I've made teams before, but I'm not a stellar player or team-builder. I've played on Showdown for a while but I'm not an expert or even that good by any means. My current Gen 7 Ubers rating is 1140. I think I do OK building purely offensive/defensive Pokémon but I can't put 4 attacking/boosting or utility/healing moves on everything, so I usually struggle with making my individual Pokémon more balanced.
How I chose the Pokémon:
How I try to play:
General comments/questions:
How I chose the Pokémon:
- I started by adding Primal Groudon since I feel like he's the best Stealth Rock setter and can wall tons of things. I think Groudon is just generally a good Pokémon to have in Ubers.
- Next, I added Magearna (even though it's technically OU) as a hard stop to Xerneas. I'm not sure if this is too niche of a role, but it's worked well so far since Xerneas is in pretty much every team at my rating.
- I added Mega Kangaskhan mostly because I wanted to (this is probably an awful reason). This is the Pokémon I had in mind first when I started building this team, but I feel like it's been kind of lackluster and I might swap it for another something else to check Primal Groudon.
- I added Yveltal for strong Sucker Punch, a Ground immunity, and a U-turn user. However, Sucker Punch is pretty predictable most of the time so it hasn't been of optimal use.
- I added Giratina for a wall and partially to stop Rapid Spin (although I haven't yet faced a single user of Rapid Spin).
- I added Genesect for a U-turn user and a strong attacker since he has BoltBeam coverage and I felt like I didn't have good coverage against Ground-, Flying-, Dragon-, and Water-types.
Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Groudon is usually my lead with Stealth Rock. Precipice Blades is for STAB and is a strong attack even without Attack investment. Lava Plume is STAB, boosted by Sun, and gets helpful burns. Roar is for spreading Burns, removing boosts, and racking up Stealth Rock damage. I chose the EVs to boost its Special Defense since it already has amazing Defense (Is this a good choice?).
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Groudon is usually my lead with Stealth Rock. Precipice Blades is for STAB and is a strong attack even without Attack investment. Lava Plume is STAB, boosted by Sun, and gets helpful burns. Roar is for spreading Burns, removing boosts, and racking up Stealth Rock damage. I chose the EVs to boost its Special Defense since it already has amazing Defense (Is this a good choice?).
Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Heart Swap
- Pain Split
As I said, Magearna is my Xerneas counter. Fleur Cannon is STAB and is boosted by Xerneas's Fairy Aura. Volt Switch lets me clear the -2 SpA and gives me a slow switch-in to Kangaskhan, Yveltal, or Genesect which I like since they only have average defenses. Heart Swap lets me steal (Z-)Geomancy from Xerneas and Calm Mind from some Arceus. Pain Split lets me steal lots of health from things like Primal Kyogre since it can't OHKO without a boost/crit/prior damage. I chose the EVs to make it bulky in Special Defense since I want to steal boosts from special sweepers like Xerneas and some Arceus.This set is completely shut down by Primal Groudon though. Is Leftovers a good item on Magearna or is there something better?
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Heart Swap
- Pain Split
As I said, Magearna is my Xerneas counter. Fleur Cannon is STAB and is boosted by Xerneas's Fairy Aura. Volt Switch lets me clear the -2 SpA and gives me a slow switch-in to Kangaskhan, Yveltal, or Genesect which I like since they only have average defenses. Heart Swap lets me steal (Z-)Geomancy from Xerneas and Calm Mind from some Arceus. Pain Split lets me steal lots of health from things like Primal Kyogre since it can't OHKO without a boost/crit/prior damage. I chose the EVs to make it bulky in Special Defense since I want to steal boosts from special sweepers like Xerneas and some Arceus.This set is completely shut down by Primal Groudon though. Is Leftovers a good item on Magearna or is there something better?
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Body Slam
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Seismic Toss
Kangaskhan has Body Slam for STAB and paralysis. I added Fake Out so I can get free easy chip damage and stall Toxic/Burns longer. Crunch lets me hit Ghosts who would otherwise wall me. Seismic Toss is for consistent damage and chunking walls (although a bunch of Ubers walls already take more damage from Crunch). I'm thinking about replacing Seismic Toss with Ice Punch. I chose the EVs to make Kangaskhan a physical sweeper.
