ORAS Ubers Bow Before Your Dark God, Dread Plate Arceus

[crazy_man]

I have recently been increasing my collection of legendaries as of late and realized I really never thought of a team for the ubers tier. Thanks to zapzap29 's recent giveaway I got a hold of a nice Arceus and started thinking of what to use it for. Dread Plate Arceus looks pretty neat and I decided...why not make a team based around it?

*Quoted a few of the pictures cause they were mega huge.


Teambuilding Process

Dread Plate Arceus needs a Fairy check, and Primal Groudon is one of the best.

Arceus-Dark also needs a poke to deal with Fighting types. Latios provides this + Defog.

Finally I needed an answer to Dark types and Mega Mewtwo X. Defensive Xernaes supplies this + Aromatherapy.

In the last slots is a solid VolTurn core with the power of Life Orb Zekrom and Choice Scarf Genesect also acting as a revenge killer. Zekrom deals with Ho-Oh and Genesect with Mega Gengar as well.

Ye Dark Lord: Arceus-Dark

Arceus @ Dread Plate
Timid | Multitype
252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Calm Mind
Refresh
Recover
Judgement

Bask before the god of death! While Dread Plate Arceus isn't the most top tier choice, it still is a decent threat in Ubers. It devours Psychic and Ghost types like Mewtwo, the Lat twins, Lugia, Spooky Plate Arceus, and Giratina. Because Dark type has no immunities and only 3 resists, a mono attacking set with Judgement allows the use of Refresh to rid of status while boosting with Calm Mind works great. The speed EV's allow it to outspeed the Lat twins and Gengar before Mega Evolving, with the rest put into defense for more bulk. I have considered going full speed though so I can speed tie other Arceus. Arceus-Dark is a great partner to Primal Groudon, as it checks pokes that avoid his earthquakes and resist Lava Plume like the Lat twins, Lugia, and Giratina-O. Latios also appreciate Arceus-Dark's ability to check Ghost types, especially Arceus-Ghost. The general plan is to save Arceus till mid to late game once all the fairy, fighting, and dark threats have been taken care of, but also to keep its typing a surprise. Hopefully coming in safely from a Volt Switch or U-Turn. Set up 1-2 Calm Minds and proceed to sweep.



Praise the Sun: Defensive Primal Groudon

Groudon @ Red Orb
Relaxed | Drought -> Desolate Land
252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Roar
Stealth Rock
Lava Plume
Earthquake

Hard to deny having Primal Groudon in any Ubers team these days. Anywho defensive Primal Groudon sets hazards, phazes those trying to set up, and eats Fairy, Steel, and Electric for breakfast. Using Roar over Thunder Wave cause to rack up SR damage and stopping sweeps, as Xerneas and Arceus can remedy T-Wave with Aromatherapy and Refresh respectively. And using Earthquake because like perfect accuracy over powerful misses. Groudon counters fairy types that give Arceus-Dark and Latios problems, as well as steel types for Xerneas and Latios if I decide Roost over HP Fire.



Sup Ubers, Soul Dew is Back: Defog Latios

Latios @ Soul Dew
Timid | Levitate
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Defog
HP Fire or Roost
Psyshock
Draco Meteor

Soul Dew be back baby. Latios punches holes with Draco Meteor and provides hazard clear with Defog which Genesect and Zekrom love since they will be switching in and out a lot cause of U-turn and Volt Switch. I'm really split about the choice between HP Fire and Roost though. HP Fire allows Latios to deal with steel types without having to switch to Groudon, but roost provides more staying power. Either way Latios deals with Fighting types via Psyshock that would halt Arceus-Dark from boosting, and because of Levitate, he can come into ground types/moves aimed at Primal Groudon or Zekrom.



Deer Lord, Dat Booty: Defensive Xerneas

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Timid | Levitate
248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Rest
Sleep Talk
Aromatherapy
Moonblast

O baby. Xerneas's cleric duties are greatly appreicated by Latios (espeically if I forgo Roost), Groudon, and Zekrom. Its job is to check Dark types like Yveltal + Darkrai and my answer to Mega Mewtwo X form harassing Arceus-Dark. Also deals with faster Dragons that threaten Zekrom. Thanks to Sleep Talk, Xerneas is a great Dark Void and Spore absober, even having a chance to end sleep early if lucky. Roar is still an option I'm considering to phaze boosted pokes and rack up more hazard damage.



