maushold a
chance and essentially ‘win with my favorites’ it proved extremely lackluster
in the previous format, however now with the advent of calyrex shadow rider,
all normal types get an extreme boost in viability, giving it an essential 1 up
vs clefairy as a friend guard user. Its high speed stat also meant I can easily
taunt opposing imprison trick room disruptors before they intercept.
3 normal types didn’t seem too grand of a scheme and
opposing hail was a trouble matchup, keeping in view the eminent threat of Amoonguss
switching in to wreak havoc, Torkoal seemed the most logical solution. Then to
round out the FWG core, I went with testing for a chlorophyll user with Walking
Wake considering my groudon and incineroar matchup to improve with the
innovation. Things worked where they worked and I was surprised by using
vileplume as I, on paper, valued the poison typing and coverage to githing
coverage as in with hisuian lilligant, but still wanted something that can use
the move after you in a last effort to provide a fast mode to the team. Walking
wake was clunky in testing as I would have to use it within trick room, and it
wasn’t the fastest mon outside of it. This also meant the transition from trick
room to sun mode was hanging in the balance between a 5 turn timer and people
could stall it cleverly.
The core of four in calyrex-ice, farigaraf, maushold and
torkoal seemed to dominate some games. I was also able to score effective
matchups with leading vileplume and torkoal in between sleep powder and after
you eruptions. However then again, the main aim of the team was setting up
trick room. Just to experiment a bit, I tried a bulkier version of Walking wake
with assault vest to pack more coverage (Snarl) and then test venusaur but
without after you, venusaur didn’t provide much value, also you have to then
pivot a rather vital offensive source in torkoal and it would fizzle out quick
easy where I lead the sun duo.
Focusing on the root of making the change, I figured why not
go for the original team but do more testing with ogerpon instead of Urshifu in
the last slot? It did cover some of the matchups as in redirecting taunts and
resisting precipice blades while giving me a double grassy glide option in
tandem with rillaboom, but it also, without much needed practice felt like
something I couldn’t find a flow with.
I was also watching the uploads of Jamie Boyt’s EUIC prep on
Youtube and was absolutely fascinated by how Jamie’s mind works. He has been
someone I have always been on the lookout for in terms of his team creativity
and genius, to have such an insight is important. In this video series he is
testing the concept of a zoom lens Heatran with magma storm as paired up with a
yawn using partner. He went through multiple versions of this team, innovating
and reinventing the strategy to get a feel for what is working best. This
showed me that finding and exploring new ideas can always be worthwhile. In a
specific part he aimed to combine the previous ideas he had and it made a
lightbulb go off in my head! I just did the same to test things out with the
knowledge of testing these elements individually I know what a better adjusted
moveset will be.
The Members:
 King Elias (Calyrex-Ice) @ Clear Amulet Ability: As One (Glastrier) Level: 50 Tera Type: Fire EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 SpD
Brave Nature IVs: 0 Spe - Glacial Lance - Close Combat - Trick Room - Protect |
Calyrex Ice rider stays basically the same except for one
change, that being its tera type. While water and fire type both would cover
the fire and steel weaknesses of Calyrex all the while giving it neutrality
into its previous psychic type weaknesses, Fire type felt better especially as
now I had sun on the board giving myself a pseudo neutrality into water type
moves covering up a weakness. Now that the format developed, most people are
calcing their Incineroars to live a neutral close combat from calyrex, this
creates an opportunity for them to go for a knock off and worse will-o-wisp to
deter the offenses of my calyrex, fire tera type protects against that too.
