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The journey of a new team started with the ideation to put my absolute #1 favorite to the test and teambuild with Reshiram (yes the final team is of a lunala but i have to explain the context). When I was initially exploring the idea I was quite fascinated by it because it felt it this mon had its place, particularly due to the rise in Zamazenta’s popularity. Being a bulky dragon type at its nature also allowed it to take those big electric type attacks from Miraidon which were quite the big hype in the moment. I laid out many ideas, out of which the ones I tested included going back to a Orthworm pairing with Reshiram which felt irrelevant due to a lack of Groudon teams in the current format (I don’t think they are coming back at this point).
Testing various variants of Reshiram including the assault
vest versions, the ones with safety goggles, at a point I was looking into a fire
spin + yawn combo with it being placed beside dondozo… a team that featured Enamorous
and Thundurus pairing, screens support for Reshiram, specs variants or the ones
carrying charcoal.
I ultimately came to the conclusion that what worked for me
most consistently was Reshiram’s damage output as compared to its ability to
sponge multiple hits. This damage output could be further enhanced by a
significant source of speed control and sunny day support. Flutter mane was a
natural on this core I formed and then the rest of the slots would be
supporting this. At a point with the raichu, araquanid and brute bonnet, I for
some time felt as that this was the squad however after many losses I realized
why it didn’t work. The team at hand turned out to be sort of a Reshiram and
the supporting cast. With Reshiram not really being the hot stuff this format,
I would need more than this to justify.
The next, what I would call best iteration is what came with
the Farigaraf, Rillaboom and Urshifu in the final slot. Essentially filling the
same roles as of Calyrex counter, Miraidon counter and then lastly a strong
attacking option within tailwind (the brute bonnet I ran was max speed with a
focus sash) respectively. This allowed for even more protection against the
fake out pivots and especially brought a new mix to the speed control in trick
room. Tera stellar was something that felt almost like magic being used on Urshifu
as it would be able to pick up important KO’s from ranges with close combat
even after an intimidate.
Then again, I tested and tested some more and realized if I actually
want to build a second successful team after my venture with Calyrex ice, Reshiram
is not going to be it. I might need to entirely rehaul this approach and come
back later. During the insanity of testing all these teams I built an as
standard as can be Calyrex Shadow team which worked well and then I shifted my
focus towards exploring Zamazenta.
I play tested Michael Zheng’s team but quickly realized
playing such a complex team was out of my league at the current level. The
first Zamazenta team I made was a team that came completely as a shower
thought. The combination of Ting Lu and Zamazenta just seemed so perfect on
paper. Trying to build my own I particularly enjoyed the used of the Pelliper,
Urshifu, Rillaboom and Incineroar core with an Iron defense tera ghost (for the
initial tests) Zamazenta, but I realized a truly successful Zamazenta team
needs a lot more knowledge. I was thinking about this a lot that how Michael’s
team was something that felt like it has anti synergy at multiple points or
weird movesets but that is exactly what was needed. Developing something so
intricate was something I was not willing to put time into, or rather had the
time to do in detail. The big positives of this team were getting knowledge of
the aforementioned supporting core that I used. A later version of this team
saddled on a raging bolt to cover the Urshifu and Pelliper Weakness and the
fire type slot was replaced by a Chandelure. This version, albeit better than
the one that preceded it, was not really clicking with me either.
The absolute huge series of failed teams:
|
252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 252 HP / 92
SpD Pelipper: 140-165 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Pelipper:
100-118 (59.8 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 44 Def
Pelipper: 144-169 (86.2 - 101.1%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Pelipper in Grassy
Terrain: 135-160 (80.8 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Single Strike Wicked Blow vs. 252 HP /
44 Def Pelipper on a critical hit: 153-180 (91.6 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to
OHKO |
I decided to test the
other variant that felt a bit more active than this one; the meteor beam lunala
sets. I copied a team off of VGC pastes repository and noticed a familiar theme
here. This team too had Rillaboom and Urshifu with a focus sash. However where
it deviated was in adding on a Tornadus, Grimmsnarl and Ogerpon Hearthflame.
