Hey everyone. I've been playing only casually for a while now, but I wanted to post my team for feedback because I want to advance on the ladder and get better. I've maxed out at 1560 with this team so it's been doing alright, but that's basically my ceiling right now.
I've always been kind of a read-and-react player. I have a tendency to overpredict, and I don't do well with teams that have frail Pokemon, because one mistake would result in a critical knockout. So I tend to prefer bulky teams that can put pressure but also wall, that can compensate for a slip up or bad prediction.
Here's the team I came up with.
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Ultranecrozium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Photon Geyser
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
This is always the starting point for my teams. Necrozma Dusk fits my playstyle to a T: a bulky Pokemon with a variety of sets. If I need it to finish off a Marshadow or another weakened Pokemon that outspeeds it, I can just have it tank a hit and fire back. If I get a support Arceus or another setup bait Pokemon, I can send it in and either set up a Swords Dance, or hit the predicted switch. Ultra Necrozma is brutal late game as well, but I don't mega evolve to it unless checks are all wiped out: I tend to keep it in its base form as long as possible to wall Toxic users and tank hits.
Yveltal @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dark Aura
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Foul Play
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Toxic
Scarfed Physical Yveltal is a bit unorthodox but it fits my style of overpredicting, and it does a ton of different things. It's the perfect check to opposing Ultra Necrozma, Mega Lucario, and E-Killer Arceus with Foul Play. Knock Off cripples common checks to Yveltal, including Power Herb Xerneas. Teams, after seeing Foul Play and seeing it's Scarfed, often send their own Yveltal in to check mine with Oblivion Wing: hitting them with Knock Off and removing a Scarf usually clears the way for a sweep for my Necrozma. It's also usually my lead due to a fast U-Turn
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Precipice Blades
- Rock Polish
Pretty self-explanatory. I opted for a Rock Polish set because a 504 base attack is usually enough to wipe everything out mid-game, especially with STAB + sun. I tend to hold PG back until mid game and send it in on a crippled Xerneas or another non-threatening Pokemon to set up a Rock Polish. Usually is able to at minimum punch a giant hole in their team, since it can hit everything for severe neutral damage. Also is part of a key opening to block lead Smeargles with Nuzzle, which I've seen a lot more of than Spore for some reason: U-turn from Yveltal to Primal Groudon, which is immune to Nuzzle. With max speed EVs, it outspeeds max speed Timid Smeargle even with an Adamant nature.
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 74 Def / 182 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Stealth Rock
The EVs may seem kind of weird here, but they result in virtually even defensive stats, letting Fairyceus check almost everything. It can tank a +1 Double Edge from Mega Salamence or a +1 Z-Move from Marshadow and counter with Judgment. Since the most common switch-ins to Fairyceus are steel types, Will-O-Wisp puts in a ton of work: the number of Mega Lucarios and Necrozma-Dusks I've crippled with this guy is off the charts.
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Toxic
- Shadow Sneak
Giratina-O is my Primal Groudon check, and also serves as a surprisingly effective anti-lead against several leads. Against Deoxys-S, turn one Draco Meteor brings it down to 1 HP (knock out if it's not Sashed) then a Shadow Sneak ensures it can only get 1 layer of hazards up, 0 if they mess up and try to Taunt me turn 1 instead of going straight for Rocks. Same thing with Shell Smash Cloyster: bring it down to 1 HP with Meteor and Shadow Sneak it down, since most predict a switch away because of the type matchup. Max SDef means it can tank a Dark Pulse or Moonblast from an unboosted Yveltal/Xerneas and live to Defog hazards away.
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Toxic
This set always confuses people. Minimal defensive investment. Double healing moves. Seems weird.
Chansey is the cornerstone of my team and fills a lot of the remaining holes, not to mention Wish and Soft-Boiled accomplishing different things. I don't invest much in Defense because, between Fairyceus' Will-O-Wisp, Yveltal's Foul Play, and Primal Groudon naturally tanking physical hits well, it doesn't often need to tank a physical hit. In fact maxed SDef lets it fill the one role on my team that is needed the most: Xerneas wall. If the opposing Xerneas doesn't know Psyshock, It's not able to break through Chansey, especially since rest+Fairium Z is becoming rarer and rarer due to Marshadow. +2 Focus Blast only averages about 42 percent damage. Soft-Boiled is used to heal itself while Wish lets me revitalize my team (again letting me compensate for a bad switch/prediction, which I'm prone to). Finally, a base form Necrozma + Chansey render stall Pokemon like Celesteela and Sub-Lugia moot. Switching back and forth between them lets me stall out their Toxic and Leech Seed. Especially since Celesteela is a common switch to Fairyceus: hitting it with Will-O-Wisp erases Heavy Smash as a threat to Chansey.
