Smogon »The Smog »Issue 22 » Featured Ubers RMT

Introduction

The release of BW2 didn't really change the metagame much besides adding one superb Special Attacker, one hulking but limited physical powerhouse, and the amazing Genesect. Latias and Latios already gotten their Soul Dew back so chances are you will bump into them more frequent than ever. However, they still aren't as popular as they used to be in DPP. Scizor is still rather rare due to our new favorite robotic insect: Genesect giving stiff competition as a choice user.

I don't really care about the addition of Kyurem-W because it is rather over-hyped in my opinion. Sure you have that sexy base 170 SpA but hey look at Kyogre, it gets the rain and 150 base power Water Spout or Hydro Pump combined with rain to squash teams. This team attempts to showcase the utility of a few undervalued Pokémon <— this sentence is quoted from Jibaku's Vulcan Fury RMT: specifically Skarmory and Jirachi.

When we think of Spikes in Ubers, we always thought about the annoying Ferrothorn or that equally supportive Forretress. Skarmory on the other hand is always left out as a threat to consider. Most defensive teams actually lack ways to quickly destroy Skarmory lol, an example will be a team of Groudon, Grass Arceus, Giratina, Blissey, Palkia and Forretress. Only Palkia can really threaten Skarmory and choice users generally do not fare well with Skarmory's partners.

Jirachi is sort of underrated. Before completing this team, I had Blissey instead of Jirachi. After some long thought, I asked myself why am I not using Jirachi instead? Blissey was sitting there and making me lose momentum, and although the team really enjoy gigantic wishes, Jirachi's ability to beat Psyshock Latias reliably and check both the new Kyurem forms, earned it a solid spot on this team. U-turn is a fantastic addition to this team as it allows me to gain momentum and turn the tide to my side. Jirachi always attracts Spikes user and U-turn lets me go straight to a counter, a strategy I will highlight later in this RMT.

This team's performance is pretty satisfactory for me, and even the powerful Poppy likes it. Can't Beat the Classics is the probably the best name I can give for this RMT lol, partially inspired by the scene in Expendables 2. I am not using any BW Pokémon in this team, so yeah I still like the Classics most. Despite that fact, this team is made to face the treacherous BW2 metagame and succeed in it.

I decided to just post this RMT to share with the community before I face my examinations in real life. Since Jibaku went out with a bang, I am going to explode with a blast, and made some solid effort in creating this team, putting everything I know to share my experience of this new BW2 metagame.

Note: I finally made one RMT without Lugia or Gyarados in it :(

Just like any other RMTs, no ladder achievements because that is honestly not a very wise decision to judge one's experience in Ubers. I will just say it did well on ladder.

This RMT still follows the old but awesome Vulcan Fury RMT format made by Jibaku. Also, firecape planned to make an unrivaled RMT with me but he disappeared :( I decided to post my own team first before making one joint RMT with him ;) Frankly, I do miss firecape a lot, he is my best buddy in many areas. I will mention it here once more, if I never met firecape, I probably would not or could not have joined the Ubers QC team or participated in C&C ( Fireburn was there too though along with Jibaku and bojangles! ) which is a very important part of my life in Smogon University! Great Sage hates Gyarados so that sucks :( Oh yeah firecape introduced me to IRC, and he even helped me with the Gyarados scripts LOL.

Another thing I remembered was firecape really liked Jirachi, so this time I trying it out on a serious team and it worked very well. Can't fit in Mamoswine in this team so that will be in the future.

Too long, don't read, lets proceed with the team!

Team at a Glance

         

Next, let's proceed into the actual team!

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My Favorite Dinosaur

Groudon @ Earth Plate
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 24 Def / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch

General Information
Unlike many Groudons roaming around the metagame, mine is surprisingly different but plays similarly. This Groudon set stomps any Dialga in one hit, and Tyranitar is completely flattened by Earthquake as well. I was using Support Groudon earlier but I kept got annoyed by the fact Dialga survived Earthquake and getting rocks up or 2HKO Groudon first. This team tries to limit the opposing entry hazards, and this Groudon is a fantastic way to demolish Spikes user as every single one of them, including Skarmory is manhandled by Groudon.