Testing it in the initial few battles I instantly felt like this variant fit me
better. Giving Lunala the ability to take out incineroar, tornadus and
calyrex’s tera fire variants in one hit all the while you get a boost was much
more effective. Whereas the defensive aspect came in, Grimmsnarl on leads with
Lunala was just purely amazing! The first thing I realized was that Grimmsnarl
was the sort of 3rd confirmed partner I would want to play alongside
Rillaboom and Urshifu if I want to play Lunala.
Further tests made me realize that Firepon is here to
threaten amoonguss all the while completing the Fire Water Grass core on the
team. Tornadus I brought much less but whenever I did it was to give lunala a
jump in speed to handle matchups in mid to late game better. I would almost
always stagger the tailwind. The bad matchups for the team were calyrex firing
off setup astral barrages to ruin my day. Additionally miraidon matchup was a
doozy. The only one time I felt like I figured what I needed was when I went
for Firepon in the back as it took away the electric type pivots giving lunala
to deal enough damage. I was actually able to keep up well with the Miraidon
pivots however the team deals too much damage and is faster than what I expect,
so I need a potential replacement for this mon as well.
The next changes I made were to reunite (once again) with
something I tested and liked: Pelliper. With Pelliper holding the safety
goggles item, learning both tailwind and wide guard it can help fill in a lot
of the gaps and weakesses I felt within a team. For the Miraidon matchup
redirection user (and to cover for the Raging bolt sets as well) I decided,
albeit a very niche choice, Pachirisu was in my best interest. With super fang
and nuzzle it can help break up the ultra-defensive teams like Shiliang Tang’s
Wo-Chien Screens based Kyogre team or the calm mind setup Terapagos teams as
well. This slot could be easily replaced by a landorus but testing will
determine that for me.
Sure after some initial testing pachirisu proved itself to
be a total beast in the right matchups.
 Pachirisu @ Rocky Helmet Ability: Volt Absorb Level: 50 Tera Type: Fairy EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 12 Def / 220 SpD
/ 20 Spe Careful Nature - Follow Me - Eerie Impulse - Nuzzle - Super Fang 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Dragon Pulse vs. 252 HP
/ 140+ SpD Pachirisu: 141-166 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+
SpD Pachirisu: 174-211 (104.1 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Blood Moon vs. 252 HP / 220+ SpD
Pachirisu: 140-165 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO -2 252+ SpA Life Orb Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 220+
SpD Pachirisu: 88-109 (52.6 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
The journey:
|
The sort of ok Reshiram Composition |
|
|
The final Reshiram Team |
|
|
Zamazenta V1 |
|
|
Zamazenta V2 |
|
|
Lunala Team 1 (Calm mind) |
|
|
Lunala Team 2 (Pachirisu) |
|
|
Final Lunala Team |
As someone who tried a calm mind variant of lunala before
this one, this set was perfect and removed all my complaints. Giving lunala a
chance to take out two of its biggest threats in the format in incineroar and
chi yu with a single move does wonders for its offensive viability all the
while you set up alongside it. Moreover the meteor beam variants threaten the
tera fire variants of calyrex ice along with its base form. Lunala being the
restricted mon of this team feels like something I need to bring to every game,
and honestly you can do that. Having shadow shield gives it amazing
survivability on the field to the point you can lead with it. Placing it
alongside grimmsnarl or rillaboom further ups the tanking potential, after
clicking a meteor beam lunala almost snowballs in the damage it can put on the
field when left unchecked.
