Introduction: As a primarily offensive player through most of Gen 4, when Gen 5 rolled around I decided that this would be no different. However a new threat to offensive teams emerged this gen, the auto-sashed Forry, and bringing the bane of any offensive team with him, Toxic Spikes. So I decided to build a team that was able to cope with Toxic Spikes without losing any offensive power. It has done quite well so far, peaking at #3 on the Smogon PO server with a ranking of 1493. So, now on to the actual team itself:
Credit to Arkies for the animated sprites and Veekun for the rest.
Darkrai@Life Orb
Trait:Bad Dreams
EVs:4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Dark Void
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse
-Focus Blast
The first half of my offensive core that more often than not also acts as the lead. In the absence of a pokemon to set hazards on the team, Darkrai is vital in minimising the opponents hazards. With its blistering 125 base speed its outrun by very few non-scarf pokemon that are commonly seen in the uber metagame, the only ones that can being Mewtwo,Shaymin-S, and the Deoxys formes. It also can easily incapacitate any potential counter that may switch in on it with its Dark Void,one of the key stallbreaking tools in Darkrai's arsenal. It also sets up incredibly quickly with access to Dark Void allowing it to 2HKO even Evolution Stone Chansey with Focus Blast after a Nasty Plot.
Arceus@Toxic Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs:252HP/4SpD/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Will-O-Wisp
-Thunder Wave
-Stealth Rock
-Recover
After alot of recommendation I decided to include SR in my team since it let me weaken threats that I would struggle to beat otherwise. Since Poison Arceus was subpar as a sweeper I decided a full-on supporter set was probably the way to go. This allows to me to spread paralysis to the opponents team. Since this thing is bulky as hell it helps take some of the burden from wobb when it comes to revenging scarfers since this can often paralyse them or the next incoming poke. Although Will-o-Wisp an Thunder Wave may seem excessive it allows me to slow down Kyogre, Palkia,Dialga, Rayquaza and Shandera among others while still allowing me to cripple SD Arceus, Groudon and Zekrom. I've generally found this to be much more successful than the other set although the lack of attacking move can often be a pain. But overall I feel with SR and the ability to spread status this adds a greater degree of consistency to my team.
Mewtwo@Life Orb
Trait:Anxiety
EVs:4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Psycho Break
-Aura Sphere
-Ice Beam
The second half of my offensive core and posseses the raw power to tear through teams by itself after a single Calm Mind. This gen it gained the addition of Psycho Break, an incredible move that allows Mewtwo to ease past its previous counters, such as Kyogre, Blissey, and Ho-Oh. The normal set for Mewtwo includes Fire Blast but with Kyogre being on this team, Ice Beam seemed like the more appropriate choice. This also functions as a fantastic revenger for virtually any non-scarfed pokemon with the speed to hit them first and the power to KO them.
Zekrom@Choice Scarf
Trait: Teravolt
EVs:4HP/252Atk/252Spe
Naive Nature(+Spe,-SpD)
-Lightning Strike
-Outrage
-Volt Change
-Draco Meteor
This functions as the general revenger for the team and can often power through teams with Lightning Strike alone after Groudon is gone. STAB physical Electric is incredible in the Uber Metagame as it allows you too blast through Kyogre with ease and destroy other walls in the uber metagame such as Blissey,Chansey, Skarmory, Lugia and Ho-Oh. Compliment this with a Dragon STAB and very little can switch into this. Unfortunately Groudon is pretty much a full stop to Zekrom with its massive physical defense and immunity to Lightning Strike. However the standard Groudon is still taking around 50% from Draco Meteor so will be anxious about continually switching into Zekrom. Volt Change allows you to switch threaten switch ins such as Nattorei and Dialga, who can normally threaten Zekrom. By switching to Darkai or Mewtwo you can immediatly threaten these pokemon and keep the momentum on your side.
Kyogre@Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252HP/252Def/4SpD
Bold Nature (+Def,-Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Boil Over
The fourth and final stallbreaker in the team and the second bulky Calm Minder. After a single Calm Mind this thing becomes almost impossible to revenge on the special side and the only real checks to this are CM Lati@s, Zekrom(although it can't switch in on Boil Over for fear of a burn) and some variants of CM Arceus. It functions as the teams status absorber and destroys teams who rely on Palkia to stop Kyogre since Palkia struggles to 2HKO after a single CM with Thunder and after 2 Calm Minds it requires a critical hit to beat Kyogre. It helps slow down Ho-Oh since it takes away the eternal sunlight that Ho-Oh thrives on, it can provide a full stop to many physical sweepers if it burns them with Boil Over and even without a burn has the raw bulk to take strong physical attacks.