Moveset Explanation
Stealth Rock is pretty obvious, every Ubers team needs it. Earthquake is just standard on Groudon, also please don't drop Earthquake on Groudon for a coverage move lol. Stone Edge is just that important these days, Ho-Oh getting a free switch in? Not anymore! Eat a Stone Edge you turkey :)

Fire Punch is anti Spikes, it OHKOes both Ferrothorn and Forretress after Sturdy breaks. Tentacruel is already dwindling in usage but Earthquake completely stomps it anyway, Scald burns are annoying though ;_;

Groudon provides me with crucial weather control as well. It beats SD Arceus one-on-one and smashes those annoying Steel Arceus. Excadrill does not enjoy facing Groudon either.

EV explanation
With Earth Plate, Dialga is safely OHKOed with a single Earthquake. Since I no longer have leftovers now, more Attack investment is the better option and 220 EVs give me a bonus point, just enough to strike max HP Dialga for 100% - 117.8%. I tried max Speed but that just does not fit my preferred style of play which is a team of bulky Pokémon. With max HP and some random Defense EVs, Groudon now gets the chance to survive a +1 Rayquaza Outrage and reply back with Stone Edge, OHKOing 80% of the time after just 2 rounds of Life Orb damage or with Stealth Rock alone. I will just leave the Speed EVs at 12 for now, as Groudon really likes the bulk. Oh and with this set, Gliscor cannot hope to setup a free Substitute ahead of me because Fire Punch will break the poor scorpion's Sub.

Possible changes: I guess I can use back leftovers Groudon to survive longer and be more of a physical wall. This team does not enjoy weak fart Groudons though so Earth Plate is the better option for now.

The new Star

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Wish
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Protect

General Information
Jirachi is a rather new addition to this team as Blissey was in this spot earlier. As mentioned earlier, Blissey simply could not stop being set up bait and Spikes fodder, even with Fire Blast ;_; Fire Blast Blissey still fails to give me momentum. Jirachi has that sexy typing and it is really underrated in today's metagame. Besides being a solid Fire Blast-less Mewtwo check, Jirachi can also pass decently size Wishes and U-turn can always give me the advantage when passing the recovery. Next, Jirachi shares excellent typing with the rest of the members, Giratina-O and Latias resist all of its weaknesses while Jirachi resists Ice and Dragon. Skarmory is immune to Ground and provides Spikes support. I don't want to use Scarf Jirachi, it is piss weak and not bulky enough.

Moveset Explanation
Wish is standard on Jirachi because I really need it. The team's core lack recovery so passing Wish from Jirachi is the only way. Toxic is Jirachi's most reliable way of checking Calm Mind Arceus and dealing damage to walls in general such as Groudon and Lugia. I am not using Iron Head >_< because flinching is not the best way to take out Arceus lol. U-turn as mentioned earlier gives me momentum and yeah it still breaks Subs from the likes of Latias and Mewtwo. Protect because I need it for Jirachi to heal guaranteed, makes a great scout as well. You never know when you will bump into surprise sets these days such as Mixed Dialga and Protect is a good way to find out its set.

EV Explanation
I just use max SpD for maximum bulk, since Jirachi is not suited to be a physical wall. That said, Jirachi is still as bulky as Bold Blissey physically and that typing is a huge advantage, especially when dealing with Giratina-O. 40 Defense EVs is a cheap spread anyway.

Classic Dragon

Latias (F) @ Soul Dew
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 112 HP / 200 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Hidden Power Fire
- Grass Knot / Thunder

General Information
Latias just got her Soul Dew back and I figured out I should use a team with it. Don't listen to Jibaku, Heatran blows, Jirachi and Skarmory are way better as a Latias partners :D This set is inspired by Colonel_M's very fascinating Gyarados RMT's Latias, although I obviously have to make changes to suit the Ubers metagame.

