Tomas Elliot

Just posting to express my hope that this challenge will still exist by the time I return in Florence from my Xmas holiday, because for some reason I had never noticed this topic, but it looks really really interesting... I gotta do this sooner or later!   EDIT: what about the rules for Gen 5 games? B/W and/or B2/W2 are the games I would be more happy to play, along with HG/SS...

Hell, in Pokemon X I purposedly Toxic stalled Siebold's Gyarados while it kept Dragon Dancing, knowing very well that Siebold would eventually use a Full Restore finding himself with a perfectly healed, +5 Gyarados... I did it because all my Pokemon were at level 81 by the time I challenged him (in the first battle), so I needed Gyarados to be hugely boosted to actually give me a hard time beating it! So I allowed it to set up... And it was killed by a Pokemon Amie-induced hax. First time in my life I actually raged for winning a battle due to hax. All main games are stupidly easy, but God X/Y are just moron-proof... That's why I love Reborn!

When you cheer for enemies (up to and including leaders, E4 and villain teams) while playing the main games, hoping for them, at least A SINGLE FREAKING ONE OF THEM, to actually put up a good fight...

Regenerator is Ho-oh's hidden ability...

Xerneas gets Close Combat? I didn't know that... All the Xerneas I have faced so far didn't have it... Well, this complicates things a lot... Meanwhile, further testing has indicated that Ho-oh is indeed the biggest problem for this team, so yeah, I'd need a dedicated Ho-oh counter that doesn't increase my weakness to Xerneas (if it does use Close Combat, I can still beat it after hazards and Def drop, thanks to Extremespeed... Of course, I need to avoid getting more weak to it).

Mewtwo Y deals around 40% to Chansey with Psystrike. All other moves it learns deal less, with Aura Sphere (supereffective!) dealing around 23% (and even if Mewtwo Y WAS a problem, I honestly fail to see how Xerneas solves it)... As of now, Ho-oh and the rare but deadly Perish Song Mega Gengar are much bigger threats than Mewtwo, Ho-oh in particular... From the top of my head: how about SubClaw Zekrom? It was one of the most effective Pokemon in Ubers last gen, and it is a good counter to Ho-oh... However, what made it so powerful was the ability to boost the accuracy of Dragon Tail and phaze while safe behind a Sub, thanks to its surprisingly good bulk, but with Xerneas around is filling the team with Dragon Tail users a good idea?

Deo-A is definitely the weak link of the bunch, but I have no idea of what to replace it with! I do need a spiker but I understand your point, I will welcome any suggestion that is a bit more specific And I am going to try Iron Head over Judgment, thanks

