OM National Dex Balanced Hackmons

[Cta]

Aight this is finally a real sample submission, ladder tested, not made in 5 mins, etc so here goes.

Life and Death PH balance

Overview

This team is pretty funky, I originally made it about zacharias (zac-c) but then i tried using anaconja's double ph bulky balance team. So the original team was just pivot spam and it was a zacian semi stall till i ran into a bunch of stally teams that beat the zac-c set and the fact that since i made him adamant to 2hko common walls it really had no utility against offensive mons. It didn't even ko a dude's gyarados so i was like ok time to get another wincon on the team so i went through the samples and tried out the arc fairy set but with xerneas instead and figured it worked pretty well as a wincon. Then i pretty much pasted every mon i use on all my bulky teams and took it out to the ladder until i realised i had no slot left for zacharias so i just left him alone to use another day (helmet is cancer)

Usage

Ok so its a pretty passive team. Just get the two phealers poisoned and you'll be play around almost anything. Everything is improofed so theres nothing to fear when fat blob hops in (get the phealers poisoned and then its all improofed) It counters most common sets and does a good job at that too. Chansey, Dozo, Groundceus, Yveltal handle almost every threat you'll see nowdays so you don't need to worry too much about them.

Threats

The team is solid alright but there are a few problems it faces. When i was testing it on ladder i came across a dude with tera ghost entrainment normalise zacian to set hazards with k-off and heal bell support so it was pretty tough to chip that thing down. That guy was around 1500 so if he's a problem just swap out dozo's mortal spin for toxic or some other status your choice. It has a problem with entrainment if they get rid of the a-shields so if you're too afraid of that just keep haze on them over spec thief if it's such a problem to deal with normalise setup or smth. Then theres normal type setup sweepers who you can't spec thief and might be improofed by themselves so if those are also a problem just get yourself haze over spec thief. I like spec thief on dozo because i need a way to touch zacian. But it's your choice ig. Then theres also hazard stack with spin block and stuff that hurts too. To deal with that you can give almost anyone court change over their pivoting move or anything else you can choose. I don't fear mmy because my tera is always out back and heal order has more pp than it's common offensive moves.

Tinted Lens Zac-C Standard Balance

Overview

This team is quite similar to the previous sample but the thing is that this team has zacian over xerneas which totally changes the goals of the teams. So before anyone asks where my zacian's defence evs are i made them go away because a primary counter to tinted lens zacian-c is imposter
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Gigaton Hammer vs. +1 252 HP / 252 Def Zacian-Crowned: 306-362 (43.4 - 51.4%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO
You can't even 2hko it with gigaton if you got to use it twice. But with the lack of defence evs the imposter will be singing a different story. Another issue with it is prankster but light hazards lets you use gigaton to claim almost anything without fc. If used properly this team well shred most defensive teams with one hyper offence mon on a standard balance template.

Usage

Except zacian most mons in the team are pretty passive and can't do much. Zacian has sap because it's quite obvious that imposter will click it if it plans on living. Then gyarados comes in and glares at it so the sunsteel can 2hko after light hazard damage. With this team your goal isn't to wear out their team too far but to make zacian come in on mons that fear it real bad. Now before i'm asked why if is this zacian lonely and not hasty. It's because you don't 2hko some fc walls without the +10% attack you get from lonely and then despite that the only real thing that outspeeds this thing is mmy which runs a choice scarf set to outspeed zacians half the time so i'm taking the free atk buff.

Threats

Well this doesn't have a clean entrainment counter but the a-shields do a pretty good job of that so don't worry too much about entrainment at this point and just like with the previous team for the same two reasons you can just replace spectral for haze if you really have such a problem with the sets mentioned earlier. The core in this team also does a good job of checking most offensive threats so you don't have to worry too much about getting thrashed. All mons are improofed unless dozo as long as dozo is healthy so you don't need to worry too much about the pink blob with this team too

If you use the teams and find some good changes you wanna suggest that i didn't mention in the explanations please tell me about them so i can incorporate them I'll prolly post another team after testing it a bit more, its a bit of hazard stack which's idea i stole from some dude on the ladder. Till then try these ones if you want. Also pro tip: don't do math homework while in middle of battles trust me i learnt this the hard way.

 

[Champion Leon]

Aight this is finally a real sample submission, ladder tested, not made in 5 mins, etc so here goes.

Life and Death PH balance

Overview

This team is pretty funky, I originally made it about zacharias (zac-c) but then i tried using anaconja's double ph bulky balance team. So the original team was just pivot spam and it was a zacian semi stall till i ran into a bunch of stally teams that beat the zac-c set and the fact that since i made him adamant to 2hko common walls it really had no utility against offensive mons. It didn't even ko a dude's gyarados so i was like ok time to get another wincon on the team so i went through the samples and tried out the arc fairy set but with xerneas instead and figured it worked pretty well as a wincon. Then i pretty much pasted every mon i use on all my bulky teams and took it out to the ladder until i realised i had no slot left for zacharias so i just left him alone to use another day (helmet is cancer)

Usage

Ok so its a pretty passive team. Just get the two phealers poisoned and you'll be play around almost anything. Everything is improofed so theres nothing to fear when fat blob hops in (get the phealers poisoned and then its all improofed) It counters most common sets and does a good job at that too. Chansey, Dozo, Groundceus, Yveltal handle almost every threat you'll see nowdays so you don't need to worry too much about them.

Threats

The team is solid alright but there are a few problems it faces. When i was testing it on ladder i came across a dude with tera ghost entrainment normalise zacian to set hazards with k-off and heal bell support so it was pretty tough to chip that thing down. That guy was around 1500 so if he's a problem just swap out dozo's mortal spin for toxic or some other status your choice. It has a problem with entrainment if they get rid of the a-shields so if you're too afraid of that just keep haze on them over spec thief if it's such a problem to deal with normalise setup or smth. Then theres normal type setup sweepers who you can't spec thief and might be improofed by themselves so if those are also a problem just get yourself haze over spec thief. I like spec thief on dozo because i need a way to touch zacian. But it's your choice ig. Then theres also hazard stack with spin block and stuff that hurts too. To deal with that you can give almost anyone court change over their pivoting move or anything else you can choose.

Tinted Lens Zac-C Standard Balance

Overview

This team is quite similar to the previous sample but the thing is that this team has zacian over xerneas which totally changes the goals of the teams. So before anyone asks where my zacian's defence evs are i made them go away because a primary counter to tinted lens zacian-c is imposter
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Gigaton Hammer vs. +1 252 HP / 252 Def Zacian-Crowned: 306-362 (43.4 - 51.4%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO
You can't even 2hko it with gigaton if you got to use it twice. But with the lack of defence evs the imposter will be singing a different story. Another issue with it is prankster but light hazards lets you use gigaton to claim almost anything without fc. If used properly this team well shred most defensive teams with one hyper offence mon on a standard balance template.

Usage

Except zacian most mons in the team are pretty passive and can't do much. Zacian has sap because it's quite obvious that imposter will click it if it plans on living. Then gyarados comes in and glares at it so the sunsteel can 2hko after light hazard damage. With this team your goal isn't to wear out their team too far but to make zacian come in on mons that fear it real bad. Now before i'm asked why if is this zacian lonely and not hasty. It's because you don't 2hko some fc walls without the +10% attack you get from lonely and then despite that the only real thing that outspeeds this thing is mmy which runs a choice scarf set to outspeed zacians half the time so i'm taking the free atk buff.

Threats

Well this doesn't have a clean entrainment counter but the a-shields do a pretty good job of that so don't worry too much about entrainment at this point and just like with the previous team for the same two reasons you can just replace spectral for haze if you really have such a problem with the sets mentioned earlier. The core in this team also does a good job of checking most offensive threats so you don't have to worry too much about getting thrashed. All mons are improofed unless dozo as long as dozo is healthy so you don't need to worry too much about the pink blob with this team too

If you use the teams and find some good changes you wanna suggest that i didn't mention in the explanations please tell me about them so i can incorporate them I'll prolly post another team after testing it a bit more, its a bit of hazard stack which's idea i stole from some dude on the ladder. Till then try these ones if you want.

My first concern is that half your 2nd team is weak to Grass. A Kartana, MG Chloroblast, etc. could come in and pose a huge threat to your team.

In fact, MG MMY in general, is a huge threat to your team.

Gyarados-Mega cannot Tera out of its type, and even if it could, MMY packs 3 moves that are super effective against it:

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Gyarados-Mega: 380-447 (96.4 - 113.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Light of Ruin vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 393-463 (86.1 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 183-216 (41.2 - 48.6%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Mind Blown vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 413-489 (106.4 - 126%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dondozo is also KO’d by Chloroblast (or even if it Teras into Steel, it is handled by Mind Blown).

I think while MG MMY isn’t the biggest Pokémon threat to your team in terms of power, it is a huge threat in terms of coverage.

I also don’t know how you handle other threats to your team, such as how Miro can threaten 1/2 of your team with STAB Electric, while also threatening Arceus-Ground with Tera Dragon Dragon Energy

SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Tera Dragon Miraidon Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 213-251 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

So even it has a hard time coming in Before knowing what move it will be choice locked into.

I think it may be good to make Chansey Imposter use Scarf over Eviolite as a revenge killer.

Also, why is Gyarados-Mega Adamant? Does it score any unique KOs? I would give it a Careful nature, so it can take advantage of its bulky build in Poison Heal, and this will help it out in the long-run.

Also, in regards to that Tera Ghost Zacian-C Normalize guy, you should watch my Replay from my last post above.

I literally face him, and you want to know how I won? I Impostered into Ghost, and that deals way more damage than he did with Terablast, and he couldn’t use the moves against it since my damage did more than his.

He didn’t have any healing moves so it was easy to wear him down.

So I suggest making Chansey Tera Ghost, and if you keep Eviolite, now you can KO his Tera Normalize Zacian-C.

Here is the replay again: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1832924334-trxhjtdryzsl72uexow3rvpgcl6yrg9pw

Mind you, I made some mistakes, but if you sent in Chansey and Tera right away, you also block his entire set barring Terra, and you obviously outdamage him since he isn’t as bulky as Chansey.

Suddenly, he is forced out, and you can set up against him…

 

[Cta]

My first concern is that half your 2nd team is weak to Grass. A Kartana, MG Chloroblast, etc. could come in and pose a huge threat to your team.