This Latias set is something new but it works wonderfully. Kyogre is really a defining force of the metagame, so making a team without a solid counter to it, is just asking to be destroyed. Latias has always and will probably be one the best Kyogre checks in existence and Ice Beam is not something you will enjoy spamming against my team due to the existence of Jirachi and my own Kyogre. Multiscale Lugia totally walls this Latias but hey, I have my own reliable ways in dealing with Lugia which I will touch on later. Pairing Jirachi with Latias and Giratina-O allows me to resist almost every attack in the game, although things like Dark Pulse are not resisted. Skarmory sets up on Groudon who loves to switch in on my Jirachi, only to get Toxic-ed :D

Moveset Explanation
Unlike most Latias sets, I am using an all out attacker, inspired by the Latias in Colonel_M's fantastic RMT. However, this Latias aims to function in the sun or both when I use Thunder. Draco Meteor is an extremely powerful move and it easily OHKOes even max HP Giratina-O and Latios. Giratina-O surviving Dragon Pulse at full health and KOing Latias in return with Dragon Tail can be pretty embarrassing. Hidden Power is a nasty surprise for Ferrothorn and Forretress who just love to switch in these days expecting the usual Psyshock/Thunder set. I still have not decided to use Grass Knot or Thunder because I have dual weather support. In general Grass Knot is usually more reliable in smashing Groudon in one hit and dealing decent damage to even the bulkiest Tyranitar.

Choice Explanation
My team lacks a Rapid Spinner, so Latias is used over Palkia mainly for that Spikes immune and recovery. Palkia roasts Ferrothorn easily but it dies quickly. As for the EVs, yeah, I think most of you saw I posted how important it is for Latias to run max Speed. However, I am using Hidden Power Fire at the moment, so there's no point going max Speed to tie with opposing Latias besides for the occasional non-Scarf Terrakion. I feel the extra bulk is more important for this team so yeah I am living with this spread at the moment. The current EV spread gives a balance in power and bulk, which I enjoy using. Don't even think of 252 SpA or 252 HP, at that point you might as well just use Latios or Defensive Calm Mind Latias.

The Lesser Giratina forme

Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 216 Atk / 252 Def / 40 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Will-O-Wisp

General Information
You might think that I am mad for using such a weird Giratina-O set but it works! Well, judging from the usage stats, Giratina-O became less used than its Another forme lol. Anyway, they are a few reasons why Giratina-O > Giratina in this team. #1 I just made a Giratina-A team not long ago :( 2# Levitate! 3# Gives me offense and momentum.

Giratina-O works great vs stall, especially when paired with Skarmory and Jirachi for recovery. Oh that Levitate is crucial for this team, as I lack Rapid Spin support and its just nice to have an additional Ground immune and Mewtwo check.

Moveset Explanation
Outrage no longer used on Giratina-O? :( I actually think Outrage is very viable on Giratina-O simply because it tears things apart. Yeah I know its no Kyurem-B but base 120 Attack combined with Griseous Orb is just enough to 2HKO max HP Arceus. Ho-Oh is becoming a damn bitch to deal with, so Outrage fits right in. Also with Latias not running Calm Mind, I need something to hit Kyogre hard on the physical side. Outrage also nets me easy 2HKOes vs Manaphy when they are asleep. Besides, 2HKOing Chansey can always come in handy. Dragon Tail is what makes Giratina-O so deadly, if you don't know how, then ask Jibaku! Unlike Giratina-A, Giratina-O's Dragon Tail is decently strong and it can even OHKO Latios after Stealth Rock or a little prior damage., combine that with hazards and you have a fantastic annoyer + phazer. Shadow Sneak is just for revenge killing Deoxys-A, Latias, Latios and Mewtwo and that happened a lot. Sometimes picking off a near death Rayquaza can be nice too. I am using Will-O-Wisp at the moment beacuse Skarmory carries Taunt and I can possibly just live with my opponent getting an extra layer of Spikes, by getting in Giratina-O to spam multiple Dragon Tails. That said, I sometimes missed Hidden Power Fire but Latias, Groudon and Kyogre can easily scare away Forretress while Ferrothorn is completely rolled over by Skarmory. The reason for Wil-O-Wisp, is yeah I like to burn things and gives me an additional SD Arceus check. I can even stay in on Dragon Arceus, survive the Outrage and OHKO it back with my own Outrage. Forretress does not enjoy burns + hazards damage much anyway. Ferrothorn always comes with the rain so :( burning it can sometimes be better for Kyogre to eventually pick it off. Sadly, Will-O-Wisp tend to miss at the worst times, sometimes causing me the game.

