SM Ubers A Tale of Two Cities; Peak #2 1830 ELO

Introduction:
Hello everyone, welcome to my first RMT since only recently joining Smogon. I wanted to create a team that demonstrates the strength of Trick Room Dialga and slow PDon. This is a HO team that instead of relying on webs or hazard control, uses speed to shift momentum from your opponent to yourself. Much like any offense, this team relies on constant pressure. Generally the longer the match goes, the more likely you are to lose. However, Terrain Deo-A makes that job significantly easier in tandem with terrain. The idea of trick room and terrain came to my head as a joke, nonetheless after undergoing various changes I was able to have much success with this team on the ladder. Without further ado, here is the team in all its glory :)

Proof of Peak:





The Team


Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Recover

Fairyceus is one of the best defoggers in the tier and the presence of Marshadow has made this mon that much better. In my lead spot I wanted something that could immediately get rocks up and keep them off the field. Excadrill immediately came to my mind as it fulfilled that role. By using Exca, I found myself having a lot of trouble with scarf Yveltal and replaced it for the standard 160/96+ supportceus set with defog and SR. Keeping rocks off is very important to keep Deo-A's sash and Lunala's Shadow Shield intact. Judgement and Toxic are interchangeable in my opinion. I have been running toxic as of late as it helps me beat down things such as Groudon, opposing supportceus. Running no attacks definitely leaves me vulnerable but I'm a lot comfortable using it as I have Shield Lunala to revenge if someone does set up on me.






Tapu Lele @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Tapu Lele or Fairyceus are generally my choices of lead. I usually lead with Lele against things like Smeargle to get a taunt off as well as Terrain. This is timid Lele with taunt + 3 Attacks. Moonblast and Psychic are nice STABS and HP Fire allows me to hit Ferrothorn. Keeping Lele healthy or as a sack to get terrain up strictly depends on the opposing team. Sometimes I lead Lele to get terrain and double to Fairyceus to get rocks. The primary goal of this mon is to get terrain up for Deo-A. Not much else needs to be said.




Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Nasty Plot Deoxys-A is one of the strongest things that the ubers tier has to offer. After running DeoSpam in AG, I realized that a team well-built around this mon really allows this thing to shine. I run Timid at the cost of a little power so I can outspeed Mewtwo-Y and some things after Rock Polish (slow dons). I feel that there aren't many things I miss out on a KO after one Nasty Plot that I should change to modest Deo. Sash is extremely important for getting off a Nasty Plot else you're better off with LO Boost + 3 Attacks.




Dialga @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 200 HP / 28 Def / 252 SpA / 28 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 7 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Trick Room
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon

Dialga is by far the star of this team. Trick Room Dialga is extremely underrated. Due to Trick Room, I can afford to run bulk while allows me to without a doubt get a Trick Room off. I don't necessarily know the ideal EVs for a bulky Dialga so if someone could please help me out down below, that'd be great lol. I run Quiet nature to hit hard as possible and the remaining EVs I simply split into 200/28/28. Dragonium Z allows me to break through certain mons after a Trick Room. Keeping Dialga healthy is nice if you can set up room and double out to P-Don. This way you can comeback and set it again. Flash Cannon for stab and Fire Blast for Ferro/Cele/Steelceus coverage.

252+ SpA Dialga Devastating Drake (195 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Groudon-Primal: 300-354 (74.4 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Dialga Devastating Drake (195 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 219-258 (72 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock




Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 88 HP / 108 Atk / 252 SpA / 60 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 7 Spe
- Eruption
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Precipice Blades

The best mon in the tier; which actually pains me a little to say as it's taken over the whale's throne. The spread allow me to live +2 Focus Blast from Xerneas after rocks guaranteed. I've probably changed this set more than anything and have really come to enjoy this set. I've tried Fire Blast/Eruption/HP Ice/Stone Edge and felt that Precipe was too important to give up. Ho-Oh is a little troubling and Stone Edge is something I refuse to give up. Running 5 Special attackers was also a little alarming so I gave SD Overheat a shot and simply found this particular set more effective. Eruption allows me to nuke anything in Trick Room, HP Ice for Zyg (if weakend), Precipe for things such as Pex and Edge for Ho-Oh. The only thing that gives this set trouble is Waterceus. 7 IV's allow me to outspeed base 65s without Trick Room. (Gothitelle running 171 speed) I've also opted for 252At/SpA and tried to handle Xern by other means which has been somewhat successful.