Bitch my Zekrom is Fabulous: Life Orb Zekrom

Zekrom @ Life Orb
Naughty | Teravolt
252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Volt Switch
Draco Meteor
Outrage
Bolt Strike

Dat swag. Considered Choice Band but having 2 choiced pokes didn't sit right with me. In general, Zekrom destroys Flying, Water, and slower Dragon types. Outrage is used over Dragon Claw so I can better punch holes into the enemy team, especially Primal Groudon. Zekrom can also check Ho-Oh with Bolt Strike, something the rest of my team struggles with. Volt Switch works well with Genesect's U-turn to pivot in and out to keep the pressure on and switch into better match-ups. Zekrom is also another T-Wave absorber for the team.



That kid's riding a UFO!: Genesect

Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Hasty| Download
248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Extreme Speed
Explosion
U-Turn
Iron Head

I orginally was thinking of using Deoxys-A but the senergy of Genesect with Zekrom won me over. Extreme Speed > Ice Beam cause Xerneas already deals with Dragons quite well, plus a +1 move on a revenge killer is really useful. Genesect also deals with Mega Gengar, which both Latios and Xerneas appericate. Explosion can open up some holes in the enemy team by finishing pokes that are still healthy and boosted that Extreme Speed can't take down. Otherwise U-turn for momentum in tandem with Zekrom's Volt Switch or Iron Head for a possible flinch. Genesect is also another option to deal with Faries minus Klefki.



I usually have a lower tier mindset so I'm not super in the know about ubers. And open to all criticism, TEAR ME APART IF YOU HAVE TO!

 

[Minority]

Hi crazy_man, Arceus-Dark is certainly an interesting Pokemon to work around in Ubers, but your team has a bit less counter play against certain offensive Pokemon and doesn't have as much ability to break defensive teams as it wants. There are a couple arrangements of Arceus-Dark offenses that are known, so I didn't want to just turn your build into one of those. The initial change was to add some Extreme Killer Arceus checks, starting with Mega Gengar as it synergies well with Arceus-Dark and because your team didn't use the Mega slot already. A Protect / WoW / Focus Blast / Sludge Wave set was used so that you do okay against EKiller and are able to take down defensive Fairies. I suppose you could try and fit Taunt or Destiny Bond in there over Will-O-Wisp, or even Hex over Focus Blast, but I'll leave you to play around with that. The amount of Ground weaknesses the team has feels kinda high, and some additional counter play against EKiller and offensive teams is desired, so Genesect was replaced with Landorus-T. They both have similar roles, although Landous-T has a Ground immunity, more utility, and can fill the void of a secondary Ho-Oh check that Zekrom served. The final change to make the team a bit less Xerneas weak and better at breaking down defensive teams was to replace Latios with Rayquaza. While this drops anti hazard support, you gain the advantages of priority, a Pokemon that Xern has more trouble setting up on, a setup move of your own, and something that is much harder for your opponent to switch into. A maximum Speed Life Orb Swords Dance set is used as it is great at breaking several standard balance and stall arrangements.

With the new changes, looking back on the rest of the team it made sense to change up the move sets and EVs for Xerneas and Primal Groudon. For this team it was more beneficial to run a Geomancy Xerneas with Hidden Power Rock and Focus Blast than a defensive set. You could potentially run Aromatherapy to keep it as a cleric, but I didn't really feel that as necessary since the team has two Thunder Wave immunities, a burn immunity, a Toxic Spikes absorber, and a status absorber in Arceus-Dark. For Primal Groudon, a more offensive EV spread and moveset that can immediately threaten Ho-Oh and have a better chance against last mon Mega Salamence was added. You may also want to run maximum Speed on Arceus-Dark considering how significant your investment in Speed is already. The completed build flows rather well, having a multitude of options for threatening defensive builds while still keeping some techs for facing offensive ones.