In fact, MG MMY in general, is a huge threat to your team.

Gyarados-Mega cannot Tera out of its type, and even if it could, MMY packs 3 moves that are super effective against it:

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Gyarados-Mega: 380-447 (96.4 - 113.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Light of Ruin vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 393-463 (86.1 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 183-216 (41.2 - 48.6%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Mind Blown vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 413-489 (106.4 - 126%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dondozo is also KO’d by Chloroblast (or even if it Teras into Steel, it is handled by Mind Blown).

I think while MG MMY isn’t the biggest Pokémon threat to your team in terms of power, it is a huge threat in terms of coverage.

I also don’t know how you handle other threats to your team, such as how Miro can threaten 1/2 of your team with STAB Electric, while also threatening Arceus-Ground with Tera Dragon Dragon Energy

SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Tera Dragon Miraidon Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 213-251 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

So even it has a hard time coming in Before knowing what move it will be choice locked into.

I think it may be good to make Chansey Imposter use Scarf over Eviolite as a revenge killer.

Also, why is Gyarados-Mega Adamant? Does it score any unique KOs? I would give it a Careful nature, so it can take advantage of its bulky build in Poison Heal, and this will help it out in the long-run.

Also, in regards to that Tera Ghost Zacian-C Normalize guy, you should watch my Replay from my last post above.

I literally face him, and you want to know how I won? I Impostered into Ghost, and that deals way more damage than he did with Terablast, and he couldn’t use the moves against it since my damage did more than his.

He didn’t have any healing moves so it was easy to wear him down.

So I suggest making Chansey Tera Ghost, and if you keep Eviolite, now you can KO his Tera Normalize Zacian-C.

Here is the replay again: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex

My first concern is that half your 2nd team is weak to Grass. A Kartana, MG Chloroblast, etc. could come in and pose a huge threat to your team.

In fact, MG MMY in general, is a huge threat to your team.

Gyarados-Mega cannot Tera out of its type, and even if it could, MMY packs 3 moves that are super effective against it:

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Gyarados-Mega: 380-447 (96.4 - 113.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Light of Ruin vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 393-463 (86.1 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Chloroblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 183-216 (41.2 - 48.6%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo-Mega-Y Mind Blown vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 413-489 (106.4 - 126%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dondozo is also KO’d by Chloroblast (or even if it Teras into Steel, it is handled by Mind Blown).

I think while MG MMY isn’t the biggest Pokémon threat to your team in terms of power, it is a huge threat in terms of coverage.

I also don’t know how you handle other threats to your team, such as how Miro can threaten 1/2 of your team with STAB Electric, while also threatening Arceus-Ground with Tera Dragon Dragon Energy

SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Tera Dragon Miraidon Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 213-251 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

So even it has a hard time coming in Before knowing what move it will be choice locked into.

I think it may be good to make Chansey Imposter use Scarf over Eviolite as a revenge killer.

Also, why is Gyarados-Mega Adamant? Does it score any unique KOs? I would give it a Careful nature, so it can take advantage of its bulky build in Poison Heal, and this will help it out in the long-run.

Also, in regards to that Tera Ghost Zacian-C Normalize guy, you should watch my Replay from my last post above.

I literally face him, and you want to know how I won? I Impostered into Ghost, and that deals way more damage than he did with Terablast, and he couldn’t use the moves against it since my damage did more than his.

He didn’t have any healing moves so it was easy to wear him down.

So I suggest making Chansey Tera Ghost, and if you keep Eviolite, now you can KO his Tera Normalize Zacian-C.

Here is the replay again: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexbh-1832924334-trxhjtdryzsl72uexow3rvpgcl6yrg9pw

Mind you, I made some mistakes, but if you sent in Chansey and Tera right away, you also block his entire set barring Terra, and you obviously outdamage him since he isn’t as bulky as Chansey.

Suddenly, he is forced out, and you can set up against him…

bh-1832924334-trxhjtdryzsl72uexow3rvpgcl6yrg9pw

Mind you, I made some mistakes, but if you sent in Chansey and Tera right away, you also block his entire set barring Terra, and you obviously outdamage him since he isn’t as bulky as Chansey.

Suddenly, he is forced out, and you can set up against him…

Gyarados is adamant because it hits like a truck against a lot of walls. rend spam along with the paralysis is a really really powerful combination so you don't play too passively if you end up blundering xerneas/zacian against some dude.

uh so when i was using the team it actually worked pretty well against those mons. Why? because 1: chloroblast and dragon energy have less pp than your heal order. Just stall them out and waste their pp with smart switches to zacian if they end up choice locked. 2: this team doesn't need tera too much. Infact i will change chansey to tera ghost cuz of what you said but thing is arceus can also tera. From the 50 ladder games i played with the team i clicked tera like 3-4 times so it doesn't matter who gets terad. If you also fear mmy too much then i'd reccomend changing the arceus to tera fairy + one more thing that you may not have noticed. Chansey walls mmy. it does around 20 to it with its powerful magic guard recoil moves. To deal with mmy worst case scenario would be tera fairy arc ground (i kept it as dark for some random ass reason idk). Miraidon is also powerful. But this thing has thousand waves, and tera fairy. I think you already know where i'm going with this. not just that but their tera dragon dragon energys will do more than rising voltage so you can't fear them too much.

As for the last point: well yes i will change it to tera ghost since that makes a lot more sense on the chansey to deal with some entrainment sets like that one. So thanks for the suggestions.

So far you've mentioned how mmy threatens the team and i'll change arc's tera type to fairy to make it easier to switch on its face. Miraidon isn't at all that scary imo because the that team sets hazards and weakens the opponent. Gyarados paralyses spinblockers and you try and claim kos or use immunities.

As for the changes i'll add to the team, imma change arc's tera to fairy and chansey's tera to ghost.

 

[Champion Leon]

Gyarados is adamant because it hits like a truck against a lot of walls. rend spam along with the paralysis is a really really powerful combination so you don't play too passively if you end up blundering xerneas/zacian against some dude.

Okay, I just figured there may have been a specific damage breakpoint that turned a 3HKO into a 2HKO, but if not, then it may be worth considering a switch.

uh so when i was using the team it actually worked pretty well against those mons. Why? because 1: chloroblast and dragon energy have less pp than your heal order. Just stall them out and waste their pp with smart switches to zacian if they end up choice locked.

Ya, I think Choice Lock can hamper Miri, but by the time you know what move it is using, you already took a hit. As for Choice Lock, LOMG MMY doesn't have that issue, so my concern is that it can 1-2HKO most everything besides Imposter. But ya, if Arceus comes in without Hazards, they can outstall it. My concern is if they have, say Sticky Webs to cut down on even Zacian-C's ability to force out MMY since it wont be faster.

2: this team doesn't need tera too much. Infact i will change chansey to tera ghost cuz of what you said but thing is arceus can also tera. From the 50 ladder games i played with the team i clicked tera like 3-4 times so it doesn't matter who gets terad. If you also fear mmy too much then i'd reccomend changing the arceus to tera fairy + one more thing that you may not have noticed. Chansey walls mmy. it does around 20 to it with its powerful magic guard recoil moves. To deal with mmy worst case scenario would be tera fairy arc ground (i kept it as dark for some random ass reason idk). Miraidon is also powerful. But this thing has thousand waves, and tera fairy. I think you already know where i'm going with this. not just that but their tera dragon dragon energys will do more than rising voltage so you can't fear them too much.

I think once the foe's Miri is defeated that can work, for Arceus-Ground using Tera into Fairy, but just be careful not to do it too early: Rising Voltage is 182 base power before STAB, due to the Terrain Boost, so with STAB it’s 273, which is basically like a STAB V-Create.
Tera Dragon Energy @ full power is 300 base power, so only 10% more.

252 SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Tera Fairy Arceus-Fairy in Electric Terrain: 194-228 (43.6 - 51.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

VS

SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Tera Dragon Miraidon Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 213-251 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

As for the last point: well yes i will change it to tera ghost since that makes a lot more sense on the chansey to deal with some entrainment sets like that one. So thanks for the suggestions.

Of course! I am glad to help, my focus is to provide insight, not to pick apart teams. Constructive Criticism only aimed at helping others! Glad I was able to help out!

So far you've mentioned how mmy threatens the team and i'll change arc's tera type to fairy to make it easier to switch on its face. Miraidon isn't at all that scary imo because the that team sets hazards and weakens the opponent. Gyarados paralyses spinblockers and you try and claim kos or use immunities.

One thing others may want to consider as a Double-Miri check: Misty Surge.

Without Electric Terrain, Rising Voltage drops from 183 base power to 70 + STAB = 105 base power.

Dragon Energy after Tera + STAB drops from 300 to 150 due to Misty Terrain cutting Dragon moves in half.

If people have any issues with Miri, a quick fix is a Misty Surge user on a Pokemon that resists Dragon Energy. This allows you to easily diminish its power, will also blocking status moves.

I don't think this fits on your team, bc your Gyarados-Mega needs to be Poisoned, AND it uses Glare, but it is something people can consider, in the event that they want a Pokemon can simply handle that Miri, rather than have to worry about taking full-power hits. Similar to how someone may use an Ori Pulse Pokemon to reduce Water damage by half from the foe. It is a nice bonus, even if it isn't the only reason for it.

As for the changes i'll add to the team, imma change arc's tera to fairy and chansey's tera to ghost.

Thank you! It was great to see your thought process from my post, so we understand your reasoning. I appreciate you taking the time to cover each suggestion, with a fair, and reasonable explanation.

 

[Cta]

Okay, I just figured there may have been a specific damage breakpoint that turned a 3HKO into a 2HKO, but if not, then it may be worth considering a switch.Ya, I think Choice Lock can hamper Miri, but by the time you know what move it is using, you already took a hit. As for Choice Lock, LOMG MMY doesn't have that issue, so my concern is that it can 1-2HKO most everything besides Imposter. But ya, if Arceus comes in without Hazards, they can outstall it. My concern is if they have, say Sticky Webs to cut down on even Zacian-C's ability to force out MMY since it wont be faster.I think once the foe's Miri is defeated that can work, for Arceus-Ground using Tera into Fairy, but just be careful not to do it too early: Rising Voltage is 182 base power before STAB, due to the Terrain Boost, so with STAB it’s 273, which is basically like a STAB V-Create.
Tera Dragon Energy @ full power is 300 base power, so only 10% more.