Lunala @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Toxic

With the introduction of Marshadow, Lunala fell from the little usage that it used to get to basically none. Trick Room elimnates priority and I needed a strong revenge killer. Shadow Shield is also very important for any panic situations. I found Xerneas to be a pain after and Psyshock in Terrain kills if you can get prior damage off. Lunala is a great cleaner and I click Moongeist 99% of the times anyway. I initially ran Focus Blast however I began to have a little trouble breaking fat mons like Waterceus. I swapped that out for Toxic and this allows me to pressure passive mons.


Conclusion:
Due to the way that this team plays, it is very important to have a plan as to how you will win. Recognizing how the opposing team is built can be very helpful. Establishing an end game and applying constant pressure is the optimal way to use this team. If Deo-A is threatening, get it in with terrain with sash intact as this mon can poke holes in a matter of one turn. Generally I find myself cleaning games with Dialga/P-Don. Like any team, this team has its flaws and sometimes it is troubling to win. Trick Room Terrain is not expected and the surprise itself can sometimes turn momentum around. I hope you all enjoy this.

Threatlist:

It's important to get chip damage/keep rocks off so Lunala or Sash Deo can revenge. Pdon can also eat one hit guaranteed.


This thing is threatening because you have to know what set it is and play accordingly. Rock Polish can be annoying but toxic can wear it down.


Celesteela Annoying mon to break and can wear down Pdon with Leech on the switch. Ferro is similar


Tyranitar Not common at all except on stall teams but my Deo set can't pressure this at all


This thing is tough to deal with. It either chips at Pdon with Ice Beam, breaks shielf, I give up a mon, or give Dialga 40%.


Lead drill is annoying as it prevents me from getting rocks and hinders my sash and shield. Usually best way is to only lead Lunala and kill it.

Refresh Calm Mind Arceus is tough to break due to the sheer lack of Sp Attackers


Banded Ho-Oh in particular can be a pain. PDon is my only reliable switch in and can worn down. Fairyceus can generally stall it out depending on set.

Importable:
=== [gen7ubers] memes away===

Arceus-Fairy @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Recover

Dialga @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 200 HP / 28 Def / 252 SpA / 28 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 7 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Trick Room
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 88 HP / 108 Atk / 252 SpA / 60 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 2 Spe
- Eruption
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Precipice Blades

Tapu Lele @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse

Lunala @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Toxic

Replays
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-644711333 vs Ho-Oh Ditto Balance
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-643221378 vs. Stall
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-643679205 vs mighty Paycard :P
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-644721229 vs. Diancie Balance
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ubers-642489003 vs Paycard w/ Exca over Fairyceus

Unforunately these are all I had under replays. I should've uploaded to show more examples of playing different teams as I had a lot of interesting matches.

 
Last edited:

Minority

Numquam Vincar
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It kind of goes without saying that this is a pretty unique kind of team - Psychic Terrain + TR offense in addition to these other quirks. I watched the replays and if you're interested I'd like to give you my take on what's going on here.

The first I notice is that you bank hard on keeping hazards clear. This team's concrete defensive synergy is pretty poor, but you've got a series of anti offense tools that can keep them at bay under certain conditions - Trick Room, Terrain, Focus Sash Deo-A, etc. The thing is that I'm not convinced it's all that consistent. Your chances of victory / taking momentum from a proactive opponent are very dependent upon what type of hazard setters they employ. Certain setters will be able to get their rocks, and then either force you to sack Arceus-Fairy, or get the chip they want on Deo-A / Lunala. This problem is exacerbated by the fact the counter play vs. Grounds is poor. The reliance on being free of hazards is so critical, that you've added a Pokemon that relinquishes tons of your momentum just so that you're more secure about getting rid of hazards, and I feel that this is counterproductive to the team's goal.