 GroudonAtHome (Torkoal) @ Choice Specs Ability: Drought Level: 50 Tera Type: Fire EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD Quiet Nature IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe - Eruption - Flamethrower - Earth Power - Fissure |
|
252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD
Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Sun: 177-208 (100.5 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD
Groudon in Sun: 192-226 (92.7 - 109.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tera-Fire Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252
HP / 4 SpD Groudon in Sun: 256-302 (123.6 - 145.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD
Calyrex-Ice Rider in Sun: 284-336 (137.1 - 162.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD
Calyrex-Ice Rider in Sun: 230-272 (111.1 - 131.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD
Miraidon: 114-136 (64.7 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Earth Power vs. 236 HP / 124+ SpD
Incineroar: 112-132 (56 - 66%) -- 24.6% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry
recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD
Assault Vest Raging Bolt: 94-112 (41.9 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD
Raging Bolt: 140-166 (62.5 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers
recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Tera-Fire Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 188
HP / 4 SpD Raging Bolt in Sun: 130-154 (58 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider High Horsepower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Tera-Fire Torkoal: 108-128 (61 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252 HP /
4 SpD Tera-Fire Torkoal: 156-185 (88.1 - 104.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Torkoal:
140-168 (79 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Tera-Dark Urshifu-Single Strike Wicked Blow
vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Torkoal on a critical hit: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) --
guaranteed 2HKO +1 252+ SpA Tera-Stellar Terapagos-Stellar Tera Starstorm vs. 252
HP / 4 SpD Torkoal: 134-158 (75.7 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +3 156+ Def Zamazenta-Crowned Body Press vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Torkoal: 139-165 (78.5 - 93.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
Torkoal is here to sit on the field and do big damage with
its moves. Tera fire eruption is an eradicator in trick room. Hwoever that
strategy doesn’t always bode well especially if opponents have priority on the
field after farigaraf has gone down or I was caught with tons of damage on a
switch in within trick room. In such case I went with flamethrower as I have
horrid luck with using overheat, it always misses when I need it to hit, +
flamethrower does not dwindle down in power keeping up the pace of damage in
trick room for torkoal. Earth power is extremely useful for opposing fire types
as well as the mons that terrastalize into fire types in the face of my Calyrex
and Torkoal combination. Lastly I chose Fissure and not something like solar
beam or Heat wave particularly as I already have 2 grass types on the team to
take care of water types and heat wave again poses the risk of being inaccurate,
which is something I don’t want to bank on in a doubt situation where I am put
against the wall. Also from a statistical POV, fissure has a 30% chance to hit
and call be a great counter play to evasion gimmicks in long drawn out games,
moreover getting a chance to get a crit for the 1 or being lock 1v1 against a
resisting mon in the last turn of the game where I need a crit (of appropriate
damage rolls in the first play) being a 4% chance vs hitting an OHKO move for
the win, I see the latter as the most appropriate choice.
 FavsForTheWin (Maushold) @ Focus Sash Ability: Friend Guard Level: 50 Tera Type: Ghost EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spe
Timid Nature IVs: 0 Atk - Follow Me - Taunt - Helping Hand - Super Fang |
|
252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP
/ 36 Def Maushold on a critical hit: 138-165 (76.2 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed
2HKO |
When I first thought of this idea, I thought it was just my
anti-meta loving side taking over and its going to be another failed experiment
(which in hindsight is a clever way to put it, given mice are often an icon for
being experiment subjects). However I was blown away by how good it worked out,
it completely performed as I theorized on paper, which as we all know never
turns out exactly as is. The EVs allow it to love an Adamant scarf Urshifu’s
Surging Strikes all the while giving it enough speed to outspeed a Mienshao.
Moreover it is timid to take least damage from foul plays as attack stat is not
needed at all.
It can go for fast taunts to prevent wide guard users and
other setup mons from doing their deeds on my team. Taunt in combination with
super fang makes this guy a great counter to terapagos or other bulky setup
mons as my team is designed in a way to have atleast 1 completely passive turn
before I start to unload damage allowing my opponents the opening to setup.
Helping hand is great to keep up the pressure as many of the opponents would
realize if maushold lives once trick room is up on the non helping hand
movesets I tested, it would be kind of dead weight waiting to go down, allowing
for my opponents to reposition favourably. In practice it applied as I theorized
converting Maushold into a threat inside of trick room given the utility it
provides with redirection, helping hand and Friend guard ability.
Another really neat mechanism I figured out was that super
fang now picks up 1 hp pokemon, which allows Maushold to pick off 1 hp mons
hanging off of a focus sash, or sturdy in case of Rockpon.