252 SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Miraidon Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Tera Fairy Arceus-Fairy in Electric Terrain: 194-228 (43.6 - 51.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

VS

SpA Choice Specs Hadron Engine Tera Dragon Miraidon Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 213-251 (47.9 - 56.5%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKOOf course! I am glad to help, my focus is to provide insight, not to pick apart teams. Constructive Criticism only aimed at helping others! Glad I was able to help out!
One thing others may want to consider as a Double-Miri check: Misty Surge.

Without Electric Terrain, Rising Voltage drops from 183 base power to 70 + STAB = 105 base power.

Dragon Energy after Tera + STAB drops from 300 to 150 due to Misty Terrain cutting Dragon moves in half.

If people have any issues with Miri, a quick fix is a Misty Surge user on a Pokemon that resists Dragon Energy. This allows you to easily diminish its power, will also blocking status moves.

I don't think this fits on your team, bc your Gyarados-Mega needs to be Poisoned, AND it uses Glare, but it is something people can consider, in the event that they want a Pokemon can simply handle that Miri, rather than have to worry about taking full-power hits. Similar to how someone may use an Ori Pulse Pokemon to reduce Water damage by half from the foe. It is a nice bonus, even if it isn't the only reason for it. Thank you! It was great to see your thought process from my post, so we understand your reasoning. I appreciate you taking the time to cover each suggestion, with a fair, and reasonable explanation.

I think i mentioned i might make, post, and test another sample. Should i build it around beserk gene as beserk gene is unheard of on high ladder? I haven't really tried using it much and most teams i make just dont give a shit about weather or terrain because against a weakened team a +2 in atk and speed mmx on switch in can shred opponents pretty consistently. Honestly misty terrain sounds great but it won't help too much because beserk gene is just not that easy to use properly (yes you don't just send it in as the second mon and proceed to lose all the stat changes to fc walls)

So far i considered grassy terrain as pretty decent because it will support a bulky team pretty well. Not just that but it also supports physical breakers due to the ever present water type fc mons.

Anyways i wanted to share a pretty cool set i found while playing around. Recently i've noticed that mmy's ability usually provides light support to the mon, never really something that totally turns the tables so i decided to take the ability out of the equation and do this



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Turboblaze
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- Lumina Crash
- Moonblast
- Strength Sap

Why this set? well because spd walls run two sets. a-shield and covert cloak. Best part here is that neither of them beat this thing. Paste it onto any standard balance team where you can make some pretty good predicts and you can wallbreak. Thing is that i realised this after facing normalise entrainment with k-off on the mon. You need to go to the mon with the ability shield to counter them and once you lose the shield what's next? get swept? well that's this mon's goal. scout around a bit and get rid of their ability shields. I've chosen this set because it's surprisingly easy to improof. Steelceus has sat unviable for centuries and that's the perfect improof for this mon. simple pivoting is all it takes to use this mon well as mmy is pretty good at being hard to wall due to its mixed sets. Well here is where its spatk is so strong that the opponent goes and cries in the corner. Note that it only works on bulky teams as it can come in on safe turns to wallbreak.

Then, staying on the topic of mmy, I'm surprised this set hasn't turned up in the meta at all!



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Razor Claw/Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Psycho Boost
- Fleur Cannon
- Strength Sap

Before someone drops me the "hyper crit is not good bro" or "you need to set it up" doesn't almost everything need some time? this thing's purpose is to shred bulky teams and force kos. If zacian doesn't ohko you you strength sap his face and he cries about it.



Arceus-Ground @ Ability Shield
Ability: Ice Scales
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Volt Switch
- Thousand Waves
- Heal Order

This is considered a common scales wall in the meta rn. Spectral thief stops setup but doesn't really claim ko-s. It's goal is to trap imposters and special attackers and stall them out. spec thief stuff that sets up on their face. But what happens when there aren't any boosts to steal??

252 SpA Sniper Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Fairy on a critical hit: 221-261 (49.7 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

then whats the plan when it hits you with this? Going to zacian now? don't think you should.

252 SpA Sniper Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned on a critical hit: 252-297 (64.9 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

it can break walls alright, it can force kos, it literally just hits through the scales and starts claiming a few. On a bulky team with psychic surge where the opponent is in their fc wall this thing gets the turn it needs to start shredding teams and then just enjoy the view. Dark types exist so we also have LoR

Also just get scales arc steel or prepare to use super based scales zac-c t improof this thing

That's about all i have to say about mmy, its a pretty adaptable pokemon and does a good job of outspeeding and killing anything in the tier that isn't named zacian.

Also i think its quite obvious that it's gonna be landing all those crits with a +3 critical hit ratio anyways i'm watching one piece now bye

 

[Champion Leon]

I think i mentioned i might make, post, and test another sample. Should i build it around beserk gene as beserk gene is unheard of on high ladder? I haven't really tried using it much and most teams i make just dont give a shit about weather or terrain because against a weakened team a +2 in atk and speed mmx on switch in can shred opponents pretty consistently. Honestly misty terrain sounds great but it won't help too much because beserk gene is just not that easy to use properly (yes you don't just send it in as the second mon and proceed to lose all the stat changes to fc walls)

So far i considered grassy terrain as pretty decent because it will support a bulky team pretty well. Not just that but it also supports physical breakers due to the ever present water type fc mons.

Anyways i wanted to share a pretty cool set i found while playing around. Recently i've noticed that mmy's ability usually provides light support to the mon, never really something that totally turns the tables so i decided to take the ability out of the equation and do this



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Choice Specs
Ability: Turboblaze
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- Lumina Crash
- Moonblast
- Strength Sap

Why this set? well because spd walls run two sets. a-shield and covert cloak. Best part here is that neither of them beat this thing. Paste it onto any standard balance team where you can make some pretty good predicts and you can wallbreak. Thing is that i realised this after facing normalise entrainment with k-off on the mon. You need to go to the mon with the ability shield to counter them and once you lose the shield what's next? get swept? well that's this mon's goal. scout around a bit and get rid of their ability shields. I've chosen this set because it's surprisingly easy to improof. Steelceus has sat unviable for centuries and that's the perfect improof for this mon. simple pivoting is all it takes to use this mon well as mmy is pretty good at being hard to wall due to its mixed sets. Well here is where its spatk is so strong that the opponent goes and cries in the corner. Note that it only works on bulky teams as it can come in on safe turns to wallbreak.

Then, staying on the topic of mmy, I'm surprised this set hasn't turned up in the meta at all!



Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Razor Claw/Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Psycho Boost
- Fleur Cannon
- Strength Sap

Before someone drops me the "hyper crit is not good bro" or "you need to set it up" doesn't almost everything need some time? this thing's purpose is to shred bulky teams and force kos. If zacian doesn't ohko you you strength sap his face and he cries about it.



Arceus-Ground @ Ability Shield
Ability: Ice Scales
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Volt Switch
- Thousand Waves
- Heal Order

This is considered a common scales wall in the meta rn. Spectral thief stops setup but doesn't really claim ko-s. It's goal is to trap imposters and special attackers and stall them out. spec thief stuff that sets up on their face. But what happens when there aren't any boosts to steal??

252 SpA Sniper Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Fairy on a critical hit: 221-261 (49.7 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

then whats the plan when it hits you with this? Going to zacian now? don't think you should.

252 SpA Sniper Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Zacian-Crowned on a critical hit: 252-297 (64.9 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

it can break walls alright, it can force kos, it literally just hits through the scales and starts claiming a few. On a bulky team with psychic surge where the opponent is in their fc wall this thing gets the turn it needs to start shredding teams and then just enjoy the view. Dark types exist so we also have LoR

Also just get scales arc steel or prepare to use super based scales zac-c t improof this thing

That's about all i have to say about mmy, its a pretty adaptable pokemon and does a good job of outspeeding and killing anything in the tier that isn't named zacian.

Also i think its quite obvious that it's gonna be landing all those crits with a +3 critical hit ratio anyways i'm watching one piece now bye

Got it. Misty Surge does prevent Confusion, at least when I played against a BGene Team yesterday. So if you have a Simple MMX with Bezerk Gene coming in off a Misty Surge teammate, it won’t be confused.

The other benefit, is that since it is a consumable item, it can partner with Poltergeist for Improofing (uses foe’s item to attack the foe), so it can work on something like MMX, since it can threaten Imposter with a Super Effective Hit, and can benefit a Ghost or Tera Ghost Pokémon for a STAB boost.

Another thing is the almost forgotten ability: Unburden, can double Speed when the item is consumed, and it will outspeed Imposter.

But to me, I prefer Throat Spray Bc you can decide when you want to trigger it, and it won’t feel like it was wasted, if say, the foe forced it out. Anyways, nice sets.

 

[UngaTheDunga]

So i made a team that in my point of view seens balance (at least for me)
Here's the team:
https://pokepast.es/e65dea11e321dc5c

 

[Champion Leon]

So i made a team that in my point of view seens balance (at least for me)
Here's the team:
https://pokepast.es/e65dea11e321dc5c

I like your team.

Have you considered Technician over Magic Guard, so it boosts Population Bomb by 50%?
Bonemerang also gets a boost, so its at 50 x 2 hits x 1.5 from Technician = 150 base damage.

Population Bomb cleanly 1HKOs standard walls:

Vs Fur Coat Arceus:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Arceus-Water: 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

You can always Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slaking: 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Meanwhile, yours is the 1HKO, so you win even if they go first. Obviously, once Imposter is done, you can heal next turn, since you go first.

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Don't worry, Bonemerang is still strong, to give you an idea, here is how it can 1HKO Steelix-Mega:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 318-374 (89.8 - 105.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

2HKOs Giratina:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina: 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

V-Create is resisted by Giratina, so it basically counters your set, whereas Bonemerang can 2HKO it, and force it out if it lacks Prankster / Fur Coat.

Slaking @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost / Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Population Bomb
- Shift Gear
- Heal Order
- Bonemerang

I replaced Strength Sap with Heal Order, so that Imposter cannot remove your necessary boost to KO, otherwise it can try and outstall you.

You can also put Tera Normal so it gets an additional boost.

Shift Gear replaces Tidy Up bc it prevents you from clearing Spikes on your opponent's side. This is important, bc it would undo the Spikes laid by your Ting-Lu.

Plus, you already have Rapid Spin Xerneas, and Court Change Giratina.

 

[Cta]

I like your team.