|
+1 252+ SpA Lunala Meteor Beam vs. 236 HP / 124+ SpD Incineroar:
204-240 (102 - 120%) -- guaranteed OHKO +1 252+ SpA Lunala Meteor Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Whimsicott: 147-174
(108 - 127.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 212 HP / 4 SpD Flutter Mane:
152-180 (96.8 - 114.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Tera-Fairy Lunala Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD
Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 176-210 (100 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Tera-Fairy Lunala Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Chien-Pao:
164-194 (105.8 - 125.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO +1 252+ SpA Tera-Fairy Lunala Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD
Tornadus: 278-328 (149.4 - 176.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO +1 252+ SpA Lunala Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider:
186-220 (89.8 - 106.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO +1 252+ SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Ice Rider:
234-276 (113 - 133.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252 SpA Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 132 HP / 4 SpD Shadow
Shield Lunala: 170-204 (74.2 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 132 HP / 4
SpD Shadow Shield Lunala: 221-265 (96.5 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 132 HP / 4 SpD
Shadow Shield Lunala: 188-224 (82 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 220 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Shadow Ball vs. 132 HP / 4 SpD
Shadow Shield Lunala: 194-230 (84.7 - 100.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO Grimmsnarl Foul Play vs. 132 HP / 0- Atk 0 IV / 12 Def Shadow Shield
Lunala: 102-122 (44.5 - 53.2%) -- 28.5% chance to 2HKO Grimmsnarl Foul Play vs. 132 HP / 0- Atk 0 IV / 12 Def Lunala:
204-244 (89 - 106.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO 44 Atk Incineroar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 132 HP / 12 Def Shadow
Shield Lunala: 140-168 (61.1 - 73.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
Rillaboom just fits in soo well with this team. This
particular ev spread is not my own but I enjoy the amout of speed it has all
the while hitting major defensive benchmarks and getting important damage down
on the field. Ground coverage, like the previous teams I have tested isn’t
really a necessity as I have a landorus to cover for those situations. Grassy
glide holds the key to handling miraidon and psyspam matchups upon switchins
along with helping lunala regain its broken shadow shield if the insignificant
chip damage was dealt. Tera fire simultaneously proves an out from Chi-yu +
Fluttermane leads, Glacial Lances and being afflicted with a burn.
|
116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
in Grassy Terrain: 222-264 (101.3 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO 116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 212 HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane in
Grassy Terrain: 169-199 (107.6 - 126.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO -1 116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid
Strike in Grassy Terrain: 170-204 (96.5 - 115.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO 116+ Atk Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike
in Grassy Terrain: 120-144 (68.1 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery 116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 76+ Def Pelipper in
Grassy Terrain: 109-129 (65.2 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 116+ Atk Rillaboom U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F: 74-88
(41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 252 SpA Tornadus Bleakwind Storm vs. 168 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest
Rillaboom: 104-126 (53 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain
recovery 252+ SpA Choice Specs Miraidon Draco Meteor vs. 168 HP / 44 SpD
Assault Vest Rillaboom: 156-184 (79.5 - 93.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery +1 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 168 HP /
44 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom: 149-177 (76 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery 252 Atk Orichalcum Pulse Koraidon Collision Course vs. 168 HP / 12
Def Rillaboom: 126-148 (64.2 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain
recovery 252+ SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Dark Pulse vs. 168 HP / 44 SpD Assault
Vest Tera-Fire Rillaboom: 85-102 (43.3 - 52%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy
Terrain recovery 252+ SpA Life Orb Tera-Normal Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Blood Moon vs. 168
HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Tera-Fire Rillaboom: 195-231 (99.4 - 117.8%) --
93.8% chance to OHKO |
Urshifu’s switch from focus sash to safety goggles was made
on the note that I struggled quite much with controlling a covert cloak Amoonguss
which would bypass my fake out deterrence. I was quite skeptical of it, but even
in the initial tests a bulky Urshifu with goggles and taunt proved to be just
what the team needed to up my odds against the Calyrex ice matchups. Where it
loses out a significant bunch on speed and offense, Pelliper’s drizzle,
tailwind and Urshifu’s own tera water can bump it up to a significant level
when water type offense is needed. Urshifu on this squad is quite the odd one
out, particularly for its EVs however I am glad I tested this route because I
got to do so well with it.