INTRO Welcome everyone to my newest RMT. This time, I felt like doing something in the Uber tier, just to see if old strategies are still capable of holding their own or if the latest newcomers of the tier (Xerneas and Yveltal) have made so much of an impact to actually force a major change in the landscape of the tier where everything goes... The results? Well, apparently we are still in the middle of the "noob season", as in, too few time has passed since the release of the new games, and both PO and Showdown are crowded with random kids who can't wait to use a team including Mega Blaziken, Mega Lucario, Mega Gengar (you wouldn't believe how many noobish teams with more than one Pokemon holding a Mega Stone I have faced...), Greninja, Xerneas and Yveltal, bcos cool. So yeah, I haven't really faced any serious competition to form an opinion yet: I did face a couple of true pros who gave me some nice ideas, but 98% of battles were against noobs. I have therefore decided to post the team here because maybe, if we put a bit of thought into it and we join forces to do further testing, we might be able to understand where the evolution of this tier is going. Despite being usually taken by storm by random noobs, Ubers is still a fun tier to play competitively if you have the right mindset and preparation: and with only two new Pokemon being introduced in the tier (Zygarde seems to be really bad, so it doesn't really count) it seems to me that the old legends can still shine this generation... Side note: to symbolize the fact that all these Pokemon are from older generation, I nicknamed them after ancient Jewish myths. The nicknames in the in-depth sections are links to Wikipedia pages which explain the myths behind the names. AT A GLANCE It doesn't take a genius to understand what this team is all about: it is a classic semi-stall team, whose focus is to wear down opponents by abusing indirect damage, waiting for the right time for Rayquaza to come out and attempt to set-up and sweep. Even if it doen't find the right opening to set-up with Dragon Dance, Rayquaza can still finish off worn out Pokemon with Extremespeed. It is a very basic team, but it seems to be capable of taking on any threat of the current Uber metagame, at least in theory... Behemoth @ Leftovers Trait: Drought EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk) - Earthquake - Stealth Rock - Thunder Wave - Roar According to Word of God, Behemoth is the mythical creature that Pokemon designers took inspiration from when they created Groudon. The Continent Pokemon has been a prominent force of the Uber tier since it first came out in RSE, even if it wasn't as omnipresent as its counterpart Kyogre back then. But since gaining access to Stealth Rock in Gen 4, it has suddenly become one of the most valuable physical walls of the tier: I am not saying that offensive sets like the dual dancing one are bad, but its defensive one (the very one you see here) is simply unrivaled: Thunder Wave to cripple many offensive threats, Stealth Rock and Roar, so many walls would kill to have access to such useful moves. STAB EQ which is capable of dishing out a lot of damage even uninvested is just the icing on the cake. New weather mechanics mean its ability is only useful to take a Water move for neutral damage, but that is not really a problem, given that I was not planning to abuse Sun anyway. All in all, a great Pokemon and arguably one of the best Stealth Rock users in the tier. You can rarely go wrong with this guy... Agrat @ Eviolite Trait: Natural Cure EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk) - Wish - Protect - Seismic Toss - Heal Bell Apparently, Agrat was the name of a being related to the concept of sacred prostitution: that means the name is very appropriate for Chansey, given that the word one is most likely to use to describe her, after being walled to hell and back, is "bitch". There is literally no Special (or even Mixed) attacker in the world that is capable of taking her out before she can do her job, and thanks to Wish and Heal Bell she has an easy time keeping the rest of the team healthy. The only problem is that she cannot touch Mega Gengar, which in turn can trap her and proceed to slowly kill her, hurting the team in the process. And the fact that she is usually my main switch-in to take Gengar on doesn't help with that. I am really considering, to solve this problem, to run Blissey over Chansey: the evolved form actually has some kind of offensive presence, and while opposing Mega Gengar wastes 5 turns to bring her down, she can at least fight back with the likes of Flamethrower or Ice Beam, healing herself with Wish and Protect in the process. I might really try this change in the near future, Blissey is still a hell of a special wall, has still a great synergy with Groudon and most importantly Giratina, and can still keep the rest of the team alive and healthy. She'd be worse at taking unexpected physical hits, but well, one only needs a bit of prediction... However, Chansey can easily take on Mega Mewtwo Y while Blissey can't (damnit Psystrike), so yeah, I guess it is a matter of deciding which between Mega Gengar and Mega Mewtwo Y I fear the most... Dybbuk @ Leftovers Trait: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk) - Dragon Tail - Rest - Sleep Talk - Will-O-Wisp The lord of the Distortion World returns in Gen 6 to do what it has been doing best since first coming out in Gen 4: be the best physical wall around. One heck of a physical bulk AND access to Will-O-Wisp, physical attackers will have a very hard time getting past it. Recently I have seen more and more people running a more special-oriented variant, but I honestly don't need anything like that: in my team, Giratina's main duty is to counter Blaziken, which it does perfectly with the pure physical build. The special moves that might threaten it are perfectly covered for by Chansey and Arceus, so no problem at all. Dragon Tail is a very good phazing move, dealing damage and forcing switches: however, the fact that it doesn't affect Xerneas and that it doesn't have perfect accuracy (let alone the fact that it can be stopped by Substitute) sometimes give me headhaches... Still, I don't dare going for Roar, because an attacking move to avoid being Taunted is required. Rest-Talk as recovery option of choice, since it can easily abuse the free turns provided by the switches it forces to heal itself. Hell, sometimes I don't even get to use Sleep Talk: wall a physical attacker, use Rest as the opponent switches in a special attacker, switch to Chansey to take the special hit, use Heal Bell, Giratina is once again ready for action... Yahweh @ Iron Plate Trait: Multitype EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk) - Will-O-Wisp - Recover - Perish Song - Judgment The god of the Pokemon world doesn't have the highest BST (is this some kind of blasphemy?) anymore now that Mega Evolution is in town, still it retains its trademark versatility that is unmatched in the metagame, making it easy to find a spot in any team either as a wall, a supporter, a Defogger (yes it does get that, I am not running it because it hurts moy strategy more than it helps it, but it is definitely an option) or even a sweeper thanks to the infamous Extremekiller set. Here we have a wall/support variant whose main duty is to counter Xerneas (which is forced to rely on the horrid accuracy of Focus Blast, and even if it hits it deals around 60% damage at +2, so Xerneas can still be defeated by playing cleverly.), Yveltal and all the Ice Beam- and Draco Meteor-using stuff. Perish Song is a nice way to force switches, to stop Baton pass chains and to end the battle when the opponent is left with one Pokemon, Will-O-Wisp helps taking physical hits from mixed sweepers or even purely physical ones, once they are burnt they are pretty much dead (and with help from Giratina spreading burnt is damn easy), Recover and Wishes from Chansey keep the god alive, and Judgment punishes the aforementioned Xerneas even uninvested... And the great thing about all this is that the weaknesses of this set all grant a free switch-in to a companion (if the opponent tries to attack me with a Fire or Fighting move I switch to Giratina, if he goes for the EQ I switch to Rayquaza, which is especially good to attempt a sweep); Arceus Poison can basically do the same job, with the added bonus of being able to remove Toxic Spikes for this Rapid Spin-less team, but a weakness to Psychic is definitely something I don't want, because I would make it far easier for Xerneas to break through (it would be able to use the far more reliable Psyshock as a coverage move) and because I would really find problems dealing with Mega Mewtwo Y then, speciall if I do decide to try Blissey over Chansey... Golem @ Focus Sash Trait: Pressure EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk) - Extreme Speed - Knock Off - Spikes - Taunt My designated lead in 99% of matches. Deoxys-A is a natural born suicidal lead: with its speed it is guaranteed to be able to set up Spikes, Taunt cripples a lot of things commonly used as leads, Knock Off is godly this Gen, and it is great to spam early on, and Extremespeed llows me to get the last laugh after Deo is left with only 1 HP, being able to still hurting something before being taken down... I will not recklessly allow it to suicide however if I see an Arceus in the team preview: apparently, people are starting to use that to Defog away entry hazards, a strategy that Giratina (which is still the best anti-Rapid Spin in existance) cannot stop... So yeah, that Taunt can be more precious than expected later on! Ziz @ Life Orb Trait: Air Lock EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def) - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Extreme Speed - Fire Blast As mentioned earlier, Words of God claims the Weather Trio is inspired to jewish myths, with Groudon representing the Behemoth, Kyogre representing the Leviathan, and Rayquaza representing Ziz, the flying creature able to end their conflict. It definitely doesn't look the part, but if Game Freak say so... Anyway, this is a set-up mixed sweeper with a priority move. Need I say more? A team like this needs something to finish off the opponent's Pokemon after wearing them down, and Rayquaza is my weapon of choice, also because its stats make it one of the best wall-breakers in the history of Pokemon. It is hard to argue that Gen 3 gave us the best legendaries to play with, I am using 3 of those in this team, and at least another one is as prominent in Ubers as these 3 are, if not more... CONCLUSIONS So yeah, this is the team. In Gen 5 a team like this would have been a very good one, but I honestly belive that the Ubers metagame hasn't changed that much with the advent of the new generation, given that the dominant threats of the tier are more or less the same, and a single Fairy-type newcomer is not enough to shift the balance of power... What are your thoughts on this regard? Let me know in your comments to this topic. And if you use this team for yourself to do further testing, don't forget to share your results here! THE IMPORTABLE