|
Order! Order! (Farigiraf) @ Life Orb
Ability: Armor Tail Level: 50 Tera Type: Fairy EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD Modest Nature IVs: 0 Atk / 25 Spe - Hyper Voice - Trick Room - Twin Beam - Shadow Ball |
|
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 188 HP / 68 Def
Farigiraf: 121-144 (55.2 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 188 HP / 68 Def Farigiraf in
Grassy Terrain: 172-204 (78.5 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery 252 Atk Orichalcum Pulse Tera-Fire Koraidon Flare Blitz vs. 188 HP
/ 68 Def Farigiraf in Sun: 255-301 (116.4 - 137.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 220 SpA Choice Specs Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 188 HP
/ 124 SpD Farigiraf: 186-220 (84.9 - 100.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO 252 SpA Choice Specs Tera-Electric Miraidon Electro Drift vs. 188
HP / 124 SpD Farigiraf: 200-236 (91.3 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 188 HP / 20 Def Farigiraf in
Grassy Terrain: 184-217 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain
recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 188 HP / 140
SpD Farigiraf in Sun: 198-234 (90.4 - 106.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Blood Moon vs. 188 HP / 140
SpD Farigiraf: 195-230 (89 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Groudon Heat Crash (120 BP) vs. 188 HP / 20 Def Farigiraf
in Sun: 163-192 (74.4 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Friend Guard Changes: +2 252+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 188 HP / 20 Def Farigiraf
with Friend Guard: 181-214 (82.6 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 188 HP / 20 Def
Farigiraf with Friend Guard: 97-115 (44.2 - 52.5%) -- 20.7% chance to 2HKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 188 HP / 140
SpD Farigiraf in Sun with Friend Guard: 148-175 (67.5 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed
2HKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Tera-Normal Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Blood Moon vs.
188 HP / 140 SpD Farigiraf with Friend Guard: 195-230 (89 - 105%) -- 31.3%
chance to OHKO
Offense: 156+ SpA Life Orb Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD
Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 250-296 (142 - 168.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO 156+ SpA Farigiraf Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Shadow
Rider: 168-200 (95.4 - 113.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO 156+ SpA Life Orb Farigiraf Twin Beam (2 hits) vs. 236 HP / 116
SpD Amoonguss: 172-208 (78.5 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 156+ SpA Life Orb Farigiraf Helping Hand Twin Beam (2 hits) vs.
252 HP / 252 SpD Amoonguss: 224-270 (101.3 - 122.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO 156+ SpA Life Orb Farigiraf Helping Hand Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0
SpD Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 322-385 (184 - 220%) -- guaranteed OHKO |
I chose to go for life orb on farigaraf this time as the
item was not taken up. 2 life orb boosted hyper voices would do more damage
than a single neutral hyper voice in combination with a boosted hit. With
helping hand no longer needed having a super effective option in what
previously walled this mon, both calyrex shadow and fluttermane, shadow ball feels
great in theory and proved in testing. People are now much less likely to set
up with their Calyrex Ice riders
 ゴリランダ
(Rillaboom) @ Assault Vest Ability: Grassy Surge Level: 50 Tera Type: Grass EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe Adamant Nature - Fake Out - Grassy Glide - Wood Hammer - High Horsepower |
|
116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 0
Def Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in Grassy Terrain: 222-264 (100.9 - 120%) --
guaranteed OHKO 116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 220 HP /
132 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 169-199 (106.9 - 125.9%) --
guaranteed OHKO 132+ Atk Tera-Grass Rillaboom Helping Hand
Grassy Glide vs. 220 HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 158-186
(100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO 132+ Atk Tera-Grass Rillaboom Helping Hand
Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Grassy Terrain: 142-168
(81.1 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 132+ Atk Tera-Grass Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs.
0 HP / 4 Def Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Grassy Terrain: 206-244 (117.7 - 139.4%)
-- guaranteed OHKO 220+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 4
Def Groudon in Grassy Terrain: 210-248 (101.4 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO -1 220+ Atk Rillaboom High Horsepower vs. 236
HP / 20 Def Incineroar: 80-96 (40 - 48%) -- 14% chance to 3HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery and Sitrus Berry recovery 220+ Atk Rillaboom High Horsepower vs. 188 HP
/ 132 Def Raging Bolt: 108-128 (48.2 - 57.1%) -- 40.2% chance to 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery 220+ Atk Rillaboom High Horsepower vs. 4 HP /
0 Def Miraidon: 114-136 (64.7 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery 252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Rider
Helping Hand Astral Barrage vs. 132 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom:
160-190 (83.3 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery +1 252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Rider
Astral Barrage vs. 132 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom: 160-190 (83.3 -
98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 252 SpA Choice Specs Miraidon Draco Meteor
vs. 132 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom: 135-159 (70.3 - 82.8%) --
guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis
Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 132 HP / 156 SpD Assault Vest
Rillaboom: 174-206 (90.6 - 107.2%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs.
132 HP / 4 Def Tera-Water Rillaboom: 54-64 (28.1 - 33.3%) -- 89.6% chance to
4HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery |
Rillaboom changes to assault vest to live hits better, have
high horsepower for fire types and for the fact that Amoonguss counters are now
significantly improved. I initially did calc for the tera grass movesets and
ran that for the majority of my practice, but realizing that I already had 2
fire tera types on the team and I could use a little assurance against the
Calyrex Ice teams Tera water seemed suitable. Moreover tera fire as a defensive
option would be quite redundant as Rillaboom is often a key part of strategy
against Kyogre compositions.
