I've been meaning to do a RMT on this team for a while, but with recent developments in the meta (both in the Tera suspect and Zacian-C's little time left), now seems like the best chance i'm getting.
I originally decided to make this team as a way to basically culminate a lot of building ideas i'd had into one team - Mixed Enamorus, Fur Coat Arceus-Ghost, and Ruination Zacian-C. Incidentally I ended up including Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna, which i'd only seen once before, and it sort of became the star of the team (hence the name).
I originally decided to make this team as a way to basically culminate a lot of building ideas i'd had into one team - Mixed Enamorus, Fur Coat Arceus-Ghost, and Ruination Zacian-C. Incidentally I ended up including Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna, which i'd only seen once before, and it sort of became the star of the team (hence the name).
The Team
crash (Ursaluna) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Population Bomb
- Headlong Rush
- Extreme Speed
- Flip Turn
This mon is a demon to face. Base 140 Attack with 2 ultra-strong STABs, Choice Band, Gorilla Tactics, Tera Normal, and even Extreme Speed for good measure make this really hard to switch in on without specific pretty-hard walls. Headlong Rush is the thing that's being clicked most often, as it provides good overall damage and doesn't have a significant drawback (you're probably switching out after one move unless you've already won). Population Bomb is the nuclear option - it needs team support to remove Rocky Helmet and isn't guaranteed to have maximum power, however a 10-hit is unimaginably powerful and excels at evaporating even Fur Coat walls. Extreme Speed scares out faster threats like Palkia-O and Miraidon (which is useful if they've already set up Quiver Dance) and Flip Turn is just a general momentum tool that helps out against things that still have Rocky Helmet up. This is a pretty good Tera candidate in many games, as Tera Normal Population Bomb significantly speeds up the wallbreaking process.
Zacian-Crowned @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Magical Torque
- Ruination
- Knock Off
- Strength Sap
It might seem odd to see Zacian-C in a support role, however it's actually really good even if you don't want to run Choice Band or setup. Ruination is the main tool I wanted to try out with this team - with how bulky things are this gen, having a guaranteed way to halve an opponent's HP is really cool and helps fix a lot of matchup consistency issues, so I decided to build around it. Levitate is used here so Zacian-C can Imposter-proof Ursaluna, and used instead of Earth Eater as it gives an immunity to Spikes. Knock Off is an additional aid for Ursaluna, as Zacian-C by nature brings in physical walls (95% of Rocky Helmet users) so it can fairly reliably remove them. This is what you'll be using to enable Ursaluna to wallbreak in most games.
Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Judgment
- Focus Blast
- Strength Sap
Arceus-Ghost is excellent since it's a Quiver Dance sweeper with broken coverage and a Fur Coat wall with 120/120 bulk at the same time. Spooky Plate + Judgment provides all of the excellent Ghost/Fighting combo, a Knock Off immunity, and a free self-Imposter-proof against most Imposter users (as, unless they specifically run Spooky Plate, they're stuck with Normal-type Judgment and so can't touch you). This works great as a late-game sweeper when special walls and Prankster users have been sufficiently weakened, which Arceus-Ghost excels at breaking past with Tera Ghost. It can also Imposter-proof Ursaluna if Zacian-C is weakened, though generally Zacian-C should be the main option as preserving Arceus-Ghost's health is important. It also enjoys the support of the next team member...
Enamorus (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Boomburst
- Rapid Spin
- Headlong Rush
- Strength Sap
Enamorus makes a return from my last RMT as the aggressive entry hazard remover / mixed wallbreaker. In this team I opted for Headlong Rush, which is actually more effective at removing common special walls than V-create due to almost all of them being weak to Ground. Headlong Rush 2HKOes Hisuian Goodra, Clodsire, Zacian-C, and Dialga-O, with Tera Ground securing an OHKO on the first two and becoming a roll on Zacian-C. Tera Ground's Electric immunity can also net you some cheeky kills against clueless Miraidon users, though this is isn't particularly common. Other than that, it does exactly what you think it does, being a non-passive PixiSpin user that hovers above Spikes.
Dondozo @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Haze
- Recover
- Glare
- Parting Shot
Dondozo is a pretty standard glue pick. There's no other setup control on this team and no Imposter, so a Prankster user is largely a necessity to not get steamrolled by any of the selection of Quiver Dance users. There's really not too much to say here, Tera Fire gives you a pinch resist to Grass which lets you check Solar Beam Arceus-Fire (and a Fairy resist against Substitute Zacian-C) and you can largely throw around its bulk and Covert Cloak to scout things early-game.
