Introduction
Welcome! This is Kaushik, and I am sure most of you playing on AG ladder has encountered me at some point. Playing on the ladder is one of my favorite hobbies, and such, I always seek ways to improve my team. However, I haven't really played AG seriously for the last few months, and recently, I have decided to get back on the ladder. With the released of a certain Pokemon that dwells in the shadows, I was able to finally create a team that rivals some of the toughest teams ever. With the newly formed team, I took on the ladder with relative ease save for a few Baton Pass team users (I am looking at you Xynix!). Despite some of my shortcomings, including the fact I ladder rarely, this team has proven to be a niche in the current meta and I have peaked AG on 10/5/17 (see screenshot: http://prntscr.com/gtrl23).
The Team
Arceus @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Judgment
- Defog
- Recover
Fairyceus is my main lead, and I use him against common leads you see in AG such as Primal-Groudon, Mega Rayquaza, Sableye-Mega in stall teams, and some support forms of Arceus via the use of Toxic, which sets them on a timer. This Pokemon is my main defogger, which in conjunction with the upcoming Pokemon, Ferrothorn and Ho-Oh, makes a fabulous defensive cores. More information on how the core works will come later, but without Fairy Arceus, I would not be able to alleviate Rayquaza's and Ho-Oh's weakness to Stealth Rock. It also can stomach several Z-moves from Physical attackers such as SD Ghost-Arceus with Z-Shadow Force. To demonstrate the incredible durability of Fairyceus,
a +2 252 Atk Arceus-Ghost Never-Ending Nightmare (190 BP) would deal 84.4 - 99.5% of Fairyceus' HP. In retaliation, could simply then recover and throw a Toxic, and switch out if necessary.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball
This Pokemon is almost always guaranteed to switch into moves that Fairyceus wouldn't take on head to head, such as Steel-Arceus and Poison-Arceus. From there, it could either set up Stealth Rock or slowly steal switch-ins' health with a combination of Leech Seed and Protect. Setting up rocks breaks sashes, and the most common users in this tiers include Smeargle, Rayquaza, and Marshadow. With their sashes broken, they nearly have no way to recover without giving up moveslots or relying on teammates such as Chansey, and the offense stats of Rayquaza and Marshadow without Life Orb are underwhelming, to the point where I could switch in my Fairy Arceus to deal them super-effective damage or force them to switch, creating a nearly endless loop of weakening the opponent's defensive cores. A few Pokemon could stand up to them, including Fire-Arceus, Mixed Rayquaza (prediction on switches are almost always mandatory), and offensive Ho-Ohs. This is where some of my other Pokemon takes care of them. Gyro Ball is used to put pressure on opposing Fairy Arceus and put huge dents on fast but frail Pokemon such as Mewtwo and Marshadow. It also can put pressure on non-Substitute Celesteela because of it's immunity to Leech Seed and the fact that Celesteela is prone to being weakened if it has been seeded. If an opposing Pokemon has been seeded, I could simply switch my Ferrothorn out and switch into appropriate checks for the opposing mons, such as when facing banded Rayquaza that has been locked into V-Create after scouting the move with Protect, which I could simply switch to my Ho-Oh. Ferrothorn's biggest role, perhaps, is to check Kyogre for Ho-Oh.
Arceus @ Groundium Z
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Recover
The ground-shaking God that shaped the entire Pokemon universe helps the two defensive cores immensely. The famed EdgeQuake combination after a Sword Dance is bound to leave huge dents on the opposing Pokemon. Despite the fact Stone Edge has a slightly shaking accuracy (no pun intended), it would deter most switch-ins, including Ho-Oh and Rayquaza that hasn't Mega Evolved. With max base speed stat and at full health, it has no problem taking down unboosted Mega Rayquaza if it took prior damage and/ or has suffered the downsides of Dragon Ascent. The biggest fame of this set is its capability to use extremely strong Tectonic Rage. To illustrate the kind of power it has,
+2 252 Atk Arceus-Ground Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Arceus: 352-415 (79.2 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. In other words, even extremely durable support formes of Arceus must be careful of switching into a Z move, and it would not outspeed Groundceus enough to safely recover. Support Arceus formes that only invest in HP and do not resist this boosted Z-Move will be swiftly KO'd without the Stealth Rock my sweet Ferrothorn fondly provides. So yeah, beware or the very ground of yours will shake against this mighty creator! It finally also acts an emergency Thunder absorber that a boosted Geomancy Xerneas might aim at Ho-Oh when Xerneas has been badly poisoned and/or is losing health via leech seed. It also can easily kill the non-bulky variants with a boosted Earthquake or simply firing off a powerful unboosted Z-Move Earthquake (252 Atk Arceus-Ground Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre-Primal: 304-358 (88.8 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO), as most Kyogre in this tier are most likely to be invested heavily in Speed and Special Attack.
Marshadow @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Spectral Thief
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
As being the cutest Pokemon in this team, it more than makes up with its high base speed stat and excellent coverage. Being immune to ExtremeSpeed, it could pick out weakened Mega Rayquaza and Arceus by using Shadow Sneak on the former if its' health has been dwindled to the point where it could be picked off, or a plain Close Combat after Arceus-Normal has taken some prior damage. Life Orb on this set helps Marshadow pick off most weakned Pokemon with relative ease. It could even 2KO slightly invested Fairy-Arceus with a combination of Poison Jab and Spectral Thief after it has taken prior damage. It could also hit Xerneas for super-effective damage with Poison jab, and then picking it off with Shadow Sneak if it decides to stay and use Geomancy. For Scarfed Xerneas, it is KO'd by a combination of Poison Jab and Shadow Sneak with occasional reliance on Stealth Rock, depending on how Xerneas's spread is invested. If I am simply at the position where I know Xerneas would KO Marshadow, I would switch to Ho-Oh which could dent it with Sacred Fire or Toxic, depending on the set. Even if Marshadow fails, Mega Rayquaza will help Marshadow clean up Xerneas with a priority move of its own.
