Hello everyone! My name is Frito135 and this is my first RMT. I started this team many months ago with the idea of showing people how devastating Calyrex-Ice can be in the AG metagame. Through several different iterations, Frozen Shadows finally came to be. This team is centered around the extremely hard hitting core of Calyrex-Ice and Choice Banded Marshadow. This wasn't the first core I tried with Calyrex-Ice, but it was by far the most effective one.
The Team
Calyrex-Ice @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: As One (Glastrier)
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Trick Room
- Glacial Lance
- High Horsepower
Calyrex-Ice is the cornerstone of this team. When I started playing AG, I wanted to build around as many mons as possible and Calyrex-Ice quickly became my favorite. Calyrex-Ice is incredible hard hitting and extremely bulky, able to take hits from the likes of Eternatus, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, Geomancy Xerneas, Groudon, and even Calyrex-Shadow. The natural bulk comes with a pretty big trade off though, speed. The lack of speed makes Calyrex-Ice the best user and abuser of Trick Room in the AG metagame in my opinion, as it can find many opportunities to set up Trick Room with its massive bulk. Often times, Calyrex-Ice can set a Swords Dance up as well making it nearly unwallable, especially with Dynamax. Ice + Ground coverage is unresisted across the tier and hits many common mons, specifically the dragon types, extremely hard. The item is something I've changed around a lot. Life Orb gives Calyrex-Ice the power often needed to muscle through walls like Necrozma without a boost; however, I found with the hits it needs to take, taking 25% from Stealth Rocks wasn't really a viable option, so I opted for Boots instead. The power drop is noticeable, but the longevity given by Boots more than makes up for it. Calyrex also severs as the teams main Dynamaxer after setting up either Trick Room or SD. The extra bulk and power provided by Dynamax allows Calyrex to dish out even more damage. Max Quake boosting Sp.Def allows it to take hits from special Yveltal and even Calyrex-S outside of TR. Calyrex-Ice has 2 main walls in the tier, Necrozma-Dusk-Mane and Lunala, which is where the next Pokemon comes in.
Marshadow @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
- Poltergeist
- Rock Tomb
Banded Marshadow is one of the hardest mons to switch into in the entire tier. With its Poltergeist and CC being able to 2kho most switch in with the extra power from the Adamant nature. Marshadow is a fearsome breaker on its own, but it pairs marvelously with Calyrex-Ice as they destroy each others switch ins. The main draw on this team is Marshadow being able to 2kho physically defensive Necrozma with both Poltergeist and CC which opens a huge hole for Calyrex-Ice. Shadow Sneak serves as a nice priority option for finishing off mons weakened by Calyrex and even as a form of Imposter-proofing, as Scarfed Sneak will not OHKO from full and Banded Sneak from your own will. Marshadow's main switch in is Zygarde-Complete, which Calyrex easily handles. Another issue is having to play around the Knock Off use on this team as it makes Poltergeist fail. Marshadow can Dynamax when most of its switch ins are knocked off, however the power drop from losing Choice Band is not usually worth it. With the main offensive core of the team complete, I looked to shore up the defensive side of the team.
Yveltal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Knock Off
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
There isn't anything fancy about this Yveltal set. Yveltal is a very standard pokemon in the AG meta currently for its ability to take on Calyrex-Shadow consistently. Knock Off is great for removing items and stings especially hard when backed by up stab and Dark Aura. Roost and Boots are used for longevity to allow Yveltal to check Calyrex-S and other special attackers like Eternatus and Lunala. It's the only Defogger on the team, so it has a tendency to be forced in often to remove rocks/spikes for Etern or NDM, U-Trun is a great pivoting option and I made the choice to give Yveltal 30 Speed IVs to make sure it gets the slower U-Turn against other defensive and gets the heavy hitters in safely.