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Body Slam
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Seismic Toss
Kangaskhan has Body Slam for STAB and paralysis. I added Fake Out so I can get free easy chip damage and stall Toxic/Burns longer. Crunch lets me hit Ghosts who would otherwise wall me. Seismic Toss is for consistent damage and chunking walls (although a bunch of Ubers walls already take more damage from Crunch). I'm thinking about replacing Seismic Toss with Ice Punch. I chose the EVs to make Kangaskhan a physical sweeper.
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- U-turn
Yveltal is meant to be a somewhat mixed attacker with a strong Sucker Punch. Dark Pulse hits really hard, Oblivion Wing helps counteract Life Orb recoil, and U-turn is helpful for switching when Xerneas or other troubling Pokémon inevitably comes in. I chose the EVs/Nature/Item to make it strong in both offensive stats.
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- U-turn
Yveltal is meant to be a somewhat mixed attacker with a strong Sucker Punch. Dark Pulse hits really hard, Oblivion Wing helps counteract Life Orb recoil, and U-turn is helpful for switching when Xerneas or other troubling Pokémon inevitably comes in. I chose the EVs/Nature/Item to make it strong in both offensive stats.
Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Bold Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Toxic
- Roar
- Defog
Giratina is my stalling wall. I have Draco Meteor to avoid taunt and get some chip damage if needed. Toxic is useful for crippling walls. Roar lets me get rid of stat-boosters, helps spread Toxic, and builds up Stealth Rock damage. Defog removes hazards if the enemy has more or if their hazard setter fainted or can't switch in. I got the EVs from the Smogon page on Giratina but I'm not sure why the weird spread is useful.
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Bold Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Toxic
- Roar
- Defog
Giratina is my stalling wall. I have Draco Meteor to avoid taunt and get some chip damage if needed. Toxic is useful for crippling walls. Roar lets me get rid of stat-boosters, helps spread Toxic, and builds up Stealth Rock damage. Defog removes hazards if the enemy has more or if their hazard setter fainted or can't switch in. I got the EVs from the Smogon page on Giratina but I'm not sure why the weird spread is useful.
Genesect @ Choice Specs
Ability: Download
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Genesect is sort of a revenge killer although he doesn't have Choice Scarf. Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, or Flamethrower will often get supereffective damage on something. U-turn lets me switch out in bad situations. I chose the EVs/Nature/Item to make it hit hard. I might switch Naive nature for Timid nature since U-turn is usually for switching or utilizing Download boosts.
Ability: Download
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
Genesect is sort of a revenge killer although he doesn't have Choice Scarf. Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, or Flamethrower will often get supereffective damage on something. U-turn lets me switch out in bad situations. I chose the EVs/Nature/Item to make it hit hard. I might switch Naive nature for Timid nature since U-turn is usually for switching or utilizing Download boosts.
How I try to play:
- I usually lead with Groudon and set up Stealth Rock. Sometimes I lead with a Volt Switch/U-turn Pokémon if they have a counter to Groudon because Groudon is pretty easy to predict as my lead. I like to use Giratina against Groudon leads because their Groudon could OHKO mine with attack investment and it's helpful to get a Toxic on it.
- From there I just try (I definitely don't always succeed) to utilize predictions to get low-drawback switches and use the appropriate moves.
General comments/questions:
- Are there any overwhelming flaws with my team?
- Is having 3 U-turn/Volt Switch users too much?
- Could any of my Pokémon have significantly more effective movesets?
- Overall, I feel like I've been having trouble with Swords Dance Arceus and offensive Primal Groudon. Marshadow can also be annoying if Groudon is damaged. Are there any changes that would make fighting these Pokémon easier?
- I'm thinking about switching out Mega Kangaskhan. Do you have any good replacements in mind that could help with my team's flaws?
- I feel like my team is pretty frail but I'm not sure if this is viable since they're also not exceedingly fast.