This is my team. Keep in mind this is my first RMT, and I'm not exactly a competitive player, so any help would be great. Thanks everyone!
I've always been kind of a read-and-react player. I have a tendency to overpredict, and I don't do well with teams that have frail Pokemon, because one mistake would result in a critical knockout. So I tend to prefer bulky teams that can put pressure but also wall, that can compensate for a slip up or bad prediction.
Here's the team I came up with.
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Ultranecrozium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Photon Geyser
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
This is always the starting point for my teams. Necrozma Dusk fits my playstyle to a T: a bulky Pokemon with a variety of sets. If I need it to finish off a Marshadow or another weakened Pokemon that outspeeds it, I can just have it tank a hit and fire back. If I get a support Arceus or another setup bait Pokemon, I can send it in and either set up a Swords Dance, or hit the predicted switch. Ultra Necrozma is brutal late game as well, but I don't mega evolve to it unless checks are all wiped out: I tend to keep it in its base form as long as possible to wall Toxic users and tank hits.
Yveltal @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dark Aura
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Foul Play
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Toxic
Scarfed Physical Yveltal is a bit unorthodox but it fits my style of overpredicting, and it does a ton of different things. It's the perfect check to opposing Ultra Necrozma, Mega Lucario, and E-Killer Arceus with Foul Play. Knock Off cripples common checks to Yveltal, including Power Herb Xerneas. Teams, after seeing Foul Play and seeing it's Scarfed, often send their own Yveltal in to check mine with Oblivion Wing: hitting them with Knock Off and removing a Scarf usually clears the way for a sweep for my Necrozma. It's also usually my lead due to a fast U-Turn
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Precipice Blades
- Rock Polish
Pretty self-explanatory. I opted for a Rock Polish set because a 504 base attack is usually enough to wipe everything out mid-game, especially with STAB + sun. I tend to hold PG back until mid game and send it in on a crippled Xerneas or another non-threatening Pokemon to set up a Rock Polish. Usually is able to at minimum punch a giant hole in their team, since it can hit everything for severe neutral damage. Also is part of a key opening to block lead Smeargles with Nuzzle, which I've seen a lot more of than Spore for some reason: U-turn from Yveltal to Primal Groudon, which is immune to Nuzzle. With max speed EVs, it outspeeds max speed Timid Smeargle even with an Adamant nature.
Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 74 Def / 182 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Stealth Rock
The EVs may seem kind of weird here, but they result in virtually even defensive stats, letting Fairyceus check almost everything. It can tank a +1 Double Edge from Mega Salamence or a +1 Z-Move from Marshadow and counter with Judgment. Since the most common switch-ins to Fairyceus are steel types, Will-O-Wisp puts in a ton of work: the number of Mega Lucarios and Necrozma-Dusks I've crippled with this guy is off the charts.
Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Toxic
- Shadow Sneak
Giratina-O is my Primal Groudon check, and also serves as a surprisingly effective anti-lead against several leads. Against Deoxys-S, turn one Draco Meteor brings it down to 1 HP (knock out if it's not Sashed) then a Shadow Sneak ensures it can only get 1 layer of hazards up, 0 if they mess up and try to Taunt me turn 1 instead of going straight for Rocks. Same thing with Shell Smash Cloyster: bring it down to 1 HP with Meteor and Shadow Sneak it down, since most predict a switch away because of the type matchup. Max SDef means it can tank a Dark Pulse or Moonblast from an unboosted Yveltal/Xerneas and live to Defog hazards away.
Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Toxic
This set always confuses people. Minimal defensive investment. Double healing moves. Seems weird.
Chansey is the cornerstone of my team and fills a lot of the remaining holes, not to mention Wish and Soft-Boiled accomplishing different things. I don't invest much in Defense because, between Fairyceus' Will-O-Wisp, Yveltal's Foul Play, and Primal Groudon naturally tanking physical hits well, it doesn't often need to tank a physical hit. In fact maxed SDef lets it fill the one role on my team that is needed the most: Xerneas wall. If the opposing Xerneas doesn't know Psyshock, It's not able to break through Chansey, especially since rest+Fairium Z is becoming rarer and rarer due to Marshadow. +2 Focus Blast only averages about 42 percent damage. Soft-Boiled is used to heal itself while Wish lets me revitalize my team (again letting me compensate for a bad switch/prediction, which I'm prone to). Finally, a base form Necrozma + Chansey render stall Pokemon like Celesteela and Sub-Lugia moot. Switching back and forth between them lets me stall out their Toxic and Leech Seed. Especially since Celesteela is a common switch to Fairyceus: hitting it with Will-O-Wisp erases Heavy Smash as a threat to Chansey.
This is my team. Keep in mind this is my first RMT, and I'm not exactly a competitive player, so any help would be great. Thanks everyone!