|
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tera-Stellar Terapagos-Stellar Tera Starstorm
vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 152-180 (86.8 - 102.8%) -- 18.8%
chance to OHKO252+ SpA Choice Specs Beads of Ruin Tera-Stellar
Terapagos-Stellar Tera Starstorm vs. 188 HP / 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid Strike:
166-196 (83.4 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Beads of Ruin Tera-Stellar Terapagos-Stellar
Tera Starstorm vs. 188 HP / 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 166-196 (83.4 -
98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252+ SpA Tera-Stellar Terapagos-Stellar Tera Starstorm vs. 188 HP
/ 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 126-149 (63.3 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 188 HP / 4 Def
Urshifu-Rapid Strike in Grassy Terrain: 156-186 (78.3 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed
2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery 252 SpA Tornadus Bleakwind Storm vs. 188 HP / 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid
Strike: 152-182 (76.3 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 108+ SpA Raging Bolt Thunderclap vs. 188 HP / 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid
Strike: 152-182 (76.3 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 36 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 188 HP / 132 SpD Urshifu-Rapid
Strike: 176-210 (88.4 - 105.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO 36 SpA Beads of Ruin Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 188 HP /
132 SpD Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 158-186 (79.3 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed
2HKO 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0
Def Calyrex-Ice Rider on a critical hit: 72-84 (34.7 - 40.5%) -- guaranteed
3HKO 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0
Def Calyrex-Ice Rider in Rain on a critical hit: 102-126 (49.2 - 60.8%) --
approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO 84+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs.
252 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Ice Rider in Rain on a critical hit: 138-168 (66.6 -
81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def
Tera-Stellar Terapagos-Stellar: 186-218 (69.6 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
after Leftovers recovery 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def
Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 100-118 (56.8 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 244 HP / 0
Def Ursaluna-Bloodmoon on a critical hit: 162-198 (73.9 - 90.4%) --
guaranteed 2HKO 84+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Close Combat vs. 244 HP / 0 Def
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon: 170-204 (77.6 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
Another one of cona_5757’s spreads which I was quite
doubtful off, I did switch to light clay variants and ran scary face in testing
but ended up coming back to the exact original concept. Being placed with Lunala
on leads I have complete fake out immunity allowing at least a single screen or
thunder wave to be fired off. I came back to thunder wave as scary face, for
being more consistent and hitting Landorus and Miraidon, scary face couldn’t
really help me in situations where I have to do a desperate side target of
thunder wave to protect myself against spores or move first in opposing trick
room matchups. Moreover the paralyses chance does add up over the turns and
unlike a stat drop, thunder wave persists even after switching out. Spirit
break works well for this team over foul play on this team as Lunala already
covers the Koraidon and Calyrex matchups well, spirit break allows an out for
hitting opposing dark types (Grimmsnarl, Chien Pao, Iron Jugulis) for significant
super effective damage. In case my opponent wants to play passive or setup, the
added effect of special attack drop also works really well.