Have you considered Technician over Magic Guard, so it boosts Population Bomb by 50%?
Bonemerang also gets a boost, so its at 50 x 2 hits x 1.5 from Technician = 150 base damage.

Population Bomb cleanly 1HKOs standard walls:

Vs Fur Coat Arceus:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Arceus-Water: 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

You can always Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slaking: 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Meanwhile, yours is the 1HKO, so you win even if they go first. Obviously, once Imposter is done, you can heal next turn, since you go first.

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Don't worry, Bonemerang is still strong, to give you an idea, here is how it can 1HKO Steelix-Mega:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 318-374 (89.8 - 105.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

2HKOs Giratina:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina: 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

V-Create is resisted by Giratina, so it basically counters your set, whereas Bonemerang can 2HKO it, and force it out if it lacks Prankster / Fur Coat.

Slaking @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost / Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Population Bomb
- Shift Gear
- Heal Order
- Bonemerang

I replaced Strength Sap with Heal Order, so that Imposter cannot remove your necessary boost to KO, otherwise it can try and outstall you.

You can also put Tera Normal so it gets an additional boost.

Shift Gear replaces Tidy Up bc it prevents you from clearing Spikes on your opponent's side. This is important, bc it would undo the Spikes laid by your Ting-Lu.

Plus, you already have Rapid Spin Xerneas, and Court Change Giratina.

Hey leon those are great suggestions but theres one thing i would just like to add to those, Replace slaking with regigias. Slaking and gigas have the same bst but if you look closely slaking actually has 95 spatk while regi has 80 which means it has 15 bst allotted to something better for the mon. Insignificant but compare the special bulk of both and then say that. Otherwise it works well as a wallbreaker but i still don't see a way that it deals with helmet fc mbros. Honestly it has good offensive tricks but not fast enough to be a physical sweeper (before shift gear) and not enough bulk to eat too many hits. Gigas on the other hand does have the bulk required to not get ohkoed too easily.

Moving on: set spam time



Cancer Distributor (Mewtwo-Mega-X) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Zap Cannon
- Dynamic Punch
- Substitute
- Knock Off/Strength Sap

Ok so this thing is made to unwall. carries mixed moves so it's hard to ko, decent defence so spectral thief doesn't just kill it off, and hitting with opposite categories while spreading confusion and paralysis makes it a truly cancerous set. It escapes status while hiding behind its substitute and knocks off covert cloaks. Or if you already have k-off support then use sap. This set isn't made to be too bulky but 106/100/100 isn't too easy to ko with regular walls. Ofc it is countered by it's old nemesis lunala but the point of this set is to cripple and weaken an opposing team. Pretty good for a passive team that needs some support and helps with long games. However avoid using it on low ladder. Misty terrain clean counters it, can't do too much if its not spreading status sadly. Very reliant on hax too, the confusion 50% and the paralysis 25% let this thing retreat behind its sub and heal off the opponent very easily too.



Arceus-Electric @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Grass/Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Thunder Cage
- Seed Flare
- Strength Sap/Filler(?)

Possible new phealer? Well this set revolves around electric being a pretty good overall typing and takes advantage of that. It's built around the same system as the old arc fairy set but can have a lot better stab coverage. There aren't too many mons in the meta that can ohko an arceus on a neutral hit so sap takes advantage of that while it traps opponents. Beats imposter with tera grass to resist imp stabs and uses seed flare. Then the *best offensive type in the game* helps you break some scales walls that are hard to ko. This set is pretty interesting because dialga-o usage has dropped and people just get groundceus, darkceus, fairyceus to replace the old trusty scales mon. The filler in place of sap is incase you really fear dialga that bad. Because with trapping, spdef dropping, and powerful moves you can beat dialga. Theres also this variant of it that seems pretty convenient. Tera normal is to evade spec thief if you're that afraid of it in that case and prefer blocking spec over the stab. Even then it beats some spd walls.



Arceus-Electric @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Thunder Cage
- Lumina Crash
- Strength Sap/Filler(?)

This one is if you just have zero trust in rng and have no problem losing to darkceus so yeah theres that. Not just that but it doesn't exactly improof itself too well so i'd suggest using the other one as i feel that one's better. Overall not that good of a breaker due to it's commonly exploited weaknesses but can be a pretty irritating mon just spamming qd and sap against the poor opponent

Idh too many rn will find some more later or smth

 

[UngaTheDunga]

I like your team.

Have you considered Technician over Magic Guard, so it boosts Population Bomb by 50%?
Bonemerang also gets a boost, so its at 50 x 2 hits x 1.5 from Technician = 150 base damage.

Population Bomb cleanly 1HKOs standard walls:

Vs Fur Coat Arceus:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Arceus-Water: 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

You can always Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slaking: 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Meanwhile, yours is the 1HKO, so you win even if they go first. Obviously, once Imposter is done, you can heal next turn, since you go first.

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Don't worry, Bonemerang is still strong, to give you an idea, here is how it can 1HKO Steelix-Mega:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 318-374 (89.8 - 105.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

2HKOs Giratina:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina: 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

V-Create is resisted by Giratina, so it basically counters your set, whereas Bonemerang can 2HKO it, and force it out if it lacks Prankster / Fur Coat.

Slaking @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost / Normal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Population Bomb
- Shift Gear
- Heal Order
- Bonemerang

I replaced Strength Sap with Heal Order, so that Imposter cannot remove your necessary boost to KO, otherwise it can try and outstall you.

You can also put Tera Normal so it gets an additional boost.

Shift Gear replaces Tidy Up bc it prevents you from clearing Spikes on your opponent's side. This is important, bc it would undo the Spikes laid by your Ting-Lu.

Plus, you already have Rapid Spin Xerneas, and Court Change Giratina.

Thanks for the help! I really appreciate the changes you made in my team

 

[Champion Leon]

Hey leon those are great suggestions but theres one thing i would just like to add to those, Replace slaking with regigias. Slaking and gigas have the same bst but if you look closely slaking actually has 95 spatk while regi has 80 which means it has 15 bst allotted to something better for the mon. Insignificant but compare the special bulk of both and then say that. Otherwise it works well as a wallbreaker but i still don't see a way that it deals with helmet fc mbros. Honestly it has good offensive tricks but not fast enough to be a physical sweeper (before shift gear) and not enough bulk to eat too many hits. Gigas on the other hand does have the bulk required to not get ohkoed too easily.

Thank you so much for your input!

Most of the time, people would say that Regigigas is better Bc of the difference in handling SpA hits is enough, and I would agree.

Especially Bc Slaking can better handle Def, but not as much of a difference as Regi has for SpA.

See below:

Physical Arceus-Fighting + Tera Fighting boost -

252 Atk Tera Fighting Arceus Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slaking: 392-464 (77.7 - 92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Tera Fighting Arceus Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Regigigas: 368-436 (86.7 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

Special Arceus-Fighting + Tera Fighting boost -

252 SpA Tera Fighting Arceus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Slaking: 512-604 (101.5 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Tera Fighting Arceus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Regigigas: 368-436 (86.7 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

But the reason I like Slaking more is Bc Imposter Slaking takes a bigger hit off Population Bomb than Regigigas, since Regigigas has a bigger Defense stat, and that means Eviolite Chansey copies it.

I guess the best solution is to use Regigigas for its SpD, and then just not max the IVs/EVs for Defense, so that way, it still allows you to 1HKO Chansey Eviolite Imposter.

If I wanted to secure a 1HKO without Stealth Rocks I would have 0 Def IVs and 208 Def EVs

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Regigigas Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 204 Def Eviolite Chansey: 710-860 (100.8 - 122.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This puts Regi at 276 Def, which means it takes this from Imposter Bonemerang

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 204 Def Regigigas: 270-318 (63.6 - 75%) -- approx. 2HKO

This seems a bit too high, especially as Slaking is using Life Orb, which lowers its HP after an Attack.

So let’s make it simply strong enough to KO Imposter after a Spikes layer, which means just keeping it at Full HP IVs and EVs.

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Regigigas Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 620-740 (88 - 105.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spike

Now, that seems fine, but then the problem is: how much more damage does it take from Chansey compared to Slaking if it is hit with Bonemerang, after you Tera into Ghost.

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Regigigas: 234-276 (55.1 - 65%) -- approx. 2HKO

+1 252+ Atk Technician Chansey Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slaking: 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

So, ultimately, if you want to still 1HKO Chansey after Shift Gear, either one works with 1 layer of Spikes, but I like the fact Slaking both Deals More Damage (can matter if not all 10 hits connect), AND survives better from Imposter’s Bonemerang.

Remember, 6.7% less max damage doesn’t seem like much, but when you basically 1HKO even most walls, your Life Orb is whats reducing your HP, and so if Imposter can simply come in when Regigigas has taken Life Orb recoil 4 times throughout the match, compared to Slaking needing to take it 5 times, that tells me to use Slaking.

Some people may disagree, but once Slaking sweeps, it has to take Life Orb 5 times for Chansey to secure a KO, which means Imposter Chansey is held back until the 5th hit before it can “check” it. Remember, the 4th or 5th Life Orb recoil is the turn you attack Imposter, so Regi can only have triggered LO 3 Times prior, Slaking can have triggered LO 4 times BEFORE attacking Imposter.

As for Fur Coat SlowBro, Rocky Helmet won’t trigger off of Bonemerang Bc it Does Not make contact:

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Regigigas / Slaking Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slowbro-Mega: 98-116 (24.8 - 29.4%) -- approx. 0.1% chance to 3HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

For me, this is not enough damage.

BUT if we replace Technician with Magic Guard, then we have a harder time KOing Imposter, Arceus-Fur Coat, and many others.

Afterall, Giratina loses to Bonemerang in a 2HKO, and that is more common than SlowBro-Mega.

Plus, if we didn’t have Technician, then Bonemerang wouldn’t be strong enough, and we would have to worry about V-Create lowering our Def / SpD, causing us to switch out more often, which racks up entry hazard damage.

Lastly, if we have him simply place Knock Off on his team, Population Bomb has a chance to 1HKO Fur Coat Slowbro-Mega after Spikes, bc it is THAT strong.

+1+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slowbro-Mega: 310-360 (78.6 - 91.3%) -- approx. 18.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

UngaTheDunga Consider Knock Off over Flip Turn on Arceus-Water. When Imposter comes in, it can lose Eviolite, and if you are trapped by a foe’s Anchor Shot, Covert Cloak still lets you switch out.