Ok I have to pull myself out of this. It's clear that, for one reason or another, I am not being active enough, and I don't want to stall the rest of the people... I sincerely apologize, but I have to unjoin this!

Agility on Speed Boost Blaziken? O.o EDIT: and Rotom is NOT a legendary...

I am not sure I get the point of your deck, Summer... :/

This team is great, the only change I can suggest is Protect on Chansey over Softboiled: more scouting plus it allows you to heal yourself with Wish, making the whole Wish-pass thing less predictable... Also, I would like to take a moment to congratulate you for the idea of Iron Fist Assault Vest Conkeldurr: that's a stroke of pure genius, I will definitely steal it in future teams. I hope you don't mind!

Deoxys-D is generally bad in Ubers (i'll assume it is the defense form given the set, but the sprite won't work...). Deo-A would generally be better as a Spikes-using lead, given that it can use Spikes and 3 powerful moves to dent anything the opponent can use as a lead of their own, or even Spikes, two attacks and Taunt... Trust me, it is going to be much more useful! Roar might be better on Groudon because it cannot be stopped by Substitute: I understand you need D-tail on Giratina because it is its only offensive move, thus needed to avoid being Taunted, but Groudon has EQ for that... Speaking of EQ, Adamant nature MIGHT be a good idea, with the same EV spread you still have a great wall, while dealing much more damage to anything that might try to take Groudon on, most notably its eternal rival Kyogre... Hardy nature on Kyurem wtf? Use Shadow Claw over Stone Edge on Blaziken, or opposing Giratina, specially the all-out physically defensive variant, will wall you to hell and back... For some reason, the EVs of Arceus have disappeared! I am kinda shocked by the fact that you are not using Rayquaza, given that you seem to be a fan of it, but oh well... These are my suggestions, overall this is a good, basic Uber Team!

I don't remember her real name either, but her weaponized form is called Nirvana... And styline-wise she is actually booked to be one heck of a force to be reckoned with, she canonically handed Ragna's asset to him, leaving him badly wounded...