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Morning Sun
- Knock Off
- Sunsteel Strike
- Stealth Rock
NDM is the second piece in my 3 part defensive core. It mainly serves as a switch in to the otherwise threatening Zacian-Crowned, although it has to be careful of Assurance sets with rocks/spikes up being able to break through it. NDM also serves as the teams only rocker and best defensive Dyanamx user with Max Steelspike boosting its defense to take on threats like Zacian-C, Groudon, and Zekrom. Dynamax also helps deal with Geomancy Xerneas, although Calyrex-I can manage it as well. Knock Off is the only interesting choice on this set because of the user of Poltergeist Marshadow on the team. I tested both Earthquake and Knock Off and found removing items, specifically other NDM's Rocky Helmets for Calyrex-I's High Horsepower, to be the better option for this team.
Eternatus @ Black Sludge
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Toxic
- Dynamax Cannon
- Flamethrower
Sp.Def Etern is the last piece in this team's defensive core. Mainly serving as a check to Scarf and Specs Kyorge sets while annoying bulky walls with Pressure and Toxic. Toxic helps the team break through otherwise impossible walls like Lunala and non Rest Zygarde-Complete. In a pinch, Etern also serves and a switch in to both opposing Sp.Def Yveltal, unboosted Zygarde-Complete, and Defensive NDM. Flamethrower is there to chip potential Toxic switch ins, like Ferrothorn and NDM, while also hitting Zacian-C for 50% on a prediction or in a pinch. Not much else to say, its not fancy, but Etern does its job well.
Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Transform
With both the offensive and defensive cores taken care of, Ditto is a nice 6th mon on this team. Ditto is mostly around to revenge kill sweepers that break through their respective walls, mostly Zacian-C and Calyrex-S, and threaten a reverse sweep afterward. Zacian-C is normally the best target after NDM is weakened or removed as it adds another immensely powerful physical breaker for the opponent to deal with. The threat of Ditto is often enough to keep powerful set up sweepers from setting up freely in front of the defensive core for fear of being reverse swept. It's also the team's secondary Dynamaxer and Defogger with its tranforming capabilities.
The Threat List
Despite having Marshadow, Defensive Boots Lunala almost complete hard walls this team. Lunala comes in on either NDM or Ditto and threatens everything on the team with a crippling burn. Calyrex is utterly incapable of breaking it bar dodging a Willo and Dynamaxing. The best counterplay is trying to Toxic it with Etern or knocking off its Boots with Yveltal or NDM to stop it from easily maintaining Shadow Shield. In a pinch, Marshadow can be sacked to break Shadow Shield and Ditto can be used to revenge kill.
Even with Calyrex-Ice, Zygarde-C poses a massive threat to this team. Being able to freely switch into Marshadow, NDM, and even Yveltal, it gets many opportunities to chip down Calyrex or Etern switching into it. If Zygarde-C has both Glare and Rest, its completely capable of beating the entire team on its own after a few paras. Generally, this team does not like getting para'd with Caly-I being the best aborber, but the lack of recovery wears it down. Non-glare sets are usual manageable with smart pivoting and Caly-I play, but fighting this mon (especially on ladder) is often an uphill battle.
Specially Offensive Yveltal is extremely threatening after Dynamaxing as it's able to breakthrough Etern and severely dent Sp.Def Yveltal in the process all while avoiding revenge kills from both Caly-I and Marshadow and is fairly resistant to Ditto. Overall, it's beatable with smart play, but its always something to watch out for.
In Conclusion
Alright, this wraps up my first RMT. The importable will be below (click on the mons) along with some replays. I wanna thank Tic-Tac-Toe Guru for the many tests he did with me on this team and anyone else in the AG room who helped out. I have found pretty decent success with this team, but I know it has room for improvement. I look forward to the criticisms everyone has for me.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1282377204-vlxkmxkofvlgf4jvl0a6pz6x2a184wlpw Winter SSNL R5
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1287926391 room tour vs a decent player
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1287926391 room tour vs a decent player