|
252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 244 HP / 172+ Def
Grimmsnarl: 103-123 (51.2 - 61.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252+ Atk Calyrex-Ice Rider Glacial Lance vs. 244 HP / 172+ Def
Grimmsnarl: 154-183 (76.6 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 SpA Tera-Fairy Calyrex-Shadow Rider Draining Kiss (Tera 60 BP
Boost) vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Grimmsnarl: 144-170 (71.6 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed
2HKO 252 SpA Tera-Fairy Calyrex-Shadow Rider Helping Hand Draining Kiss
vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Grimmsnarl: 176-210 (87.5 - 104.4%) -- 18.8% chance to
OHK 252 SpA Tera-Fairy Calyrex-Shadow Rider Helping Hand Draining Kiss
vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Grimmsnarl through Light Screen: 117-140 (58.2 - 69.6%)
-- guaranteed 2HKO +2 252 SpA Tera-Fairy Calyrex-Shadow Rider Draining Kiss (Tera 60 BP
Boost) vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Grimmsnarl through Light Screen: 189-224 (94 -
111.4%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO 36 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Grimmsnarl: 168-198
(83.5 - 98.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 36 SpA Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD
Grimmsnarl through Light Screen: 149-176 (74.1 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 244 HP / 172+ Def
Grimmsnarl in Grassy Terrain: 175-207 (87 - 102.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera-Grass Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 244 HP /
172+ Def Grimmsnarl in Grassy Terrain through Reflect: 156-184 (77.6 - 91.5%)
-- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery |
Landorus really did got added last but it patched some much
needed limitations of this team. First and foremost I didn’t have any speedy
attackers that can do a significant amount of burst damage, knowing my
playstyle it really did irk me developing this team thus far, Landorus provides
for that gap exactly as is. Being able to fire off accurate, tera ground and
sheer force boosted, STAB sandsear storms provides me an option for a
devastating spread attack. Landorus can also outspeed all most scarf Chi yus
and adamant scarf Urshifus giving me the faster option. Having a more active option
against raging bolt and Miraidon helps tremendously, again something I was
hesitant to test but something that worked out better than Pachirisu.
|
252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Miraidon:
180-212 (102.2 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Sandsear Storm vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD
Miraidon: 150-176 (85.2 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Sandsear Storm vs. 4 HP / 0
SpD Miraidon: 200-236 (113.6 - 134%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Earth Power vs. 228 HP / 92
SpD Assault Vest Incineroar: 180-212 (90.4 - 106.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 236 HP / 124+ SpD
Incineroar: 176-210 (88 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Sandsear Storm vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Chi-Yu:
144-170 (109.9 - 129.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Assault
Vest Raging Bolt: 150-176 (66.9 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 4
SpD Assault Vest Raging Bolt: 200-236 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Raging
Bolt: 218-260 (93.9 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4
SpD Raging Bolt: 292-348 (125.8 - 150%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Fairy
Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 136-160 (77.7 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0
SpD Tera-Fairy Calyrex-Shadow Rider: 136-160 (77.7 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed
2HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Bomb vs. 212 HP / 4 SpD Flutter
Mane: 52-62 (33.1 - 39.4%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 212 HP / 4 SpD Flutter
Mane: 78-93 (49.6 - 59.2%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO 0- Atk Sheer Force Landorus Crunch vs. 12 HP / 116 Def Calyrex-Shadow
Rider: 180-212 (101.6 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO 0- Atk Sheer Force Landorus Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F:
80-96 (45.1 - 54.2%) -- 44.1% chance to 2HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Tera-Ground Landorus Earth Power vs. +1 252 HP /
4 SpD Indeedee-F: 86-102 (48.5 - 57.6%) -- 90.6% chance to 2HKO 252+ SpA Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD
Assault Vest Rillaboom: 102-122 (49.2 - 58.9%) -- 71.1% chance to 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery 116+ Atk Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 12 HP / 4 Def Tera-Ground
Landorus in Grassy Terrain: 132-156 (79.5 - 93.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
Grassy Terrain recovery 36 SpA Flutter Mane Icy Wind vs. 12 HP / 4 SpD Landorus: 100-120
(60.2 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Rider Astral Barrage vs. 12 HP / 4
SpD Tera-Ground Landorus: 142-168 (85.5 - 101.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO 252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 12 HP / 4 Def
Landorus in Grassy Terrain: 184-217 (110.8 - 130.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO 116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 12 HP / 4 Def Landorus in Grassy
Terrain: 139-165 (83.7 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO |
Pelliper truly became the anchor for my team. It did its job
so well for every game I have brought it to and no other mon could be a better
fit here. It was brought onto the squad after I was struggling for a barrage of
spread attacks that swept me away in a flash, we have wide guard. Urshifu
(originally with sash) had not that impressive of an offensive output, we have
rain. Rillaboom and grass types were something that could sit on the field due
to lack of super effective damage, cue hurricane. Special damage output was
something that I needed to look into more seriously, enter a stab boosted
weather ball in rain. Pelliper checks all the boxes I needed it for.