The EVs were transformed as such from 252/252/4 keeping in
mind the extra 1 hp bump you get for investing in HP so that the number is a
multiple of 16.
 FrndshpWKieranOvr (Ogerpon-Wellspring) (F) @ Wellspring Mask Ability: Water Absorb Level: 50 Tera Type: Water EVs: 196 HP / 124 Def / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature - Ivy Cudgel - Grassy Glide - Follow Me - Spiky Shield |
|
-1 0 Atk Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel (1.2x Mask Boost) vs. 236
HP / 20 Def Incineroar: 114-134 (57 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 0 Atk Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel (1.2x Mask Boost) vs. 4 HP / 0
Def Landorus: 174-206 (105.4 - 124.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO -1 0 Atk Tera-Water Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel (1.2x Mask
Boost) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus: 156-184 (95.1 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to
OHKO 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Bomb vs. 196 HP / 0
SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 166-198 (92.2 - 110%) -- 50% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Normal Dragonite Extreme
Speed vs. 196 HP / 124 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 153-181 (85 - 100.5%) -- 6.3%
chance to OHKO |
The defense EVs might be too specific for the team but I
decided to arrange them, after investment of enough speed to outspeed Landorus’
that it takes the least likelihood of being KO’d from a full power Dragonite’s
extreme speed. Again too specific and likely subjected to change as I practice
more with it.
Matchups:
Following is made using the amazing matchup sheet tool of
SPAMS created by SableyeVGC, it truly is quite revolutionary to get this thing
made in such a short time and visually appealing form. Needless to say this
tool will keep returning in my future team write-ups. Yes I do see that some of
these are copy/pastes of one another, as the core strategy remains the same for
most teams. The samples were self-made in case of Calyrex Shadow Rider teams
and rest were picked up VGC Pastes Repository.
Perspectives after Indianapolis Regionals:
After Indianapolis regionals, I felt like for playing with
fun I really locked in when I realized I don’t actually need to maintain a win
or loss record and there actually re no steaks to my win/loss ratio with this
team. Even if there were, I learned that nervousness definitely shoots me down
every time.
Now with Indianapolis regionals being the first paint stroke
in the marking of early meta, some pokemon gained more popularity and became
more prominent threats that I had thought of them previously. I went on a
journey to figure out what could be a replacement or adjustment for the least
used member of my team, Ogerpon.
This was for a few major meta developments that I
experienced watching Indianapolis regionals. Now Kyogre has really cemented
itself, calyrex ice is the most used restricted pokemon. Miraidon just won the
regionals and most importantly in my case, Pelliper saw a major upsurge in use.
I enlisted quite a few mons, keeping the major role of
Ogerpon, but scoping out who could do it better for the current team. After
brainstorming for a lot of mons, I finally came to the conclusion that
electabuzz can give me a nice edge against the aforementioned metagame trends.
Now I had to be off for testing.
|
+1 252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs.
252 HP / 68 SpD Eviolite Electabuzz: 144-171 (83.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed
2HKO 220 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane
Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 108 SpD Eviolite Electabuzz: 144-170 (83.7 - 98.8%) --
guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Mystic Water Tera-Water Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs.
252 HP / 212+ SpD Eviolite Electabuzz in Rain: 158-186 (91.8 - 108.1%) -- 50%
chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Tera-Water Kyogre Thunder vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Eviolite
Tera-Water Electabuzz: 86-102 (50 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Eviolite Electabuzz: 105-124 (61 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Eviolite Tera-Water Electabuzz: 52-62 (30.2 - 36%) -- 43.4% chance to 3HKO
4 SpA Electabuzz Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Water Kyogre:
74-90 (35.7 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 4 SpA Tera-Water Electabuzz Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD
Pelipper: 220-264 (131.7 - 158%) -- guaranteed OHKO 4 SpA Electabuzz Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid
Strike: 150-176 (85.2 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
|
In the tests I am making overall better plays but the
overall job of electabuzz was not to contribute much to the offensive output
but go down after taking a few hits. Yes having electric type coverage did make
sense. However miraidon is so strong that I would need an immunity, electabuzz
is not the bulkiest of the bunch either so its stance in initial testing
against offensive Kyogre comps also was extremely limited.