Glad I could help your team! It’s an amazing balanced team!

 

[Champion Leon]

Upon their request, I am submitting their Updated Sample Team entitled "All Hail Slaking" on behalf of UngaTheDunga -

Usage:

Hide

The Defensive cores of Fur Coat and Ice Scales compliment each other in being able to cover heavy hits from the likes of V-Create, and Rising Voltage, while supporting the team by removing the foe's items, and setting up hazards. Anchor Shot on ensures you Knock Off the proper target, (preventing a switch), without being trapped by enemy Anchor Shots thanks to Covert Cloak. Prankster serves as a necessary stop to set-up, and last resort hazard control, while Poison Heal can absorb Knock-Offs and statuses, while spreading status to cut down the foe's Atk damage, in addition to hazard removal. Hadron Engine threatens via Electric STAB, and can provide a timely Trick to incoming walls/checks, while also serving as a fast pivot, before Technician eventually sweeps. The goal is to weaken, support, and then finish off the foe, in true Balanced Team play style fashion.

Threats

Hide

Threats include Libero which can bypass the Fur Coat on via Electro Drift, and packs STAB Fighting to threaten and . Specs Pixelate Boomburst can also break through , speed-tie , and force out due to its STAB. Entrainment Ghost sets can be negated by 's Ability Shield, but otherwise can impact other targets, especially Poison Heal . However, , once it sets-up, does massive damage and outspeeds these threats with ease.

Overview

Hide

The team's design is intended to take advantage of forcing switches, through strong defensive cores, while gradually setting up for to come in and break through. Thanks to its sheer power, it can already 1HKO walls after a single layer of Spikes, such as Fur Coat , and even Imposter

Vs
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat : 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite : 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

You can Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def : 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Even neutral walls can be 2HKO'd for effectively threatening most of the usual checks Slaking would face.

Vs

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This team also received the set from anaconja. #CommunityTeambuilding

Xerneas @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rapid Spin
- Spiky Shield

 

[UngaTheDunga]

Upon their request, I am submitting their Updated Sample Team entitled "All Hail Slaking" on behalf of UngaTheDunga -

Usage:

Hide

The Defensive cores of Fur Coat and Ice Scales compliment each other in being able to cover heavy hits from the likes of V-Create, and Rising Voltage, while supporting the team by removing the foe's items, and setting up hazards. Anchor Shot on ensures you Knock Off the proper target, (preventing a switch), without being trapped by enemy Anchor Shots thanks to Covert Cloak. Prankster serves as a necessary stop to set-up, and last resort hazard control, while Poison Heal can absorb Knock-Offs and statuses, while spreading status to cut down the foe's Atk damage, in addition to hazard removal. Hadron Engine threatens via Electric STAB, and can provide a timely Trick to incoming walls/checks, while also serving as a fast pivot, before Technician eventually sweeps. The goal is to weaken, support, and then finish off the foe, in true Balanced Team play style fashion.

Threats

Hide

Threats include Libero which can bypass the Fur Coat on via Electro Drift, and packs STAB Fighting to threaten and . Specs Pixelate Boomburst can also break through , speed-tie , and force out due to its STAB. Entrainment Ghost sets can be negated by 's Ability Shield, but otherwise can impact other targets, especially Poison Heal . However, , once it sets-up, does massive damage and outspeeds these threats with ease.

Overview

Hide

The team's design is intended to take advantage of forcing switches, through strong defensive cores, while gradually setting up for to come in and break through. Thanks to its sheer power, it can already 1HKO walls after a single layer of Spikes, such as Fur Coat , and even Imposter

Vs
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat : 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite : 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

You can Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def : 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Even neutral walls can be 2HKO'd for effectively threatening most of the usual checks Slaking would face.

Vs

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This team also received the set from anaconja. #CommunityTeambuilding

Thanks for posting the team and thanks for giving credits to anaconja

 

[Cta]

Upon their request, I am submitting their Updated Sample Team entitled "All Hail Slaking" on behalf of UngaTheDunga -

Usage:

Hide

The Defensive cores of Fur Coat and Ice Scales compliment each other in being able to cover heavy hits from the likes of V-Create, and Rising Voltage, while supporting the team by removing the foe's items, and setting up hazards. Anchor Shot on ensures you Knock Off the proper target, (preventing a switch), without being trapped by enemy Anchor Shots thanks to Covert Cloak. Prankster serves as a necessary stop to set-up, and last resort hazard control, while Poison Heal can absorb Knock-Offs and statuses, while spreading status to cut down the foe's Atk damage, in addition to hazard removal. Hadron Engine threatens via Electric STAB, and can provide a timely Trick to incoming walls/checks, while also serving as a fast pivot, before Technician eventually sweeps. The goal is to weaken, support, and then finish off the foe, in true Balanced Team play style fashion.

Threats

Hide

Threats include Libero which can bypass the Fur Coat on via Electro Drift, and packs STAB Fighting to threaten and . Specs Pixelate Boomburst can also break through , speed-tie , and force out due to its STAB. Entrainment Ghost sets can be negated by 's Ability Shield, but otherwise can impact other targets, especially Poison Heal . However, , once it sets-up, does massive damage and outspeeds these threats with ease.

Overview

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The team's design is intended to take advantage of forcing switches, through strong defensive cores, while gradually setting up for to come in and break through. Thanks to its sheer power, it can already 1HKO walls after a single layer of Spikes, such as Fur Coat , and even Imposter

Vs
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat : 400-480 (90 - 108.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Vs Imposter

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite : 660-780 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

You can Tera Ghost to stay Improof:

+1 252+ Atk Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def : 248-294 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Even neutral walls can be 2HKO'd for effectively threatening most of the usual checks Slaking would face.

Vs

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 260-306 (51.5 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This team also received the set from anaconja. #CommunityTeambuilding

Nice team! but a few problems i noticed. Slaking is NOT improofed. Imposter almost always carries tera ghost and just outlasts slaking, then it forces heavy damage on giratina and permanently stops the main breaker. It's usually pretty hard to explain not using an imposter on an offensive core team as you need as many defensive cores as available. You can't really justify how you deal with zacian either: in the very least you could have an imposter to blanket check some of it's sets? Imposter helps check a lot of offensive threats so it's really good to have one on the team. I don't think you really accounted for population bomb missing so what happens then. Personally i feel slaking is pretty mid but it's the builder's choice. Spectral thief could be helpful for the team because of giratina's poopy ghost dragon typing losing to everything in the meta so you can't afford to have it in for too long otherwise the sets and synergy are to the creator's discretion

Moving on...



Zacian-Crowned @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- Gigaton Hammer
- U-turn
- Strength Sap

Reveal wallbreaker! 2hkos anything without 4x resist fur coat, wbb, flash fire when under sun.

252+ Atk Tinted Lens Tera Fire Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 234-276 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 65.6% chance to 2HKO

But ofc it loses to base fc arc water so it's prolly just a reminder that arc slot is crazy valuable. pretty funky though so i liek it

Next:



Charizard-Mega-Y @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
Tera Type: Rock/Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Strength Sap
- Tail Glow
- Armor Cannon

Zard-y is the best triage user but for some reason i have never seen this set posted here. Tera rock is for improofing as this thing is surprisingly powerful

+3 252+ SpA Life Orb Triage Charizard-Mega-Y Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 172-203 (38.7 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO slight chip is more than enough for the 2hko.

You can also keep tera flying if you wanna drop the self improof for 2hko without the chip

+3 252+ SpA Life Orb Triage Tera Flying Charizard-Mega-Y Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 229-270 (51.5 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



Dialga-Origin @ Ability Shield
Ability: Ice Scales
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spectral Thief
- Doom Desire
- Teleport
- Heal Order

As for the improof we have max spe scales dialga-o to outspeed on armour cannon and steal the tail glow boosts

But yeah triage is pretty funky, give it a single free turn and you could just end up swept

 

[izlore]

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
Tera Type: Rock/Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Oblivion Wing
- Strength Sap
- Tail Glow
- Armor Cannon

Zard-y is the best triage user but for some reason i have never seen this set posted here. Tera rock is for improofing as this thing is surprisingly powerful

Only issue with that set is that Megas can't tera, unless something changed in the last couple days that I missed. The Dia-O still deals with it pretty well though.

Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Bitter Blade
- Solar Beam
- Knock Off
- Heal Order

Also, a question I've had for a while, why Bitter Blade over Sacred Fire? I get Heal Order over Morning Sun or Synthesis for PP reasons, but wouldn't that be enough built in healing, and sacred fire lets you spread burns and packs a bit more firepower as well.

 

[Champion Leon]

Also, a question I've had for a while, why Bitter Blade over Sacred Fire? I get Heal Order over Morning Sun or Synthesis for PP reasons, but wouldn't that be enough built in healing, and sacred fire lets you spread burns and packs a bit more firepower as well.

The 8 PP is terrible, and I am already spreading Poison via Mortal Spin Arceus-Water, and Nuzzle via Ting-Lu. 3 statuses in a single team is bad, especially since at least the other 2 are more spammable.

Plus the goal is to be consistent and outlast, and SO many times has it helped!

I take a strong neutral hit from MMX, and then I heal back over 50% damage I took.

Remember: Bitter Blase = 90 x 1.5 Sun = 135 x 1.5 STAB = 202.5 base power on a neutral hit.

It even hits resists for decent damage Bc it is still 101.25 base power, like a non-STAB Core Enforcer in power AND off 180 base Atk.

The only people who don’t use it are people who haven’t tried it! V-Create is the only viable Fire-type alternative for Groudon. as even Fire Lash + Thousand Waves seems pointless if you just decide to Shift Gear and V-create instead.

Nice team! but a few problems i noticed. Slaking is NOT improofed. Imposter almost always carries tera ghost and just outlasts slaking, then it forces heavy damage on giratina and permanently stops the main breaker. It's usually pretty hard to explain not using an imposter on an offensive core team as you need as many defensive cores as available. You can't really justify how you deal with zacian either: in the very least you could have an imposter to blanket check some of it's sets? Imposter helps check a lot of offensive threats so it's really good to have one on the team. I don't think you really accounted for population bomb missing so what happens then. Personally i feel slaking is pretty mid but it's the builder's choice. Spectral thief could be helpful for the team because of giratina's poopy ghost dragon typing losing to everything in the meta so you can't afford to have it in for too long otherwise the sets and synergy are to the creator's discretion.