Tyranitar@Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs:252HP/252Atk/4SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
-Pursuit
-Crunch
-Superpower
-Stone Edge
OK, so as good as Wobbuffet was I noticed while laddering that I had both a large Shandera and CM Latias weakness (thanks trickroom) and that most games if i could get rid of Latias, most opponents had no defence against CM Kyogre. So, this thing does Wobbuffets job (not quite as well but still...) whilst also meaning I can immediatly remove any Latias thanks to his massive Special Defense in a sandstorm and his pursuit. This thing also prevents me from being destroyed by rain sweepers by removing their speed and Rain power boost. In addition to all of this, with a Choice Band, it hits like a Truck and gives my team alot more power on the physical side. It can beat an Arceus that hasnt SD'ed yet since it wont be KO'ed by an unboosted EQ, and it can OHKO Arceus with Superpower, alowing it to slightly check it but the new Poison Arceus set does this better anyway. This whole set leaves me slightly weaker against most choice scarfers (although there aren't many Choice Scarfers who actually do much to Tyranitar, since the majority of choice scarfers are Special Attackers and generally do little damage to Tyranitar who hits them back much harder with Pursuit.)
Threat List (I'm only going to list the pokemon who are actual threats to the team rather than just any common Uber threat.)
Okay this is difficult to work around due to its raw speed and power but Kyogre can stand up to the commonly seen attacks on the lead version and Zekrom can revenge the Life Orb version.
All of the Calm Mind variants can be stopped by Darkrai's Dark Void and generally aren't too threatening. However the Normal typed Swords Dance version is a huge problem if it gets set up and is the reason for Zekroms nature not being -Def. Since a +2 Extremespeed won't OHKO Zekrom. Thankfully though this thing can set up on very little in the team as it usually takes >50% from any pokemon it faces and is threatened by a burn from Kyogre. Its also often checked by Poison Arceus who can burn it with Will-O-Wisp.
Thankfully this is very uncommon since if it gets a chance to set up it can easily tear through this team with only Kyogre and Tyranitar sometimes able to stop it. Though with the majority of this team being Specially attacking and Zekrom having STAB Electric to deal with it it shouldn't be able to set up too easily.
The majority of threats listed are OU pokemon and thats since this team is designed in a tier where these pokemon are not incredibly common and therefore less of a threat. However should these pokemon become common in the Uber tier then big changes will have to be made to this team.
OK, rate away.
Credit to Arkies for the animated sprites and Veekun for the rest.
Darkrai@Life Orb
Trait:Bad Dreams
EVs:4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Dark Void
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse
-Focus Blast
The first half of my offensive core that more often than not also acts as the lead. In the absence of a pokemon to set hazards on the team, Darkrai is vital in minimising the opponents hazards. With its blistering 125 base speed its outrun by very few non-scarf pokemon that are commonly seen in the uber metagame, the only ones that can being Mewtwo,Shaymin-S, and the Deoxys formes. It also can easily incapacitate any potential counter that may switch in on it with its Dark Void,one of the key stallbreaking tools in Darkrai's arsenal. It also sets up incredibly quickly with access to Dark Void allowing it to 2HKO even Evolution Stone Chansey with Focus Blast after a Nasty Plot.
Arceus@Toxic Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs:252HP/4SpD/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Will-O-Wisp
-Thunder Wave
-Stealth Rock
-Recover
After alot of recommendation I decided to include SR in my team since it let me weaken threats that I would struggle to beat otherwise. Since Poison Arceus was subpar as a sweeper I decided a full-on supporter set was probably the way to go. This allows to me to spread paralysis to the opponents team. Since this thing is bulky as hell it helps take some of the burden from wobb when it comes to revenging scarfers since this can often paralyse them or the next incoming poke. Although Will-o-Wisp an Thunder Wave may seem excessive it allows me to slow down Kyogre, Palkia,Dialga, Rayquaza and Shandera among others while still allowing me to cripple SD Arceus, Groudon and Zekrom. I've generally found this to be much more successful than the other set although the lack of attacking move can often be a pain. But overall I feel with SR and the ability to spread status this adds a greater degree of consistency to my team.
Mewtwo@Life Orb
Trait:Anxiety
EVs:4HP/252SpA/252Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe,-Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Psycho Break
-Aura Sphere
-Ice Beam
The second half of my offensive core and posseses the raw power to tear through teams by itself after a single Calm Mind. This gen it gained the addition of Psycho Break, an incredible move that allows Mewtwo to ease past its previous counters, such as Kyogre, Blissey, and Ho-Oh. The normal set for Mewtwo includes Fire Blast but with Kyogre being on this team, Ice Beam seemed like the more appropriate choice. This also functions as a fantastic revenger for virtually any non-scarfed pokemon with the speed to hit them first and the power to KO them.
Zekrom@Choice Scarf
Trait: Teravolt
EVs:4HP/252Atk/252Spe
Naive Nature(+Spe,-SpD)
-Lightning Strike
-Outrage
-Volt Change
-Draco Meteor
This functions as the general revenger for the team and can often power through teams with Lightning Strike alone after Groudon is gone. STAB physical Electric is incredible in the Uber Metagame as it allows you too blast through Kyogre with ease and destroy other walls in the uber metagame such as Blissey,Chansey, Skarmory, Lugia and Ho-Oh. Compliment this with a Dragon STAB and very little can switch into this. Unfortunately Groudon is pretty much a full stop to Zekrom with its massive physical defense and immunity to Lightning Strike. However the standard Groudon is still taking around 50% from Draco Meteor so will be anxious about continually switching into Zekrom. Volt Change allows you to switch threaten switch ins such as Nattorei and Dialga, who can normally threaten Zekrom. By switching to Darkai or Mewtwo you can immediatly threaten these pokemon and keep the momentum on your side.
Kyogre@Leftovers
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252HP/252Def/4SpD
Bold Nature (+Def,-Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Boil Over
The fourth and final stallbreaker in the team and the second bulky Calm Minder. After a single Calm Mind this thing becomes almost impossible to revenge on the special side and the only real checks to this are CM Lati@s, Zekrom(although it can't switch in on Boil Over for fear of a burn) and some variants of CM Arceus. It functions as the teams status absorber and destroys teams who rely on Palkia to stop Kyogre since Palkia struggles to 2HKO after a single CM with Thunder and after 2 Calm Minds it requires a critical hit to beat Kyogre. It helps slow down Ho-Oh since it takes away the eternal sunlight that Ho-Oh thrives on, it can provide a full stop to many physical sweepers if it burns them with Boil Over and even without a burn has the raw bulk to take strong physical attacks.
Tyranitar@Choice Band
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs:252HP/252Atk/4SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
-Pursuit
-Crunch
-Superpower
-Stone Edge
OK, so as good as Wobbuffet was I noticed while laddering that I had both a large Shandera and CM Latias weakness (thanks trickroom) and that most games if i could get rid of Latias, most opponents had no defence against CM Kyogre. So, this thing does Wobbuffets job (not quite as well but still...) whilst also meaning I can immediatly remove any Latias thanks to his massive Special Defense in a sandstorm and his pursuit. This thing also prevents me from being destroyed by rain sweepers by removing their speed and Rain power boost. In addition to all of this, with a Choice Band, it hits like a Truck and gives my team alot more power on the physical side. It can beat an Arceus that hasnt SD'ed yet since it wont be KO'ed by an unboosted EQ, and it can OHKO Arceus with Superpower, alowing it to slightly check it but the new Poison Arceus set does this better anyway. This whole set leaves me slightly weaker against most choice scarfers (although there aren't many Choice Scarfers who actually do much to Tyranitar, since the majority of choice scarfers are Special Attackers and generally do little damage to Tyranitar who hits them back much harder with Pursuit.)
Threat List (I'm only going to list the pokemon who are actual threats to the team rather than just any common Uber threat.)
Okay this is difficult to work around due to its raw speed and power but Kyogre can stand up to the commonly seen attacks on the lead version and Zekrom can revenge the Life Orb version.
All of the Calm Mind variants can be stopped by Darkrai's Dark Void and generally aren't too threatening. However the Normal typed Swords Dance version is a huge problem if it gets set up and is the reason for Zekroms nature not being -Def. Since a +2 Extremespeed won't OHKO Zekrom. Thankfully though this thing can set up on very little in the team as it usually takes >50% from any pokemon it faces and is threatened by a burn from Kyogre. Its also often checked by Poison Arceus who can burn it with Will-O-Wisp.
Thankfully this is very uncommon since if it gets a chance to set up it can easily tear through this team with only Kyogre and Tyranitar sometimes able to stop it. Though with the majority of this team being Specially attacking and Zekrom having STAB Electric to deal with it it shouldn't be able to set up too easily.
The majority of threats listed are OU pokemon and thats since this team is designed in a tier where these pokemon are not incredibly common and therefore less of a threat. However should these pokemon become common in the Uber tier then big changes will have to be made to this team.
OK, rate away.