I think testing with a tera fairy electivire would make more
sense. It is faster than kyogre without it being backed by tailwind, would go
down easy to bring out the trick room sweepers, is immune to miraidon and
raging bolt, allows for utilizing covert cloak, has a fast eerie impulse option
as well. Ofcourse again this is theory and would need more testing.
Now by the looks of it Electivire should work out well, however
even in the matches that I brought it against Kyogre teams, I could see myself
thinking: but “Maushold would just have gotten the job done, just as good if
not better”. Electivire was something that applied pressure on the field but in
performance it proved to be somewhat lackluster. With the miraidon matchup
(atleast Rajan’s team) being completely figured out as I faced it multiple
times while facing this team, I didn’t need to bring Electivire so the slot was
once again a dud, I had to think through things and ultimately told myself that
Ogerpon Wellspring got the job done better than these electric type options,
then again I really didn’t need 2 follow me users as Maushold’s friend guard
proved to be much more of a utility than a follow me user with Amoonguss
immunity.
I finally decided to address the elephant in the room (or I
guess in this case the other giraffes) and decided to go with the most obvious
option with Raging Bolt. I could go two ways about this, the calm mind leftovers
set with its best partner Rillaboom already being on the team, or the
proto-boosted magnet variant that would work with Torkoal. Since the former
implied that I would have to let go of thunderbolt, a consistent option to
remove Pelliper as it spams wide guard on the field, the latter was chosen.
Also this team’s entire deal is to set up trick room and clear the field, the
more offense I can pressure with, the better. This idea also influenced the
choice of tera electric and draco meteor over other options that Bolt could
run. Although raging bolt wouldn’t directly address the calyrex ice issue, it
can help pin it in the presence of Torkoal in case they decide to go for tera
water to save themselves from Eruptions, not just for defensive tera waters,
raging bolt is a clear upgrade from ogerpon in handling the water types of this
format.
Now for the other giraffe, I realized that tera fairy really
wasn’t as relevant of a defensive tera, as it was mainly put on to give it a
neutral typing into matchups. With Indianapolis regionals proving that Calyrex
is the top threat, Kyogre once again cementing itself at the core of the
metagame, I felt tera water was clearly a better option and it proved so in
games where I utilized it. Foul play is a great optimization to give my team,
that has a bitter rivalry of sorts of calyrex ice, a better chance to fair.
The team worked like absolute magic in this iteration. As I
expected raging bolt was still going to be the least used mon but whenever I
did bring it I felt it proved itself really well, providing the pressure that I
needed it to put on the field. It would also assume the role of cleaning up
once trick room goes down with its Sun, magnet and sometimes tera boosted
Thunderclaps without worrying much about the speed brackets.
Important Calcs to Consider:
|
252+ SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Discharge vs. 252 HP
/ 36 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider in Electric Terrain with Friend Guard: 88-103
(42.5 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO + 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider with Friend Guard: 50-58
(24.1 - 28%) -- 70.7% chance to 2HKO (I survive this lead combo when calyrex is partnered with
maushold) |
|
252 SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Snarl vs. 188 HP / 140 SpD Farigiraf
with Friend Guard: 81-96 (36.9 - 43.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO + 220 SpA Choice
Specs Beads of Ruin Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Dazzling Gleam vs. 188 HP / 140
SpD Farigiraf with Friend Guard: 115-136 (52.5 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (On a damage
roll to survive this, going for tera water guarantees the survival) 252+ Atk
Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 188 HP / 20 Def Tera-Water Farigiraf:
65-77 (29.6 - 35.1%) -- 14% chance to 3HKO 0- Atk Life Orb
Farigiraf Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Ice Rider: 133-156 (64.2 -
75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
|
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider High Horsepower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Raging Bolt: 154-182 (66.3 - 78.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 SpA Choice Specs Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252
HP / 4 SpD Tera-Electric Raging Bolt: 150-177 (64.6 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed
2HKO +1 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252 HP
/ 4 SpD Tera-Electric Raging Bolt: 195-230 (84 - 99.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Magnet Protosynthesis Tera-Electric Raging Bolt
Thunderclap vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 142-168 (81.1 - 96%) --
guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Magnet Protosynthesis Tera-Electric Raging Bolt
Thunderclap vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tera-Water Calyrex-Ice Rider: 224-268 (108.2 -
129.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Magnet Protosynthesis Tera-Electric Raging Bolt
Thunderclap vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre: 216-256 (104.3 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed
OHKO |
Team:
https://pokepast.es/55f3aa1522028241
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