The item change was easy to access for what it needs.
Initially covert cloak and safety goggles both felt great however since now
Urshifu takes the roll of neutralizing Amoonguss, Pelliper can easily improve
its own damage output by investing more into Special attack versus bulk,
increased odds of survivability with sash are always a plus. Additionally the
speed problem gets somewhat patched with this spread investing all 252 EVs into
speed
|
252+ SpA Pelipper Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD Assault Vest
Rillaboom: 128-152 (61.8 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain
recovery 252+ SpA Pelipper Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 236 HP / 124+ SpD
Incineroar in Rain: 200-236 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252+ SpA Pelipper Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 228 HP / 92 SpD
Assault Vest Incineroar in Rain: 152-180 (76.3 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252+ SpA Pelipper Hurricane vs. 236 HP / 116 SpD Amoonguss: 174-206
(79.4 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery 252+ SpA Pelipper Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Amoonguss: 198-234
(89.5 - 105.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO |
Matchups:
It was ultimately a tough and long journey to make a new
team that I could do my best with. At times during this process I truly felt
like the calyrex ice team that I played well was nothing but a lucky window
that scored me some wins and false confidence of having good teambuilding
skills or decision making intuitions.
I felt a bit too constricted by my own ideas and was quite
fearful of testing, but getting all the way from making terrible teams starting
with Reshiram and ending all the way on the other side of the moon (pun
intended) with Lunala allowed me to face the fear of rejecting and moving on
from teams and compositions that I couldn’t play and test more and more ideas
to see which ones stick better to me. And I think this is ultimately the big take
away message I’ll apply to my future VGC teams.
Projecting to the Future: Anti Meta Madness!
Speaking of applying knowledge to the future team plans and
me knowing my heart always gravitating towards the anti meta mons and strategies
of the world, I would love to leave a bit of info on what I am planning up
next. Since the format is quite dry at least until before the worlds comes
around, and now I have a fully built bo3 team, I would love to explore some
cheesy or anti meta strats and build a team out of the outcasts in the upcoming
week or so. The inspiration from this comes from testing out many different
Reshiram teams and therefore trying many pokemon that had some niches on paper
but couldn’t materialize on the final build of the squad.
One such combination is Hariyama + Enamorous Therian form that has the potential to block out the amoonguss + calyrex ice board state. Following are pointers on mons I think have some niches and I might consider when building my new anti meta (hopefully not horrible) team.
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·
Hariyama gets fighting stab, fake out, wide
guard and knock off. Its two abilities can be very useful allowing for both
guts orb or a thick fat safety goggles set to turn it into a good calyrex ice
and Amoonguss counter.
·
Iron Treads is something that can give the
Miraidon compositions some trouble. Being a steel and ground type makes it
resist important damage sources from Miraidon teams all the while hijacking
benefits of electric terrain. Albeit from experience, this pokemon was
extremely hard to place on a team that wasn’t itself using Miraidon.
·
Alcremie having decorate and sweet veil gives it
some good viability, but at this point it is mostly a second to smeargle.
·
Alomomola has value for getting wide guard and
regenerator with its own version of u-turn in flip turn… highly specific niche
but these tools have proven themselves in this format. Water is a good
defensive type.
·
Banette being a ghost type is immune to fake
outs and gets insomnia which means spore immunity.
·
Bastiodon enjoys the tool of wide guard with the
combination of iron defense and body press.
·
Braviary with its stab flying type and defiant
can provide a specific answer to incineroar and rillaboom pivots.
·
Breloom with a fast spore option is always
something that is going to be potent. Not to forget the technician boosted mach
punches and bullet seeds. It is bound to be useful for someone… however obvious
it may be that there are much better grass type mons in the format.
·
Bruxish has the same ability as farigaraf and
tsareena both of which have been proven. It also gets access to psychic fangs
making it a potential answer to grimmsnarl’s screens setup.