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Ascent
- V-create
- Extreme Speed
Ok, I don't need to praise Mega Rayquza, the obvious most overpowered Pokemon in the current meta. This is a pure wallbreaker, a wallbreaker used to break Stall teams or put HUGE dents on opposing teams. I chose Naughty nature for a valuable reason, to force opponents to guess it's a pure physical attacker with Dragon Ascent, which chops the bulkiest Fairy Arceus' HP into more than half. (252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza-Mega Dragon Ascent vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Arceus-Fairy: 227-269 (51.1 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO). 90% of the time, Fairy Arceus would switch out and bring into a pokemon such as Zygarde or Celesteela. Most Life Orb Rayquaza carry Earthquake and Extremespeed along with Dragon Dance, which is why Celesteela might scout with Protect. Most of the time, by pure instinct, I would use Dragon Ascent so that Celesteela would assume Ray lacks V-Create. To its utter horror, on the next turn, it's burned into crisps. As for Zygarde, it would probably turn into Zygarde-Complete Form. I would nearly always immediately use Draco Meteor, which cleanly KO it even at Full Health with a mere 4 Sp. Atk investment and Life Orb (0 SpA Life Orb Rayquaza-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde-Complete: 640-751 (100.6 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO). Some people might recommend Naive Rayquaza, but the people themselves are naive; Rayquaza is much better of a wallbreaker with a Naughty nature. It might be slower than most faster Arceus forms, but those are covered by some of the best pokemon in my team, including the powerful core that Ho-Oh, Ferrothorn, and Fairy-Arceus undoubtly provides. The last move, ExtremeSpeed, is to pick off weakened Pokemon that Marshadow itself might not have finished off with its adorable Shadow Sneak along with plethora of Pokemon, including extremely weakened unboosted/ burned ExtremeKiller Arceus.
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover
One might wonder, will you be promised eternal happiness if you happen to see a certain Rainbow Phoenix flying elegantly across the skies? Following Ash Ketchum's footsteps was the wisest decision I have ever made, finally believing in hope I have been searching all my life. The Life and Hope of my team is the Wonderous Ho-Oh. This Rainbow Phoenix is simply the most elegant Pokemon to ever grace this team, firing off its mystic Sacred Fire and denting teams because it's an extremely brave bird. Even if its facing some of the toughest Pokemon in the Anything Goes meta, it is extremely durable, being capable of surviving all unboosted neutral attacks such Life Orb Dragon Ascent, which does a maximum of nearly 82% of its health. In retaliation, it could fire off a Sacred Fire, hoping for a burn, or finish off Rayquaza with a Brave Bird which nearly always take it down (0 Atk Ho-Oh Brave Bird vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Rayquaza-Mega: 244-288 (69.5 - 82%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) unless Rayquaza is completely healthy except suffering minor downsides of Dragon Ascent and Life Orb. However, as it may, plethora of my team aids Ho-Oh into doing its task well. For instance, most Calm Mind Arceus loses to Ho-Oh due to Toxic or Sacred Fire burns. I could simply then switch out Ferrothorn and proceed to use Leech Seed against those Arceus, and switch out to perhaps Marshadow, assuming it's at advantage, such as when facing Rock-Arceus. Nearly all the time, I am good at predicting teams with Kyogre, such as choosing to use Brave Bird against it, and as a result, the Water Spout Kyogre and its primal form would be laughable against Ferrothorn. My Rayquaza would easily dent Kyogre, if not KO it with its Dragon Ascent. Speaking of the opposing Rayquaza, once it has been burned by Sacred Fire, its much easier to wall, and I usually go switching back to Fairy Arceus, which would simply recover and proceed to use its movesets to do things my team need, or Ferrothorn if I am sure that Rayquaza lacks V-Create. Ho-Oh is almost always my best answer to Xerneas, which I would either Brave Bird it or Toxic once I am 100% sure it lacks Thunder or other super-effective moves. Even Psyshock does less than half of Ho-Oh's HP, and Ho-Oh always alleviate its damage by regenerating (switching out) to the point where I believe its nearly immortal. Even Stone Edge from maximumly invested Arceus without LO will NOT KO it, outside of a critical hit (252 Atk Arceus-Ground Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Ho-Oh: 336-396 (80.7 - 95.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery). By putting pressure on 90% of the meta by this spread alone, I could easily win most matches that landed me on the peak of the ladder.
Conclusion
So to summarize, my team is simply amazing with very few minor flaws. Those flaws are so minor, in fact it easily alleviates them by the use of Toxic, which two of my Pokemon uses to deal with common switch-ins. In other words, being on top of my predictions will go a long way for my team. My team is essentially balanced with the defensive cores helping out each other and the three offensive behemoths. Depending on the opponents' playstyle, I would change my strategy to help lead my team to victory.
Importable Team:
Arceus @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Judgment
- Defog
- Recover
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball
Arceus @ Groundium Z
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Recover
Marshadow @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Spectral Thief
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Ascent
- V-create
- Extreme Speed
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Judgment
- Defog
- Recover
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball
Arceus @ Groundium Z
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Recover
Marshadow @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Spectral Thief
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
Rayquaza @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Ascent
- V-create
- Extreme Speed
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover
Special Thanks:
Chloe
Synoptic
Xynix
Every player I have competed with
Synoptic
Xynix
Every player I have competed with
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