The next is that this team is highly dependent upon surprise factor to try and break through good balances. Much of the capacity to make headway here is about your opponent making silly reactive plays to things to your funky Dialga and P Don sets rather than actually forcing your progression over them. For example in your replay against paycard, that entire matched hinged upon them not being prepared (or outright misplaying) on the HP Fire Lele and the NP set up - it wasn't a forcing of progression through strong offensive synergy in the team's own right. I don't hate creativity or surprise factor on principal, but good teams stand on their own, not on the shoulders of bad plays from the opponent.

I don't think this team's capacity to bust through defensive teams is all that great, especially considering how much of a price you've paid in the defensive synergy. For an offense, only half of the team have any capacity to break anything, and of those three mons, the first relies on a one-use move that every single team in the tier has an immunity to, the second is piss weak once it's been chipped, and the third can't get anywhere when the opponent has good hazard setters or Psy punishes. The only opponent featured in the replays that uses anything close to a defensive team has a structure so poor it's not even worth considering. I'm genuinely curious how this team breaks down a balance / stall that has a decent structure.

Scarf Lunala feels out of place here. It does basically nothing for you offensively, and its utility defensively is basically zero once its taken any damage. I'm not against the usage of a scarf revenge killer paired alongside Trick Room on principal, because I've played around with the move enough to know that one-off setters and clever play make it a lesser issue than it appears in the builder. Ultimately what Scarf Lunala feels like is a very anti-ladder tool. It feels like its only here as an insurance policy to try and mitigate a lot of the types of things that fly around the ladder, rather than being a genuinely strong gluemon for the team's offensive and defensive needs. I think if you ever adapt this team for a tournament match, this is the first place to start considering how you can tailor how this team to cover Pokemon in your threat list.

Pokemon like RP P Don and Xerneas are extremely scary for this team, and I'm willing to bet the reason you haven't lost to them more on the ladder is because your opponents are too aggressive at immediately trying to sweep with these, rather than being patient, forcing their chip on Luna / Deo-A, and then taking a clean op vs. Arc Fairy, Luna, or a force. A good player with a decent hazard setter matchup + RP P Don or Geo Xern will win. Ho-Oh and P Ogre are also problem areas from your threatlist - they can force you to compromise your P Don's Eruption and have several ops to come into this team. Arc Fairy is never stalling any real Ho-Oh since you don't have Toxic - Defensive sets beat you with their Toxic, and offensive ones can 2HKO. Under optimal conditions all you do is disincentive them to waste their SF PP.

If you ever take this team into a tour match I think the best thing you could do here is to relegate the Scarf revenge killing maybe to Lele, and replace Lunala with a Pokemon that has way more to offer. Get a good counter play for Grounds at minimum, and if possible something that can offer mild resistance vs. Xern, Ho-Oh, or P Ogre. Something like a Mega Mence, Bronzong, or even a Gira-O might be friendly.

So that's my rate. I think this is a pretty cool RMT and squad, especially since not many players bother with challenging techs like TR. Good luck with the team and things.
 
Hey,

First and foremost, thanks for the rate. In light of the things you've mentioned, I went through the builder and made a few changes to address some of the concerns you've listed. I'm going to try and hop on later tonight and test against bulkier teams to see how well I can handle them. Of course with this team being out of the norm, I understand that it comes with weaknesses and I'll try my best to address them.

The first I notice is that you bank hard on keeping hazards clear. This team's concrete defensive synergy is pretty poor, but you've got a series of anti offense tools that can keep them at bay under certain conditions - Trick Room, Terrain, Focus Sash Deo-A, etc. The thing is that I'm not convinced it's all that consistent. Your chances of victory / taking momentum from a proactive opponent are very dependent upon what type of hazard setters they employ. Certain setters will be able to get their rocks, and then either force you to sack Arceus-Fairy, or get the chip they want on Deo-A / Lunala. This problem is exacerbated by the fact the counter play vs. Grounds is poor. The reliance on being free of hazards is so critical, that you've added a Pokemon that relinquishes tons of your momentum just so that you're more secure about getting rid of hazards, and I feel that this is counterproductive to the team's goal.
The first thing I wanted to address was the issue I have with hazard control. I feel if I remove Arceus-Fairy in place for a lead Diancie, it helps with several things. Magic Bounce provides me with immediate hazard control that this team lacks. I chose to go with Magnet Rise for lead Pdon, Stealth Rocks, and Toxic and Moonblast for coverage. This provides me with immediate momentum from the get-go. By getting rocks up and not allowing the opponent to do so, I feel like this gives my team momentum. Diancie also is a great addition for dealing with the things like Mega-Sableye and such. I'm still not sure whether to opt for Power Gem > Toxic.