·
Cresselia with levitate and a defensive tera can
wall calyrex.
·
Electrivire can draw away the electric type attacks
with follow me and be immune to them with motor drive, giving itself a speed
boost in return.
·
Forretress gets iron defense, body press and
overcoat atop which can make it a good answer to calyrex and amoonguss. Hisuian
goodra can get the exact same job done arguably with a better typing.
·
Frosmoth and Garganacl are both good wide guard
users. Frosmoth has an inbuilt covert cloak in shield dust whereas garganacl is
a suitable wall to calyrex for resisting ghost hits and the aforementioned wide
guard.
·
Gliscor has unique niches for defensively
walling the rillaboom, incienroar and raging bolt all the while being immune to
intimidates with hyper cutter.
·
Hitmontop is a world champion and for good
reason. A lot of the tools in its arsenal including fake out, wide guard,
intimidate, feint and stab fighting coverage have proven themselves.
·
Volbeat and Illumise are both prankster tailwind
users with slightly altering movesets. Illumise has fake tears whereas volbeat
can go for the very cheesy endure + endeavor combination… probably still won’t
work against smart players thought.
·
Mamoswine and Piloswine can both work for
different reason. For the former oblivious with stab has good coverage against
big players like incineroar, miraidon, whimsicott and more.
·
Mandibuzz has the useful dark typing preventing
astral barrage snowballs and prankster immunity all the while getting very good
support moves in snarl, taunt, foul play and tailwind. Overcoat also greatly
improves the case for its viability.
·
Mimikyu has trick room and a good typing, in a
format filled with power creeping, having this preset substitute can make a
case for its viability.
·
Oranguru, Girafarig and Wyrdeer are pretty much
the same case. Oranguru gets the signature instruct, Girafarig pairs with sap
sipper and eviolite whereas wyrdeer gets intimidate. This typing is quite
useful due to the ever present calyrex shadow rider threat in this format.
·
Rhydon makes a case with its lightningrod
ability being able to neutralize miraidon’s electric offense spam. Pairing it
with eviolite makes it bulkier than Rhyperior whereas the change is offense is
not a whole lot significant in trade of the added bulk you get.
·
Sceptile and Sneasler both support miraidon
really well. Sceptile gets stab grass coverage sniping the ground type teras
for Miraidon and can pull off the cheesy strategy of dragon cheer, sneasler
gets fast fake out and stab poison coverage for checking fairy types. Ofcourse
both these are valid partners for being able to carry the electric seed item
and prock their own unburden getting doubled speed right off the bat.
·
Vivillon can have two sets. Either with friend
guard or the compound eyes one. Providing a redirection support is quite
valuable as well. Similar is the case for Venonat, definitely much of a poor
man’s Amoonguss but it does get struggle bug over pollen puff making its niche
almost very insignificant but I had to point it out as it loses the compound
eyes ability after evolution.
·
Scovillian can be a partner to koraidon with its
spicy extract signature move boosting attack stat for it without the defense
drops.
·
Sneasel in both of the forms has potential.
Having good attack and speed, the viability to be paired with eviolite and the selling
point of its typing and inner focus makes it a worthy contender. The OG has
dark typing helping it threaten or force calyrex into a tera. The Hisuian
counterpart with stab fighting and poison all the while being immune to
intimidate and fake outs can do chunks of damage for incineroar and rillaboom.
·
I also put Snorlax in here as it carries the
normal type with the thick fat ability however it is sort of not the kind of
offensive powerhouse the format needs right now.
·
Stonjourner carries the unique power spot
ability making it power up allies. Getting wide guard is actually the point
which makes it more viable.
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My first thoughts after
scouring through the trenches of the pokedex were fixated of the combinations I
can try with Miraidon. Both Sneasler and Sceptile sound good on paer and even more
so, Drifblim with the tailwind option but I really got excited to look through
the movesets and find out that sceptile also gets shed tail which would allow
it to assist the volt switch pivot strats even better as you can now put
miraidon behind a pivot.
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