EV Explanation
EV spread looks so bizarre but it serves a few functions. 216 EVs in Attack gives me a bonus point and grabs the 2HKO vs Kyogre and max HP Arceus after SR. Ho-Oh hates Outrage to the extreme as after Stealth Rock only physically defensive Ho-Oh can hope to survive it. At that point, I will just Dragon Tail the fat turkey out. 252 Defense EVs is because I enjoy the buff up physical Defense. Relying on Skarmory and a non recovery Groudon for walling can be a bit too pressuring. Also the Defense EVs lets me achieve some amazing feats such as always surviving Garchomp's Outrage after Stealth Rock and easily avoiding the 2HKO from Zekrom's CB Bolt Strike after SR. Not shifting to max HP / max Defense because power is what sets Giratina-O apart from its cousin. 40 Speed EVs are just Speed creeps and I can afford to creep more for Ho-Oh. In case Groudon underspeeds Ho-Oh, I still have Giratina-O to take it out. Kyogre does not enjoy eating Brave Birds and I cannot let my Scarf user take too much damage. Giratina-O has a huge HP stat and I like to focus on physically walling so 252 Def > 252 HP. It also lets me check things like Blaziken, Kabutops and Excadrill a lot better.

Shadow Sneak also lets me limit Deoxys-S to one layer which is crucial since I lack a Rapid Spinner. Sometimes I use Jirachi's U-turn + Shadow Sneak to KO Deoxys-S.

The Best Physical Wall in OU

Skarmory (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 156 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Taunt

General Information
You don't see Skarmory much in Ubers these days but it surprisingly has quite a useful niche in Ubers. Base 140 Defense / 70 Special Defense and 65 HP looks measly compared to Lugia's titanic 106 / 130 / 154 or Giratina's champion 150 / 120 / 120 defenses. However, pure stats alone can be deceiving, Skarmory's trump card is its fantastic typing for physical walling and access to Spikes which is frankly more useful than Lugia's sheer bulk. There's one more underrated move Skarmory has no other Ubers wall possess: Taunt. With Taunt I get to shut down Lugia, Giratina ( it gets to burn me though ;_; ) and Cresselia lol. Deoxys-D dropped out of Ubers so I will not mention it here, anyway Skarmory has a much better typing than Deoxys-D. Everyone knows Skarmory is the best physical wall in OU, and even in Ubers, Skarmory's walling potential is superb. Walling every single version of Swords Dance Arceus is also this Armored Bird's main claim to fame.

Moveset Explanation
This set is just standard on Ubers Skarmory but it rarely sees use due to Ferrothorn's superior typing for most teams. Spikes is THE reason to use Skarmory over another wall, so Lugia. I can't live without Spikes in Ubers, and I posted teams with Forry and Ferro. This time its time for Skarmory! Roost keeps me alive and makes it superior to Ferrothorn and Forretress in terms of physical walling. Whirlwind is another superb advantage over other Spikers, it prevents me from being setup bait which is huge and Skarmory can abuse the Spikes it setup on its own. Taunt is really awesome. It shuts down many stall members such as Blissey, Ferrothorn and Forretress, preventing them from doing anything. Taunt also keeps Lugia in check as Dragon Tail alone cannot harm my team much because I carry Toxic on Jirachi, Kyogre can Thunder, Latias can Draco Meteor and easily survive Dragon Tail while Groudon has a powerful Stone Edge to smack Lugia for the 2HKO after SR ( assuming it cannot Recover due to Taunt).