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magnet Rise
- Moonblast
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

I can outspeed up to 331 and rest is invested into HP, Def.


I don't think this team's capacity to bust through defensive teams is all that great, especially considering how much of a price you've paid in the defensive synergy. For an offense, only half of the team have any capacity to break anything, and of those three mons, the first relies on a one-use move that every single team in the tier has an immunity to, the second is piss weak once it's been chipped, and the third can't get anywhere when the opponent has good hazard setters or Psy punishes. The only opponent featured in the replays that uses anything close to a defensive team has a structure so poor it's not even worth considering. I'm genuinely curious how this team breaks down a balance / stall that has a decent structure.
Eruption PDon's utility drops significantly if it gets worn down and that is a very valid point. I changed PDon's set to Overheat, SD, Precipe Blades, and Stone Edge. I feel this gives me a much better chance and breaking defensive teams if I can manage to get a TR up. Overheat into SD Precipe allows me to deal with threats such as Zygarde and I don't necessarily have to run HP Ice.

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
Naughty Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Overheat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Precipice Blades


Scarf Lunala feels out of place here. It does basically nothing for you offensively, and its utility defensively is basically zero once its taken any damage. I'm not against the usage of a scarf revenge killer paired alongside Trick Room on principal, because I've played around with the move enough to know that one-off setters and clever play make it a lesser issue than it appears in the builder. Ultimately what Scarf Lunala feels like is a very anti-ladder tool. It feels like its only here as an insurance policy to try and mitigate a lot of the types of things that fly around the ladder, rather than being a genuinely strong gluemon for the team's offensive and defensive needs. I think if you ever adapt this team for a tournament match, this is the first place to start considering how you can tailor how this team to cover Pokemon in your threat list.

Pokemon like RP P Don and Xerneas are extremely scary for this team, and I'm willing to bet the reason you haven't lost to them more on the ladder is because your opponents are too aggressive at immediately trying to sweep with these, rather than being patient, forcing their chip on Luna / Deo-A, and then taking a clean op vs. Arc Fairy, Luna, or a force. A good player with a decent hazard setter matchup + RP P Don or Geo Xern will win. Ho-Oh and P Ogre are also problem areas from your threatlist - they can force you to compromise your P Don's Eruption and have several ops to come into this team. Arc Fairy is never stalling any real Ho-Oh since you don't have Toxic - Defensive sets beat you with their Toxic, and offensive ones can 2HKO. Under optimal conditions all you do is disincentive them to waste their SF PP.
I still haven't arrived at a conclusion as to what to replace Lunala with. I'm going to play around with this team later tonight and see if I can arrive at something conclusive. I also want to try out LO Boost Superpower Deoxys and see if that can provide me with more firepower. If I opt for LO Deo-A and replace Lunala, then keeping rocks off the field become less of a priority. I want to maintain the core of this team without changing too much. Nonetheless, I feel Diancie > Fairyceus better complements this team and am more than open to additional suggestions :)

Thanks! - Will update how changes affect the team.
 

Minority

Numquam Vincar
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I definitely think you're hitting on some good ideas - a hazard + anti-hazard setter that is more proactive and a P Don that's better at threatening defensive teams.

While Mega Diancie won't give up as much momentum vs. things like Ho-Oh and set up sweepers, that last slot will still need to ensure you've got something to revenge / check them. When you test the team on the ladder with these two changes and without swapping out Lunala, I think you'll find that the team plays mostly the same, a bit better vs. balances and stalls, but without the bulk of Arc Fairy. This final slot really wants something that can check / revenge RP P Don.
 
I wont even lie, the whole concept of psychic spam and trickroom on one team is incredibly solid. When used against my types of builds, its almost impossible for me to beat. Pdon and dialga do so much work (especially eruption) and always put me into a corner. Good team
 

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