Giratina packs Haze Prankster which removes the Shift Gear, and Imposter does not have Life Orb, so it is far weaker.

It also packs Prankster Strength Sap to weaken it, and it can even Core Enforcer to negate Technician.

If it is Scarfed then it allows you to out stall it if it picks a Normal Attack by Tera into Ghost on Slaking, or just switching to Giratina.

Remember, Imposter cannot Tera if another teammate used it before.

Arceus-Water can also Tera into Steel, so the damage is now 1/2 of the damage, allowing you to stall out via Heal Order and even Knock Off versus Population Bomb. Assuming it is Scarf, it cannot set up, and cannot switch to Bonemerang.

+1 252 Atk Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Tera Steel Arceus-Water: 140-170 (31.5 - 38.2%) -- approx. 76.6% chance to 3HKO

Zacian-C - You admit the set you posted loses to FC Arceus Water, which I have on my team…

Arceus-Water packs Knock Off so it can remove CBand as well.

Zacian-Crowned @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- V-create
- Gigaton Hammer
- U-turn
- Strength Sap

Reveal wallbreaker! 2hkos anything without 4x resist fur coat, wbb, flash fire when under sun.

252+ Atk Tinted Lens Tera Fire Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 234-276 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 65.6% chance to 2HKO

But ofc it loses to base fc arc water so it's prolly just a reminder that arc slot is crazy valuable. pretty funky though so i liek it

Isn’t your set the same one I suggested last page, and you disagreed with but now promote as your own?

..What if Imposter is Scarf and now threatens your own Zacian-C?

252+ Atk Chansey Gigaton Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 283-334 (87 - 102.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Also, Imposter doesn’t copy your HP EVs / IVs, only Def and SpD (and the rest), so lowering your HP makes you 1HKOable from Scarf Chansey.

Focus in a coverage move like V-Create, if you just add a Nuzzle user to your team, you automatically win without having to compromise any EVs or IVs.

Most teams don’t realize that’s kind of all it takes to Improof, paralysis support.

If these were your last Pokémon left per team, they win 100%, but if they are paralyzed, then your V-Create wins.

Just have it Tera into FIRE for STAB, and now resisting their moves…

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fire Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 470-554 (66.7 - 78.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Much easier than shifting its EVs and IVs and having it hurt Zacian-C against any other opponent.

AND here:

In regards to Tera Fire Zacian-C, since Imposter doesn’t have STAB V-Create, only STAB Gigaton Hammer, I showed that Imposter‘s best damage against Zacian-C after Tera into Fire is Gigaton Hammer, and that damage Calc isn’t very high, while Tera Zacian-C with Tera can 1-2HKO Imposter, netting it the win.

Chansey without Eviolite is 1HKO’d, and if it uses V-Create with Eviolite then V-Create removes the defense boosts either way.

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fire Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Chansey: 702-828 (99.7 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Therefore, Tera Fire with V-Create still Improofs, Bc Imposter is unable to hit super effectively, and it’s neutral moves via Tinted Lens have drawbacks that prevent it from being able to win.

Just have it Tera into FIRE for STAB.

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fire Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Eviolite Chansey: 470-554 (66.7 - 78.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Lastly, Tera Rayquaza into Flying for the best power on Oblivion Wing. Since it has mixed 150 Atk & SpA, you can pack a physical Fighting move to hit Ice Scales Dialga And Ting-Lu.

252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Dialga-Origin: 265-312 (65.5 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Since it is basically 2/3s, that means if you Tera into Fighting, you can 1HKO it!

252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Ting-Lu: 257-304 (50 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Now dedicated walls are handled easily. Imposter lacks Life Orb so you can wall it easier than they can wall you. Doublade Eviolite Ice Scales works to Improof, and unlike Meloetta, it is on the VR list. Give it Spectral, Body Press, Heal Order, Mortal Spin for good utility.

Doublade

+3 252+ SpA Rayquaza Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 72-85 (22.3 - 26.3%) -- 22.5% chance to 4HKO

Aegislash is even more bulky on SpD

+6 252+ SpA Rayquaza Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Aegislash-Shield: 90-106 (27.7 - 32.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Yveltal has more bulk, albeit is not as powerful, and Thunderous-Therian can pack STAB Parabolic Charge for 2 Drain STAB moves, and it can hit Arceus-Water harder this way.

Throw in a Tera on either Drain move on Thunderous-Therian, especially if it uses Rising Voltage from a Hadron Engine teammate, and it really hits hard.

Terrain only boosts Electric moves by 30% on a Grounded USER, BUT Rising Voltage still has the 2x effect if Terrain is active at All, and that means Rising Voltage is 140 base power before STAB rather than 182, so 210 base power with STAB (like a Boomburst), and of course Life Orb makes up for not getting the 30% terrain boost.

Try out Thunderous-Therian first! I bet you will like it more than Yveltal, and Rayquaza.

As always, thanks EVERYONE for their input and constructive feedback!

 

[Champion Leon]

I just wanted to post this personal best Ladder ELO, rank and Score of mine.

I got here using the Sample team I had posted earlier.



I am so proud!

I was able to face off against some high-level players, including *former #1 Ladder player God of CTA!

High-level

God of CTA (was #1 on Ladder at 1648 ELO!)
241 Turns, it was a blowout!

God of CTA with another of their teams (was #2 on Ladder at 1635 ELO!)

I played masterfully, KOing 2 Pokemon by Turn 20, and maintained pressure through strong team cores, and prediction throughout the entire match.
Lasted 64 Turns, pretty standard.

Mid-Level
OnceInAlifetim3 (1447 before their loss)

They put up a good fight - towards the end, attempting to PP stall with Imposter, as I had literally Poisoned all but Zacian-C with Mortal Spin.
The battle lasted 109 turns, as it was my Gyarados-Mega that came in and wore down Imposter and delivered the deciding blows to their Zacian-C, and due to a bit of a speed tie, I was able to outlast Imposter thanks to the Poison. The power of patience, and Gyarados-Mega, backed by Groudon-P's Mortal Spin, all paid off. :)

Izforfun (1360 before their loss)

They were defeated easily in prior matches, but in this match they put up a good fight, and I was able to end the battle by turn 65.

I also respect their decision to use lesser used Pokemon like Venusaur-Mega, and the powerful Tail Glow Speed Boost Gengar-Mega.

I think it is a very strong Pokemon, and I don't think many people are ready for it until they face it in a rematch.

 

[Cta]

The 8 PP is terrible, and I am already spreading Poison via Mortal Spin Arceus-Water, and Nuzzle via Ting-Lu. 3 statuses in a single team is bad, especially since at least the other 2 are more spammable.

Plus the goal is to be consistent and outlast, and SO many times has it helped!

I take a strong neutral hit from MMX, and then I heal back over 50% damage I took.

Remember: Bitter Blase = 90 x 1.5 Sun = 135 x 1.5 STAB = 202.5 base power on a neutral hit.

It even hits resists for decent damage Bc it is still 101.25 base power, like a non-STAB Core Enforcer in power AND off 180 base Atk.

The only people who don’t use it are people who haven’t tried it! V-Create is the only viable Fire-type alternative for Groudon. as even Fire Lash + Thousand Waves seems pointless if you just decide to Shift Gear and V-create instead.
Giratina packs Haze Prankster which removes the Shift Gear, and Imposter does not have Life Orb, so it is far weaker.

It also packs Prankster Strength Sap to weaken it, and it can even Core Enforcer to negate Technician.

If it is Scarfed then it allows you to out stall it if it picks a Normal Attack by Tera into Ghost on Slaking, or just switching to Giratina.

Remember, Imposter cannot Tera if another teammate used it before.

Arceus-Water can also Tera into Steel, so the damage is now 1/2 of the damage, allowing you to stall out via Heal Order and even Knock Off versus Population Bomb. Assuming it is Scarf, it cannot set up, and cannot switch to Bonemerang.

+1 252 Atk Technician Slaking Population Bomb (10 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Tera Steel Arceus-Water: 140-170 (31.5 - 38.2%) -- approx. 76.6% chance to 3HKO

Zacian-C - You admit the set you posted loses to FC Arceus Water, which I have on my team…

Arceus-Water packs Knock Off so it can remove CBand as well.


Isn’t your set the same one I suggested last page, and you disagreed with but now promote as your own?AND here:
Lastly, Tera Rayquaza into Flying for the best power on Oblivion Wing. Since it has mixed 150 Atk & SpA, you can pack a physical Fighting move to hit Ice Scales Dialga And Ting-Lu.

252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Dialga-Origin: 265-312 (65.5 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Since it is basically 2/3s, that means if you Tera into Fighting, you can 1HKO it!

252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Ting-Lu: 257-304 (50 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Now dedicated walls are handled easily. Imposter lacks Life Orb so you can wall it easier than they can wall you. Doublade Eviolite Ice Scales works to Improof, and unlike Meloetta, it is on the VR list. Give it Spectral, Body Press, Heal Order, Mortal Spin for good utility.

Doublade

+3 252+ SpA Rayquaza Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Ice Scales Doublade: 72-85 (22.3 - 26.3%) -- 22.5% chance to 4HKO

Aegislash is even more bulky on SpD

+6 252+ SpA Rayquaza Oblivion Wing vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Aegislash-Shield: 90-106 (27.7 - 32.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Yveltal has more bulk, albeit is not as powerful, and Thunderous-Therian can pack STAB Parabolic Charge for 2 Drain STAB moves, and it can hit Arceus-Water harder this way.

Throw in a Tera on either Drain move on Thunderous-Therian, especially if it uses Rising Voltage from a Hadron Engine teammate, and it really hits hard.

Terrain only boosts Electric moves by 30% on a Grounded USER, BUT Rising Voltage still has the 2x effect if Terrain is active at All, and that means Rising Voltage is 140 base power before STAB rather than 182, so 210 base power with STAB (like a Boomburst), and of course Life Orb makes up for not getting the 30% terrain boost.

Try out Thunderous-Therian first! I bet you will like it more than Yveltal, and Rayquaza.

As always, thanks EVERYONE for their input and constructive feedback!

I don't remember disagreeing with any of your sets before tho, Not just that but i literally said that the set is bad. If i had disagreed with your set that was prolly around when fc waterceus was common...

View attachment 504717

I just wanted to post this personal best Ladder ELO, rank and Score of mine.