The two major things I noticed for this final build is that first, Choice Scarf Landorus can get stuck in a pickle against balance teams with Mega Salamence. The reason for this is that in certain situations where you need Earthquake to break something (like say P Don) you might not be able to afford to do this because it'll give the Mega Salamence in the back a free turn. This is a problem because this team lacks a direct switch-in for Mega Salamence. This creates a scenario where you either have to just not click Earthquake (prevents you from quick killing certain mons), where you click Earthquake (Mega Salamence can counter sweep you), or you use Explosion and sack Lando-T permanently (might still need it for another mon in back). None of these situations are favorable, but one thing you can do is test out a Double Dance set, which is able to lessen this problem (but makes matchup against fastmons like Darkrai worse). You can also try to reincorporate Zekrom to check Mega Salamence, but you'll want to use a Hone Claws Shuca Berry set (makes you weaker to EKiller, P Don, and fastmons without further restructure). Running a high Defensive investment EV spread on Geo Xern can also work. The second thing I notice is that the team would appreciate some anti-hazard support, but it can't really fit it anywhere without extensive restructure or doing a quick patch with like Cloyster over Lando-T and then having to add Mega Salamence to be a bit more solid against EKiller (this is a known build). You could also try using Klefki over Xerneas to get Spikes, serve as a good Darkrai check, get some additional security against Xerneas, and emergency check Mega Salamence, but this comes at the cost of some momentum. I don't feel that Defog or Spin is mandatory for this team, it works without it, but it would be nice so that P Don and Xern don't get worn down quite as fast.

Summary:
- Replace Genesect with this Landorus-T set or the double dance set:

(Choice Scarf Lando-T)

Landorus (Landorus-Therian) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Explosion

- Replace Zekrom with this Mega Gengar set and consider experimenting with Taunt, Destiny Bond, and Hex:

(WoW Mega Gengar)

Gengar (Gengar-Mega) @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave

- Replace Latios with this Rayquaza set:

(Fast Life Orb SD Rayquaza)

Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Dragon Ascent

- Change your Xerneas to this Geomancy set or consider a physically bulky Geomancy Xerneas that can better check Mega Salamence:

(HP Rock + Focus Blast Geo Xern)

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 164 HP / 28 Def / 252 SpA / 64 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Focus Blast
- Moonblast

- Change your P Don to this more offensive spread:

(Offensive SR P Don)

Groudon (Groudon-Primal) @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 216 Atk / 216 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Slide
- Precipice Blades

- Consider running max Speed on Arceus-Dark
- Consider trying to restructure if Mega Salamence is a lot of trouble with physically bulk Geo Xern, Klefki, Shuca Zekrom, or Cloyster + Mega Salamence

 

[crazy_man]

Some great suggestions with Landrous-T and Rayquaza, and luckily I have both!

Max speed Arceus does sound better, plus the spread fits other CM Arceus types as well.

Would paradancer groudon work as well? But then I lose SR....

Need some time to consider the options of Mega Gengar.

 

[Minority]

You can't use paradancer P Don unless you are able to structure the team such that you can get SR onto something else.

 

[crazy_man]

True.

 

[eden]

Its been a while since I've seen a decent DarkCeus team, and one thing I've noticed is that this particular build can't play around some of the bigger threats to DarkCeus like opposing Xerneas/MDiancie. Also because you've opted for Latios instead of Latias, you have a little more difficulty vs POgre builds; I also find Genesect to be kind of subpar because it can't outspeed +2 Xerneas even with a scarf so it doesn't even really serve a purpose as a Xerneas check.

I also think the team is extremely vulnerable to opposing Ho-Oh and would even go so far as to say that opposing EKiller and PDonner are troublesome. Also I think stall in general is also a little hard for you to play against. I suggest Mega Gengar>Zekrom to help with the stall issue, a taunt+3 attacks or Taunt+Dbond set would possibly work out pretty decently on this team. MGar helps remove Clefable which is pretty much the only thing on stall stoping DarkCeus going for the 6 -0, so it helps in that sense as well.

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt/Destiny Bond

I'd also suggest Latias>Latios to give you an easier time vs POgre teams; And also give the team a secondary check to stuff such as PDon/MRayquaza.

Latias @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 HP / 120 SpA / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Grass Knot

For my next suggestion I'd say go with Aegislash>Genesect because it checks so many things that your squad has problems with in one slot; like Mega Diancie/opposing Latis/and gives you an actually good Xerneas check.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- King's Shield
- Gyro Ball
- Toxic
- Pursuit

My last suggestion would be either to run CM Physcially defensive rest talk Xerneas, or go with MDiancie which can tweaked to check Darkrai+MMence and can also provide a beller, which is something that the squad might really appreciate. CM Xerneas is also amazing though cause it can break stall once clef is gone(just like darkceus); so the other thing I was looking into was suggesting SR MDiancie, which would let you not run SR PDOn and thus let you run something a little more threatening on it!

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock/Heal Bell
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Protect

OR

Xerneas @ Leftovers
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk