The Beginning
I started playing Ubers towards the end of Generation 4 once Arceus was released. I'm still adjusting to the metagame but its the most fun I've had playing Pokemon in a while. The team is called "The Beginning" because it marks the start of my journey into the Ubers metagame (yeah I know it's cheesy). Anyways, this team is a balanced team, my favorite style of battling. It is based around bulky Calm Minders Steel Arceus and Kyogre which stall and offensive teams tend to struggle against. Most of the testing for this team occured in the PO 5th Gen beta testing so I may have missed some significant weaknesses. Note that this team is designed for WiFi play, not Dream World.
In-Depth Analysis
Groudon @ Leftovers
Drought | Impish (+Def, -SpA)
252 HP / 216 Def / 40 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Roar
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Groudon is one of the most reliable leads for stall and balanced teams like this. It has favorable match ups against many common leads so it does a great job of setting up Stealth Rock early. Although Groudon is a solid lead, I don't always lead with it if I notice an unfavorable match up in the team previews. If my opponent is leading with Deoxys-S or Forretress, I normally lead with Giratina-O to prevent them from setting up multiple hazards. Against Darkrai leads, I send out Kyogre and Sleep Talk as they use Dark Void. Opposing Kyogre leads are a bit troublesome but Palkia or my own Kyogre can handle them.
Speaking of Kyogre, Groudon paired with it gives me incredible control over the weather. Although at first glance it looks like most of my team hates sunlight, Drought helps boost Giratina-O's HP Fire and provides a pseudo Water resistance for my Steel-types. Aside from setting up Stealth Rock and providing weather control, Groudon is my main check to various physical attackers such as Bulk Up Dialga, Zekrom, and Ho-Oh.
The moveset is straightforward. The EVs focus on physical bulk (216 Def EVs reaches a bonus point) while 40 speed EVs let Groudon outrun slower base 90's, such as Zekrom and Ho-Oh.
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Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Iron Barbs | Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball
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Ferrothorn is the only non-Uber on my team but that doesn't make it any less valuable. It provides the second layer of entry hazards with Spikes and is capable of setting them up on a variety of Pokemon. I considered Forretress and Skarmory in this slot but Ferrothorn's significantly higher Special Defense and valuable resistances to Water and Electric types Its great bulk and myraid of resistances also allow it to check a variety of threats, such as Zekrom, Kyogre, Kingdra, and Lati@s. Leech Seed and Protect provides some form of recovery for Ferrothorn and its teammates. Protect is also extremely useful for scouting Choice items, which is especially useful against Specs Reshiram. Gyro Ball hits surprisingly hard and often catches things like Rayquaza off guard. The EV spread is focused towards Special Defense to handle the likes of Kyogre and Palkia better.
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Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Levitate | Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
244 Atk / 8 Def / 216 SpA / 40 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Sneak
- Hidden Power Fire
- Dragon Tail
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Giratina-O's main purpose on this team is to block Rapid Spin, which is a lot easier with Payback's slight nerf. It has pretty good type synergy with my hazard users, resisting both of Ferrothorn's weaknesses and Groudon's Water and Grass weaknesses. Ferrothorn is a major Forretress magnet so Giratina-O has no trouble switching in to block Rapid Spin, which is crucial when dealing with Ho-Oh and Reshiram teams. Giratina also serves as a check to things like RP Groudon and SD Scizor. It can also revenge kill Mewtwo with Shadow Sneak once it is around the 50% mark. As mentioned above, Giratina-O can also take over the lead position if Groudon has a bad match up in the team previews. Deoxys-S and Forretress can normally set up multiple hazards against Groudon but will be limited to only one when facing Giratina.
The moveset is standard. I chose Dragon Tail for the last slot because it makes Giratina-O incredibly difficult to take down. It also racks up entry hazard damage on my opponent when paired with Ferrothorn's Spikes. 244 Atk EVs and Naughty nature gives Shadow Sneak enough power to 2HKO 4 HP/0 Def Mewtwo. The 40 Speed EVs let Giratina outrun everything up to 32 speed Ho-Oh. 8 Def EVs ensure that +2 Jolly Arceus Shadow Claw does not OHKO Giratina. It's not a huge deal but it's a small EV investment, so why not? The remaining EVs are allocated to Special Attack to boost Draco Meteor and Hidden Power Fire.
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Arceus @ Iron Plate
Multitype | Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
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Steel Arceus is the best Arceus form in my opinion. Its incredible durability and typing lets it take hits like no other. It is also capable of single-handedly demolishing stall teams thanks to its natural immunities to Toxic and Trick. Once Arceus gets a Calm Mind boost under its belt, it is very difficult to take down. Its only real threats are Ho-Oh, Heatran, Reshiram, Groudon, and Garchomp, (and Shadow Tag Shandera in Dream World) all of which are handled by its teammates. Along with Ferrothorn, Arceus forms the defensive backbone of my team. Their myriad of resistances, bulk, and access to instant recovery allow them to take repeated hits throughout the battle. Arceus is usually my initial switch-in for predicted Dragon attacks since it is a lot more durable than Ferrothorn. The moveset is the standard. I chose Will-O-Wisp over Roar to cripple physical attackers, giving Arceus and Kyogre a much easier time setting up. HP is maxed out to improve bulk while speed is maxed so that Arceus doesn't lose the speed tie to opposing Arceus.
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Kyogre @ Leftovers
Drizzle | Bold (+Def, -Atk)
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
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Kyogre is much like Arceus on this team since it is a tank and sweeper at the same time. The two paired together will usually demolish opposing Stall teams with ease. I chose to use a Calm Mind set on Kyogre because a lot of teams struggle against it. After one Calm Mind, one of Kyogre's best counters, Palkia, will usually be unable to defeat it. Furthermore, Soul Dew is currently unavailable outside of Dream World so Lati@s are no longer a threat to Kyogre. Thus, there are very few reliable counters to CM Kyogre.
Kyogre also acts as my status sponge, a very useful asset now that Sleep is more broken than ever. Thus, it is usually my first switch-in to a predicted Dark Void from Darkrai. As mentioned earlier, Kyogre and Groudon gives me total control over the weather, preventing any form of weather abuse by my opponent. I try to keep Rain active more often than the Sun because Drizzle complements my walls beautifully since the rain nullifies their Fire weakness. This is especially important when facing powerful Fire types like Reshiram and Ho-Oh.
Scald was a huge boost for this set since it becomes nearly impossible to take down after burning my opponent. It also scares away Rayquaza, who is otherwise a great counter for this set. The EVs focus on physical bulk since Calm Mind can boost its special defense.
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Palkia @ Choice Scarf
Pressure | Hasty (+Spe, -Def)
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Thunder
- Outrage
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Choice Scarf Palkia is the glue for many Uber teams and this is no exception. Although it hasn't changed signficiantly with the new generation, the new team reveal feature scouts for Scarf Palkia's worst nightmare: Wobbuffet. Anyways, Palkia adds much needed speed to this relatively slow team and assists in revenge killing Darkrai, Rayquaza, and Zekrom. However, the most important Pokemon that Palkia revenge kills is Reshiram who is otherwise a huge threat to this team. Other than revenge killing, Palkia can be a great late game cleaner once my entry hazards have taken their toll on my opponent. The moveset and EVs are standard. Draco Meteor was chosen over Spacial Rend for its ability to OHKO Darkrai and Mewtwo (after SR and LO recoil). Fire Blast and Thunder allow Palkia to function well in the rain and the sun. Finally, Outrage is in the last slot for picking off weakened Calm Minders and cleaning up.
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