I got here using the Sample team I had posted earlier.



I am so proud!

I was able to face off against some high-level players, including *former #1 Ladder player God of CTA!

High-level

God of CTA (was #1 on Ladder at 1648 ELO!)
241 Turns, it was a blowout!

God of CTA with another of their teams (was #2 on Ladder at 1635 ELO!)

I played masterfully, KOing 2 Pokemon by Turn 20, and maintained pressure through strong team cores, and prediction throughout the entire match.
Lasted 64 Turns, pretty standard.

Mid-Level
OnceInAlifetim3 (1447 before their loss)

They put up a good fight - towards the end, attempting to PP stall with Imposter, as I had literally Poisoned all but Zacian-C with Mortal Spin.
The battle lasted 109 turns, as it was my Gyarados-Mega that came in and wore down Imposter and delivered the deciding blows to their Zacian-C, and due to a bit of a speed tie, I was able to outlast Imposter thanks to the Poison. The power of patience, and Gyarados-Mega, backed by Groudon-P's Mortal Spin, all paid off. :)

Izforfun (1360 before their loss)

They were defeated easily in prior matches, but in this match they put up a good fight, and I was able to end the battle by turn 65.

I also respect their decision to use lesser used Pokemon like Venusaur-Mega, and the powerful Tail Glow Speed Boost Gengar-Mega.

I think it is a very strong Pokemon, and I don't think many people are ready for it until they face it in a rematch.

What about this time When it got 6-0ed by the most common threat on ladder now, prolly add a check to tinted cb sunsteel gigaton zacian, since pdon's dauntless shield activates only once per battle. Perhaps smth like a steelix? Otherwise the team is quite solid so yeah

Moving on to some sets



Zacian-Crowned @ Choice Band
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- U-turn
- Strength Sap/Pursuit
- Bolt Strike

Stolen from dtc. His one had pursuit and he didn't have an mmy to improof so i dropped it for sappy sap. 2hkos walls on Se hits or 3hkos with the tera headlong or 2hko some significant chip. only problem is that the im and the fc wall have their tera in their hands so you really don't exactly force kos with this thing. Improofed by your standard dozo unless the dozo is heavily chipped or your opponent is lucky asf



Yveltal @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off/Ceasless Edge
- Will-O-Wisp
- Spiky Shield
- Rapid Spin/Defog

Hated that xerneas has recently been hogging the spotlight and since yveltal is my favorite of the life and death duo had to build smth for it. Anyways this revolves around the same mechanic as anaconja's xerneas set but despite this thing's worse typing i feel it's better at controlling hazards thanks to it's flying typing. In a long stally game with a lot of switches spikes are your opponent's best friend. So are they yours. With being able to ignore the damage from those annoying spikes this thing's flying time helps. Stone axe is also pretty neglected so you can't fear rock chip much either. It manages to control hazards very neatly and spreads burn through the opponent's team for extra chip. Great defensive fallback for offensive teams. Throws in prankster immunity too along with pheal being a k-off punching bag and status bag.

A mon i found interesting was lugia. It has solid defences and can be a prankster or a regenerator mon. Potential as hazard setter and controlled? Idrk, seen it done with ho-oh but lugia seems forgotten by most players. A pretty solid bst mon with nice speed has great potential.

Also last thing leon i'm taking back #1 with either my gdo69, boredom100, boredom200, god of the cta alts so you have to change the former soon :(

 

[Champion Leon]

I don't remember disagreeing with any of your sets before tho, Not just that but i literally said that the set is bad. If i had disagreed with your set that was prolly around when fc waterceus was common...


What about this time When it got 6-0ed by the most common threat on ladder now, prolly add a check to tinted cb sunsteel gigaton zacian, since pdon's dauntless shield activates only once per battle. Perhaps smth like a steelix? Otherwise the team is quite solid so yeah

Also last thing leon i'm taking back #1 with either my gdo69, boredom100, boredom200, god of the cta alts so you have to change the former soon :(

I was Referring to the switch to V-Create to Improof since you had 0 HP EVs / IVs and 0 Def EVs / IVs and it would just be easier to Tera into Fire and V-Create for the same secure 1HKO without compromising your bulk. This was an issue in case Imposter was Choice Scarfed, Bc their own Gigaton Hammer 1HKOs your Zacian-C!

In that post I explained that Imposter doesn’t copy HP, which meant you had actually sacrificed HP unnecessarily. I guess that’s where you said the set was bad? I just checked and couldn’t find where you said the set was bad.

By adding the HP back in, now your Zacian-C can survive a hit from Imposter. Further, V-Create is strong enough to 1HKO Imposter even with max Def IVs, and that allows full bulk on Zacian-C. So my point was now you mentioned V-Create on the set with Tera Fire - at full bulk, on this page’s post, which is what I had mentioned last page.

Moving on, I agree about Lugia. I think it should be looked at more for teams.

*I won multiple matches with the same team, against multiple of yours, without having to switch anything, and got to the rank I am at based on basically 1 team since the Zygarde-Complete ban, I would say my team is pretty solid.

I plan to snatch up the #1 rank soon.

Edit: I already did!

#FriendlyRivalry

#ChampionForAReason

 

[Cta]

uhhh you're back to being ex-champion leon but not the point

Ok so first, not really anything to comment on so im just gonna start with set drop, didn't post them yesterday cuz i had a bunch of homework and encountered a sus guy

Let's talk about deo-a



Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Electro Drift
- Astral Barrage
- Headlong Rush

This inhuman thing 2hkos almost everything in the tier, but the reason mmy is preffered is because it is a journey through hell if you wanna improof deo-a thanks to the existence of lucky punch imposters. A long time back i had a sash deo-a on my godawful first team ( literally didn't change it after the zyg team and didn't even bother to improof deo) but yeah, if you're using deo-a you're gonna have one hell of a time improofing it

Arceus grass: the mon that ignores most of its stabs and only gets hit by astral can run scales to blanket check it. After forcing the protean type change you just gotta play around it.

252 Atk Protean Deoxys-Attack Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Arceus-Grass on a critical hit: 169-200 (38 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO - grassy ass just dies to this thing after some chip for some goddamn reason. Even having 3 mons to improof this dude isn't enough when they all end up chipped a crazy amount that this dude's second appearance shreds your team.

Still though deo-a has some more potential, it doesn't have to be a mixed breaker but also does a neat job of being one of the only mons in the tier that outspeeds zacian and ohkos it. The mixed sets just exploit the lack of regenerator walls since furscales gained popularity.

Then theres this



The real zacian (Gardevoir-Mega) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Blue Flare
- Volt Switch/Strength Sap
- Trick

252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Gardevoir-Mega Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus: 171-201 (38.5 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Armed with trick, and a move that can hit like a truck right through the scales this mon can be crippling if brought in on the right turns. It's basically zacian but it tears it's way through opponents with the sheer power of it's moves rather than forcing moldy moves.

Pretty much 2hkos imposter if they try to switch in, easy to improof due to severe lack of specs imposters in the meta (pleas no)

But theres one pretty significant downside. Arceus outspeeds it so you can't claim it too easily. Still, this thing's redeeming feature is that it's capable of ohkoing a non-scales arc. Pretty good breaker if brought in on the right turns

Talking about slow breakers



Xurkitree @ Life Orb
Ability: Hadron Engine
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rising Voltage
- Strength Sap
- Quiver Dance/Tail Glow
- Steam Eruption/Earth Power

Old xurk set changed to steam eruption with setup. Easy to improof with pdon making it pretty splashable on rain teams as a good breaker. Loses to the fact that pdon is common, then again, don't all rain teams lose to pdon? Well i suppose you could give it earth power to deal with pdon if you're that worried, but that calls for a weirder improof like earth eater mega steelix

Idk, seems pretty cool becoz it 2hkos arc on neutral hits and stalls heal order till elec terrain wears off

252+ SpA Life Orb Hadron Engine Xurkitree Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus in Electric Terrain: 222-262 (50 - 59%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+ after a single QD you outspeed arc and actually ohko even scales variants with your tera

+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Hadron Engine Tera Electric Xurkitree Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus in Electric Terrain: 445-524 (100.2 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The real reason you run groundceus...

+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Hadron Engine Tera Electric Xurkitree Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Arceus-Ground: 269-317 (60.5 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

then just spectral the boosts away. Ofc the set is incapable of breaking sus imposter but the improofing like the steelix or pdon i talked about always exist.

And lastly, How can this post end without an awful set?



The toxic friend (Lugia) @ Leftovers
Ability: Corrosion
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Heal Order
- Teleport
- Thousand Waves

Easy to deal with if you have pheal, give it sc to deal with phealers, do the same thing with eternatus, same story. Completely awful set as almost every team nowdays has a phealer. So yeah. Cya

 

[Champion Leon]

uhhh you're back to being ex-champion leon but not the point

Sounds like you might have missed the current rankings... ;)

Ok so first, not really anything to comment on so im just gonna start with set drop, didn't post them yesterday cuz i had a bunch of homework and encountered a sus guy

Let's talk about deo-a



Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Electro Drift
- Astral Barrage
- Headlong Rush

This inhuman thing 2hkos almost everything in the tier, but the reason mmy is preffered is because it is a journey through hell if you wanna improof deo-a thanks to the existence of lucky punch imposters. A long time back i had a sash deo-a on my godawful first team ( literally didn't change it after the zyg team and didn't even bother to improof deo) but yeah, if you're using deo-a you're gonna have one hell of a time improofing it

Arceus grass: the mon that ignores most of its stabs and only gets hit by astral can run scales to blanket check it. After forcing the protean type change you just gotta play around it.

252 Atk Protean Deoxys-Attack Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Arceus-Grass on a critical hit: 169-200 (38 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO - grassy ass just dies to this thing after some chip for some goddamn reason. Even having 3 mons to improof this dude isn't enough when they all end up chipped a crazy amount that this dude's second appearance shreds your team.

Still though deo-a has some more potential, it doesn't have to be a mixed breaker but also does a neat job of being one of the only mons in the tier that outspeeds zacian and ohkos it. The mixed sets just exploit the lack of regenerator walls since furscales gained popularity.

Anyways, you may wanna change the Tera type on Deo-A, since it is still Psychic, while none of its moves are.
Otherwise, Intrepid Sword can be an option, if you switch to Wicked Blow over Astral Barrage, since it gives a 50% boost to all moves, rather than just the 1st one you select.