I so freaking wish there were more people like you around the internet... In a few, simple words, a rational analyzis of the problem! Speaking of which, the OP actually has two good ideas when it comes to both archetypes and diversity: in order to add to diversity, each and every fighting game usually a gimmick archetype and a random character. The recurring gimmick in Smash Bros games is apparently the twin theme, with characters such as the Ice Climbers playing on it, so Plusle and Minum would definitely fit! And Ditto pretty much books itself as the random character... I will post some ideas of my own if/when I come up with some

Well Lightingrod Zapdos WAS available on the DW tier on PO; and I wasn't aware its HA was changed to (the quite worthless) Static this generation... Sorry about that!

As stated by someone above, Metagross' Pokedex entries claim that it can levitate, so Levitate would really be the only option for a hypotetical Mega Metagross. Incidentally, the only fan art in the second post of this topic that really looks the part is the first one. Also, CobraKill, I've always meant to ask you: <-- Da hell is this?

Talonflame is 9001% better with the LO set, as SJ suggested, which in turn makes it easier to pull off sweeps with the two recoil moves thanks to priority Roost. The set I have used since Gen 6 has come out (and that has yet to fail me) is 248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe, Adamant, Life Orb, Swords Dance, Brave Bird, Flare Blits and Roost. 248 HP to give you the ability of actually pulling off sweeps with priority Brave Bird without suiciding to double recoil, while taking less damage from SR due to the fact that these investiments will make your HPs a odd number (and when ST halves your HPs the damage is rounded down, effectively making you capable of switching in twice. And again, priority Roost helps), max Attack for obvious reasons, 8 Spe still allows you to win some speed ties (but in general, thanks to Gale Wings, speed is something you don't need), Brave Bird is the move you'll be using 99,999999999% of times and that will actually win you games, specially if you can boost it with a well-timed Swords Dance, and Flare Blitz will be used exclusively against Skarmory and Ferrothorn. As for your problems, I'd suggest running an all-out defensive Latias: did you know that she gets Defog too? So yeah, you could adjust the EVs to make her the wall that fits you better, and give her Wish, Protect, Defog and Dragon Pulse. This would allow you to run the bulky offense set for Zapdos: 248 HP (again, to take less damage from SR)/252 SpAtk/8 Spe, Modest, Life Orb or Leftovers, Substitute, Roost, Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice. It would still be bulky enough to take on opposing Talonflames, threatening them with its powerful Thunderbolt, and if you time correctly your subs and Roosts in order to avoid getting Toxic-ed, it would then be able to take on Gliscor nicely, with HP Ice scoring a guaranteed kill. With this set you'd be using the Hidden Ability Lightingrod, which not only gives you a nifty Electric immunity that makes it easier for you to switch in (on top of being already immune to Ground), it also rises your SpAtk making you even more difficult to deal with once you force them out and use Substitute on the switch. I hope this helped

The guy actually gets Hydration as HA. If there was some way of getting rain all the way down to NU, Whiscash could actually kick some assets, given that it would basically turn into a Dragon Dancer that cannot be statused, and a Dragon Dancer that cannot be statused, as people who have faced Lum Berry Dragonite know very well, is one heck of a scary thing. This being said, the reason why a Pokemon with such good bulk, access to freakin' Dragon Dance and fantastic typing is relegated to a tier as low as NU is simple: it doesn't get any coverage. The two STABs EQ and Waterfall (always to be preferred over Aqua Tail because of the perfect accuracy, the power difference is so little it should really not matter) are litterally the only two offensive moves it gets, meaning that each and every Grass-type tank in this world will always wall it to hell and back. Tangela and its evolution Tangrowth, in particular, are physical walls (which means, they are perfect for taking Wiscash's physical attacks) that are resistant to both of Whiscash's moves and can recover the damage they take from it by simply switching out, thanks to Regenerator. Tangrowth can also score an easy OHKO on it with Giga Drain, even without offensive investiments. So yeah, I am afraid there is nothing one can do to turn poor Whiscash into some kind of powerful force to be reckoned: Amnesia in the set you suggest is completely useless, Substitute is better to give you the chance of setting up in the face of defensive Pokemon, but even at +6 +6 there will alwas be defensive threats, and even offensive ones, capable of laughing at you... Hell, Dragonite is immune to EQ and, if its Multiscale is still intact, it can endure a +6 Waterfall and get back at you with a vengeance. And don't even get me started on the priority subject. So yeah, no OU glory for you, Whiscash. Nor UU, nor RU/LU, I am afraid...

When you switch Espeon into a Spiker which is known for having access to a powerful U-turn. Seriously, I have killed so many Espeons with my Greninja this way... Use Spike as they use an electric move with the slower Rotom-W, becoming immune to their attack in the process, then use U-turn as they switch in Espeon, and laugh...

Iirc it gets Switcheroo, maybe a Specs set?

Oh ok ok I get it now... Want me to drop by and collect you?

Contrary Sweeper, but don't use Solar Beam...