EV Explanation
Max HP is the way to go on something with high Defense but low HP, the exact reverse from Giratina-O [ Although base 100 Defenses aren't bad, base 150 HP is way higher! ]. There's something people always forgot. Skarmory can actually annoy quite a number of Special Attackers due to its auspicious typing. Things like Ghost Arceus can't really KO Skarmory at all due to Taunt, Roost and Whirlwind. Flamethrower Ghost Arceus is extinct and I also have the rain to foil that strategy. Even Mewtwo struggles with Skarmory if it drops Thunder or Fire Blast. I like those 96 Defense EVs because it secures me the survival vs 2 +1 Outrage from Adamant Rayquaza, and take on Kyurem-B, Garchomp and Groudon better in general. Additionally, Support Groudon's Fire Punch is never a 2HKO bar critical hits or burns ;_; 4 Speed EVs is just creeping above opposing Skarmory if I ever meet one, which I did when I met Poppy.

The Fat Whale we all Love

Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 168 HP / 136 SpA / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Thunder

General Information
The glue to this team. Every Ubers team will enjoy a user of Choice Scarf due to the threat of Mewtwo, Darkrai and Shaymin-S. Kyogre has always been a useful Scarf user, and this set is just like the feeling of Deja Vu, it has all the same moves of Drown All's Kyogre. Nevertheless, something changed, and that is bulk. Thanks to Jibaku for giving me the idea of using Fat Scarf Kyogre, and I am now liking it! In general it can survive +2 ExtremeSpeed from Rayquaza more easily and Arceus needs Life Orb and Adamant nature to KO me at +2. This Scarf Kyogre can switch in on Surfs and Kyurem-W spamming Specs Ice Beam more easily and Jirachi is always there to provide recovery. I like pairing this up with Jirachi as it beats Latias for Kyogre.

Moveset Explanation
I don't really know what to say here. It's really standard for Scarf Kyogre. Water Spout for power and kills Arceus forms, Surf for reliably, Thunder rapes opposing Kyogre and pummels Palkia for decent damage while Ice Beam destroys certain Dragon-types such as Rayquaza and Garchomp. Paralyzing Latias on the switch with Thunder is always useful. I tried Hydro Pump but it misses more often than it hits X___X

Choice Explanation
I picked Choice Scarf Kyogre for its power and an additional Ice-type resist. Now with Kyurem-W flying everywhere, Kyogre + Jirachi can wall it to an extend. Kyogre can also go bulky even when holding Choice Scarf due to its naturally high power and access to hard hitting moves. The EV spread outruns everything up to neutral nature Deoxys-A while stting at 407 Special Attack which is still higher than Timid Kyogre. The HP stat stands at 383 which is good enough for me.

Conclusion

As always Gyarados > RMT and no Arceus !_! By the way Gyarados was a staple premier member of this team until I found something called Giratina-O. Better Defenses, Speed, more powerful moves and typing for a little less Attack lol. That said, even Hugendugen, the newest best Ubers player admitted Gyarados is a force to be reckoned with in Ubers! We always share our victories using the mighty Gyarados and he's my closest friend since a long time ago :)

In future I would like to make an RMT with Poppy :D Although that will have to wait, because I agreed with firecape earlier to make the best Ubers team ever!

Oh you don't need Arceus or Kyurem-W to succeed in Ubers :) My personal opinion still stands and I rarely use Arceus anyway because it is cheap LOL. Not using Arceus does not leave you at a disadvantage at all, I only used Arceus to patch up holes in teams, something Arceus's special about! For example, I used SR Ghost Arceus lol, but anyway I am not dropping Giratina-O for Ghost Arceus in this team !_! Levitate + Dragon Tail is huge, and I love Outrage to maim Ho-Oh. Ghost Arceus is a sitting duck against that fire turkey.

Burn All lives! Drown all rules! Combine them both Sun + Rain = Can't Beat the Classics! Burn All is surely an amazing team that shot firecape's popularity to superstar status, especially in the #ubers channel where multiple parodies were made by his nemesis, known as the notorious Jibaku. Although Burn All didn't really made an impact in the metagame purely due to its usability only in Dream World ( Shadow Tag Chandelure isn't released ), I respect the RMT as an inspiration for me to create some quality RMTs.