Lastly, when you switch the Tera, it wont override the ability's boost, so in dire situations when you need 2.25x power, (Intrepid Sword = 1.5x x 1.5x from STAB = 2.25) so it can shift some key 2HKO's into 1HKOs.

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Dark Deoxys-Attack Wicked Blow vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina on a critical hit: 585-689 (116 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Ground Deoxys-Attack Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Groudon-Primal: 502-593 (124.2 - 146.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Ground Deoxys-Attack Headlong Rush vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Groudon-Primal: 335-398 (82.9 - 98.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
______________________________
On a separate note, I was curious about people's opinions on Melmetal vs Dondozo.

Dondozo has 150 Def and 115 Def vs Melmetal's 135 HP and 143 Defense, each have a matching 65 SpD.
Dondozo has 35 Speed and 100 Atk , while Melmetal has 34 Speed and 143 Atk.

This may make Dondozo better at not healing a foe off of Strength Sap, but it may also make Melmetal better at dealing damage with utility moves, including Spectral Thief, especially if stealing an Atk boost.

Having an immunity to Mortal Spin, and being able to tank a wider array of types of attacks also work in its favor, so it can come in on moves like (Pixelate) Population Bomb.

You can also Tera on Melmetal, unlike Dondozo's more discussed rival Slowbro-Mega, so I feel Melmetal can be more comparable.

Obviously a Water-typing can benefit from being resistant to Fishous and V-Create, but I feel like Melmetal can be a nice alternative, that people often don't consider.

What are everyone's thoughts on Melmetal, and is its Steel-typing really all it takes to make it less popular than Dondozo on teams, or is it just being overlooked? Especially since it can also just Tera.

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Zacian-Crowned Gigaton Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal: 122-144 (25.7 - 30.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Zacian-Crowned Gigaton Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Dondozo: 144-168 (28.5 - 33.3%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Zacian-Crowned Gigaton Hammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slowbro-Mega: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Slowbro-Mega and Melmetal are basically identical in physical bulk, while Dondozo is slightly weaker.

 

[izlore]

Fur Coat Steels are pretty unviable due to Opulse users and Pdon, as well as most mmx sets that aren't libero, since they run strong fighting coverage.

+1 252+ Atk Groudon-Primal V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal in Harsh Sunshine: 522-614 (110.1 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Orichalcum Pulse Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal in Sun: 366-432 (77.2 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


I will say it's got decent use as a check to the standard zac right, since it (most of the time) can switch in on it, even without ability shield

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 204-240 (43 - 50.6%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO (Assuming cloak for cure)
252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 204-240 (43 - 50.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (With lefties)

and it does well into DTC's Zac set (which I've used more than just about any other zac set, thanks DTC)

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal: 164-194 (34.5 - 40.9%) -- 63.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (other item guarantee 3hko), it forces tera to 2hko

I'd be leery about using it just because of the Pdon weakness, but if you can build a pdon check in as well, it is pretty solid.

My go to fc steel has always been mega steelix since I started playing gen 7 with the retro OM ladder last year. The ground stab can be very nice for twaves, and due to the hp difference, it does outclass aggron, in raw bulk, however the water weakness makes the matchup vs rend a bit worse.

Still ohko'd by Pdon, cleanly 2hko'd by opulse zac, outdoes melmetal vs tinted zac, and has super effective stab to hit back with

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 140-166 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Steelix-Mega Thousand Waves vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zacian-Crowned: 206-246 (53 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

and Steelix has a base 150 attack, exceeding melmetals 143 for steel stabs. Obviously the ability to tera is huge, so that plays a factor.

 

[Champion Leon]

Fur Coat Steels are pretty unviable due to Opulse users and Pdon, as well as most mmx sets that aren't libero, since they run strong fighting coverage.

+1 252+ Atk Groudon-Primal V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal in Harsh Sunshine: 522-614 (110.1 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Orichalcum Pulse Zacian-Crowned V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal in Sun: 366-432 (77.2 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


I will say it's got decent use as a check to the standard zac right, since it (most of the time) can switch in on it, even without ability shield

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 204-240 (43 - 50.6%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO (Assuming cloak for cure)
252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Melmetal: 204-240 (43 - 50.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (With lefties)

I'd be leery about using it just because of the Pdon weakness, but if you can build a pdon check in as well, it is pretty solid.

My go to fc steel has always been mega steelix since I started playing gen 7 with the retro OM ladder last year. The ground stab can be very nice for twaves, and due to the hp difference, it does outclass aggron, in raw bulk, however the water weakness makes the matchup vs rend a bit worse.

Still ohko'd by Pdon, cleanly 2hko'd by opulse zac, outdoes melmetal vs tinted zac, and has super effective stab to hit back with

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 140-166 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Steelix-Mega Thousand Waves vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zacian-Crowned: 206-246 (53 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

and Steelix has a base 150 attack, exceeding melmetals 143 for steel stabs. Obviously the ability to tera is huge, so that plays a factor.

Steelix-Mega only has 125 Atk.

Initially, I thought of Melmetal as a mono-type offers in comparison to Dondozo, but I totally agree that Steelix-Mega can be compared to Melmetal, similar to the way Slowbro-Mega is compared to Dondozo, especially for the purpose of how important Tera is.

I think Steelix-Mega's Ground-typing can also help against Nuzzle, and tank Electric moves in general.

Steelix-Mega is a Pokemon I forgot to consider, so I like how you highlighted what it brings to the table.

The only other bulkier Pokemon I can think of, while using Tera into Steel, would be Rhydon, which relies on Eviolite, but unlike Steelix-Mega gets to keep a Ground-type STAB without being a Ground-type, avoiding the Fishous Rend dilemma.

and it does well into DTC's Zac set (which I've used more than just about any other zac set, thanks DTC)

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Melmetal: 164-194 (34.5 - 40.9%) -- 63.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (other item guarantee 3hko), it forces tera to 2hko

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Fur Coat Tera Steel Rhydon: 124-148 (29.9 - 35.7%) -- 35% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Steelix-Mega: 112-134 (31.6 - 37.8%) -- 91.2% chance to 3HKO
____
252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Tera Steel Rhydon: 156-184 (37.6 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Tinted Lens Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Steelix-Mega: 140-166 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
____
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Steelix-Mega: 112-134 (31.6 - 37.8%) -- 91.2% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Fur Coat Tera Steel Rhydon: 124-148 (29.9 - 35.7%) -- 35% chance to 3HKO

At a solid 130 Atk, slightly higher than Steelix-Mega, it can do what Steelix wants to do: hit hard off Ground-typing, without being a Ground-type, while taking hits better.

252 Atk Tera Steel Rhydon Thousand Waves vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned: 212-252 (54.6 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

It also has an acceptable 283 SpD, which is on par with Steelix-Mega's 289 SpD, albeit Rhydon has 30 base more HP, so it takes Special Attacks better too.

Eviolite holds it back against Knock Off, but we are switching into Pokemon that are not trying to rely on Knock Off, and head for overall damage.

Also, Rhydon could Tera into Water as well, which allows it to tank Fire and Water moves, while keeping Ground-type STAB.

 

[izlore]

There are a few issues with Rhydon. The tinted zacian set which rules ladder rn relies on knock off support from its team to get through ability shields. The idea that you're going to have your eviolite is about as like as mbro, dozo or the like having their ashields for that, making rhydon comparatively weaker since its a 1.5x boost from item rather than an effective 2x boost. Also, Rhydon has to come in, then tera into a steel resist, meaning it can't switch in.

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Rhydon: 312-368 (75.3 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Meaning it has limited ability to actually come in and tera.

The opportunity cost is just brutal.

 

[Champion Leon]

There are a few issues with Rhydon. The tinted zacian set which rules ladder rn relies on knock off support from its team to get through ability shields. The idea that you're going to have your eviolite is about as like as mbro, dozo or the like having their ashields for that, making rhydon comparatively weaker since its a 1.5x boost from item rather than an effective 2x boost. Also, Rhydon has to come in, then tera into a steel resist, meaning it can't switch in.

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Steel Zacian-Crowned Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Rhydon: 312-368 (75.3 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Meaning it has limited ability to actually come in and tera.

The opportunity cost is just brutal.

It really just depends, for example if at Team Preview you decide to lead with Rhydon, or have a slow pivot Lead (similar to having a Poison Heal getting slowly pivoted in to avoid status/Knock Off).

I feel that with Melmetal, Slowbro, and Dondozo they don't offer much of an offensive presence to threaten out Zacian-C, but at least Steelix-Mega and Rhydon do thanks to STAB Ground.

Lastly, Rhydon can Tera into Water, giving an advantage over Steelix-Mega, in case they have a Fishous Rend user, or a V-Create user. So it can serve as a Bulky-Water instead of a Bulky Steel.

I think Knock Offs are definitely worth highlighting, but I typically scout as needed, and have a PHealer, or a non-removable item ally, like Groudon Red Orb to serve in that capacity.

Lastly, thanks for your input, it's nice to pivot out of niche movesets, and discuss overall.

Melmetal may be underrated, but it still has its purpose!
________________________

Here is what I think should be the Deoxys-A set:

Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb
Ability: Intrepid Sword
Tera Type: Dark / Ground / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Destiny Bond
- Wicked Blow
- Headlong Rush

Destiny Bond is a nice way to secure a KO, especially against walls that use common Super-Effective moves like U-Turn, Spectral Thief, etc.

Calcs

The ability to 1HKO premier walls / bulky Pokemon:

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Water Deoxys-Attack Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Arceus-Ground: 439-523 (98.8 - 117.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Dark Deoxys-Attack Wicked Blow vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina on a critical hit: 585-689 (116 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Ground Deoxys-Attack Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Groudon-Primal: 502-593 (124.2 - 146.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Ground Deoxys-Attack Headlong Rush vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Groudon-Primal: 335-398 (82.9 - 98.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Deoxys-Attack Headlong Rush vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dialga-Origin: 413-489 (102.2 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO *No Tera

2HKOs:

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Dark Deoxys-Attack Wicked Blow vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Slowbro-Mega on a critical hit: 218-260 (55.3 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Tera Water Deoxys-Attack Fishious Rend (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fur Coat Steelix-Mega: 268-320 (75.7 - 90.3%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes

Faster and more powerful than Zacian-C, and the ability to surprise opponents, since Zacian-C packs physical Atk (STAB) moves, but Deoxys-A is unpredictable.