Dialga-Origin @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Nuzzle
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Dialga-O is probably the best special wall on offer right now. Draco Meteor helps stave off the brutally powerful Dragon-types in the tier, such as Miraidon and Palkia-O, and is useful for forcing out Eternatus. Other than that it's pretty standard moves, Knock Off and Nuzzle help scare out offensive Pokemon and U-turn helps safely pivot in the relatively frail wallbreakers the team has. Dialga-O's main issue is that RegenVest can be argued to simply not be enough, as the special bulk is removeable and some demons can just KO through Assault Vest after a boost or two (Tera Dragon Palkia-O primarily), so Ice Scales is a viable alternative (sample set here)
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9balancedhackmons-676575
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1785530374
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1805446878-msxut844ihphva9bsok21bvn1clq9k5pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1804246401-fbnqn22coox83gi1104r9ua7p3brxr1pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1782950624
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1781074018
I can probably find more replays, but replay.pokemonshowdown.com is almost unusably bad at this point. Please fix the connection issues.
Weaknesses
The main benefit of this team is that i've designed it such that, if your special attackers are completely bricked, you still have a consistent physical attacking wincon and vice versa. As such, getting completely stonewalled is unlikely even if winning gets harder.
Setup special attackers are natural issues for this team, as Dondozo doesn't have a lot of special bulk to safely spam Haze against them. Arceus-Ghost is particularly troublesome as it walls Ursaluna (if it's not paralyzed) and can hit Dialga-O super effectively. Using Ice Scales Dialga-O largely solves this problem via Toxic.
Ice Scales Arceus (any viable type, most common are Ground and Fairy) almost completely neutralizes Enamorus and Arceus-Ghost in the short term. Really bulky teams normally use these Pokemon and enjoy using status to wear things down long-term, so the best method around them is normally to try and win with Ursaluna (exploiting the fact that, due to Species Clause, they can't have Arceus-Ghost).
Ways of blocking Strength Sap, such as regular Chansey, Good as Gold, and Liquid Ooze, are particularly troublesome as three Pokemon rely on it for recovery. Your best bet against these is usually to just outplay the opponent and win before you get too injured to do anything, however by the very nature of Liquid Ooze, this is really difficult when you've probably already lost a Pokemon.
Steel-types immune to Ground, such as Corviknight or opposing Levitate Zacian-C, naturally pose a problem for Ursaluna breaking through. Tera Normal Population Bomb can punch past these if you're willing to give it time, otherwise shifting to the special attackers is generally easier.
crash (Ursaluna) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Population Bomb
- Headlong Rush
- Extreme Speed
- Flip Turn
This mon is a demon to face. Base 140 Attack with 2 ultra-strong STABs, Choice Band, Gorilla Tactics, Tera Normal, and even Extreme Speed for good measure make this really hard to switch in on without specific pretty-hard walls. Headlong Rush is the thing that's being clicked most often, as it provides good overall damage and doesn't have a significant drawback (you're probably switching out after one move unless you've already won). Population Bomb is the nuclear option - it needs team support to remove Rocky Helmet and isn't guaranteed to have maximum power, however a 10-hit is unimaginably powerful and excels at evaporating even Fur Coat walls. Extreme Speed scares out faster threats like Palkia-O and Miraidon (which is useful if they've already set up Quiver Dance) and Flip Turn is just a general momentum tool that helps out against things that still have Rocky Helmet up. This is a pretty good Tera candidate in many games, as Tera Normal Population Bomb significantly speeds up the wallbreaking process.
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Tera Normal Ursaluna Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Arceus: 420-500 (94.5 - 112.6%) -- approx. 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Eternatus: 420-494 (86.7 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Tera Normal Ursaluna Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slaking: 420-500 (83.3 - 99.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Tera Normal Ursaluna Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Groudon: 360-440 (89.1 - 108.9%) -- approx. 18.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Miraidon: 270-318 (66.8 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Arceus-Ghost: 178-211 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Eternatus: 420-494 (86.7 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Tera Normal Ursaluna Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slaking: 420-500 (83.3 - 99.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Tera Normal Ursaluna Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Groudon: 360-440 (89.1 - 108.9%) -- approx. 18.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Miraidon: 270-318 (66.8 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Gorilla Tactics Ursaluna Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Fur Coat Arceus-Ghost: 178-211 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Zacian-Crowned @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Magical Torque
- Ruination
- Knock Off
- Strength Sap
It might seem odd to see Zacian-C in a support role, however it's actually really good even if you don't want to run Choice Band or setup. Ruination is the main tool I wanted to try out with this team - with how bulky things are this gen, having a guaranteed way to halve an opponent's HP is really cool and helps fix a lot of matchup consistency issues, so I decided to build around it. Levitate is used here so Zacian-C can Imposter-proof Ursaluna, and used instead of Earth Eater as it gives an immunity to Spikes. Knock Off is an additional aid for Ursaluna, as Zacian-C by nature brings in physical walls (95% of Rocky Helmet users) so it can fairly reliably remove them. This is what you'll be using to enable Ursaluna to wallbreak in most games.
Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Judgment
- Focus Blast
- Strength Sap
Arceus-Ghost is excellent since it's a Quiver Dance sweeper with broken coverage and a Fur Coat wall with 120/120 bulk at the same time. Spooky Plate + Judgment provides all of the excellent Ghost/Fighting combo, a Knock Off immunity, and a free self-Imposter-proof against most Imposter users (as, unless they specifically run Spooky Plate, they're stuck with Normal-type Judgment and so can't touch you). This works great as a late-game sweeper when special walls and Prankster users have been sufficiently weakened, which Arceus-Ghost excels at breaking past with Tera Ghost. It can also Imposter-proof Ursaluna if Zacian-C is weakened, though generally Zacian-C should be the main option as preserving Arceus-Ghost's health is important. It also enjoys the support of the next team member...
Enamorus (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Boomburst
- Rapid Spin
- Headlong Rush
- Strength Sap
Enamorus makes a return from my last RMT as the aggressive entry hazard remover / mixed wallbreaker. In this team I opted for Headlong Rush, which is actually more effective at removing common special walls than V-create due to almost all of them being weak to Ground. Headlong Rush 2HKOes Hisuian Goodra, Clodsire, Zacian-C, and Dialga-O, with Tera Ground securing an OHKO on the first two and becoming a roll on Zacian-C. Tera Ground's Electric immunity can also net you some cheeky kills against clueless Miraidon users, though this is isn't particularly common. Other than that, it does exactly what you think it does, being a non-passive PixiSpin user that hovers above Spikes.
Dondozo @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Haze
- Recover
- Glare
- Parting Shot
Dondozo is a pretty standard glue pick. There's no other setup control on this team and no Imposter, so a Prankster user is largely a necessity to not get steamrolled by any of the selection of Quiver Dance users. There's really not too much to say here, Tera Fire gives you a pinch resist to Grass which lets you check Solar Beam Arceus-Fire (and a Fairy resist against Substitute Zacian-C) and you can largely throw around its bulk and Covert Cloak to scout things early-game.
Dialga-Origin @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Nuzzle
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Dialga-O is probably the best special wall on offer right now. Draco Meteor helps stave off the brutally powerful Dragon-types in the tier, such as Miraidon and Palkia-O, and is useful for forcing out Eternatus. Other than that it's pretty standard moves, Knock Off and Nuzzle help scare out offensive Pokemon and U-turn helps safely pivot in the relatively frail wallbreakers the team has. Dialga-O's main issue is that RegenVest can be argued to simply not be enough, as the special bulk is removeable and some demons can just KO through Assault Vest after a boost or two (Tera Dragon Palkia-O primarily), so Ice Scales is a viable alternative (sample set here)
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9balancedhackmons-676575
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1785530374
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1805446878-msxut844ihphva9bsok21bvn1clq9k5pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1804246401-fbnqn22coox83gi1104r9ua7p3brxr1pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1782950624
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9balancedhackmons-1781074018
I can probably find more replays, but replay.pokemonshowdown.com is almost unusably bad at this point. Please fix the connection issues.
Weaknesses
The main benefit of this team is that i've designed it such that, if your special attackers are completely bricked, you still have a consistent physical attacking wincon and vice versa. As such, getting completely stonewalled is unlikely even if winning gets harder.
Setup special attackers are natural issues for this team, as Dondozo doesn't have a lot of special bulk to safely spam Haze against them. Arceus-Ghost is particularly troublesome as it walls Ursaluna (if it's not paralyzed) and can hit Dialga-O super effectively. Using Ice Scales Dialga-O largely solves this problem via Toxic. Ice Scales Arceus (any viable type, most common are Ground and Fairy) almost completely neutralizes Enamorus and Arceus-Ghost in the short term. Really bulky teams normally use these Pokemon and enjoy using status to wear things down long-term, so the best method around them is normally to try and win with Ursaluna (exploiting the fact that, due to Species Clause, they can't have Arceus-Ghost). Ways of blocking Strength Sap, such as regular Chansey, Good as Gold, and Liquid Ooze, are particularly troublesome as three Pokemon rely on it for recovery. Your best bet against these is usually to just outplay the opponent and win before you get too injured to do anything, however by the very nature of Liquid Ooze, this is really difficult when you've probably already lost a Pokemon. Steel-types immune to Ground, such as Corviknight or opposing Levitate Zacian-C, naturally pose a problem for Ursaluna breaking through. Tera Normal Population Bomb can punch past these if you're willing to give it time, otherwise shifting to the special attackers is generally easier.
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