I started this build after watching Bella nearly get swept by CM
Lugia on ladder (she got bailed by a crit if you're wondering what happened). I thought CM Lugia looked like a ton of fun, and decided to try it out for myself. Looking at Lugia's checks, I realized many of them, namely 
Darkceus, 
Eleceus, and 
Giratina either can't or often don't hold HBD, so I added 
pex to the team. T-Spikes cripple many of Lugia's checks and Poison-types aren't especially common right now, so they're very annoying to clear from the field. Noticing both of my Pokemon so far were scared of Eleceus, I opted to add a Giratina to the team, who also doubles as a spinblocker to keep T-Spikes on the field for as long as possible. Although you might think Ice Beam nails Giratina, you'd be sorely mistaken, with Ice Beam not even cracking a 3hko on the given EV spread. With 3 Pokemon at least soft-checked by Darkceus, it was time to add a 
Zama to the team. Zama, much like Lugia, is a longevity-based sweeper, so being able to get up T-spikes makes its job of sitting on the field until it OHKOs your whole team much easier. The team by now was looking pretty solid, but also pretty ghost weak, with Zama unable to hit them, Lugia being weak to their attacks, Pex not threatening them, and Giratina in the same spot as Lugia, Darkceus felt like a necessary addition to the team. 
Zacian was added as the last slot to handle Pokemon like 
who could cause problems for the team, along with providing speed control and finishing a type core. Zacian can beat pokemon like Giratina, 
Magearna, and 
Solgaleo, who can otherwise cause the other sweepers issues.
Ascension (Lugia) @ Heavy-Duty-Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Tera Type: Fairy
Bold Nature
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Calm Mind
- Recover
Lugia is one of the team's multiple win conditions, but through the course of a match you'll typically be using it as much moreof a wall than anything else. It blanket walls pretty much the whole tier. The given speed allows
Lugia to outspeed uninvested
Arceus, with minimal cost to bulk. Lugia is nearly unstoppable once a team's Physical attackers have been KO'd, though it can set up on some physical attackers like 
Palafin locked into Jet Punch. 
New Balance (Toxapex) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
Careful Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze
- Recover
- Gunk Shot
Toxapex stacks T-spikes putting opposing teams on a timer, which is especially useful given the team's multiple walls. Toxapex walls Pokemon like Zacian and 
Fireceus for Lugia, with T-Spikes crippling other checks to Lugia like Darkceus. The given EV spread allows Toxapex to dodge the 2hko from 
Palkia-O's Spacial Rend, while retaining the ability to wall Arceus-Fire and Zacian. Gunk Shot does solid damage to 
Hatterene, preventing it from setting up on you or blocking your tspikes. 
OLLA (Giratina) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Dragon Tail
- Rest
- Defog
Giratina removes entry hazards for Arceus-Dark and Zamazenta-C, spinblocks for Toxapex, and serves as the team's phazer. The given EV spread dodges a 3hko from Electriceus's Ice Beam, with the rest dumped into Physical Defense for Pokemon like Arceus-Fire and Palafin. Giratina is a blanket check to like, 90% of the metagame. Giratina synergizes amazingly with Arceus-Dark and Lugia, who can wall most threats it can't. Dragon Tail is especially useful on this team, as it can phaze out sweeper while poisoning another mon thanks to tspikes.
Sativa (Zamazenta-Crowned) @ Rusted Shield
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Def / 200 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Crunch
- Behemoth Bash
Zamazenta-C is an amazing wincon and check to Darkceus for Lugia and Giratina. Versus some teams it can win on preview, and is a fairly easy wincon to facilitate, as once the opponent's given check, typically a 
Chi-Yu, Giratina, or 
Kyurem-W. The EVs don't miss any speed tiers, with more defense investment for more damage and HP for additional bulk.
Jukai (Arceus-Dark) @ Dread Plate
Ability: Multitype
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Taunt
- Judgment
- Recover
Darkceus checks Pokemon like Chi-Yu and Kyurem-W, which Lugia and Giratina can't. It is also easily able to clean up weakened teams thanks to its amazing statline. Arceus-Dark is the team's main way to break stall, which is why Tera Fairy is being used over Tera Poison, to block Dragon Tail from Giratina and the like. 76 Physical Defense usually dodges a 2hko from Palafin's Jet Punch, without missing any speed tiers.
Moments (Zacian) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intrepid Sword
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Close Combat
- Tera Blast
Zacian is this team's main speed control, and assists with threats like Kingambit and Urshifu. It also removes Pokemon like Magearna and 
Skarmory for Lugia and Zamazenta-C. It also caps off a Fairy/Steel/Dragon core, checks 
Mewtwo, and is usually bulky enough to take whatever hit is thrown at it, making it an excellent revenge killer.
Giratina can be annoying for most of your sweepers, try and KO it with either Zac or :arceus-dark Darkceus. Arceus-Fire can force Giratina to rest after repeated setup, which can put you into difficult situations. Toxapex can handle it, but not if it Tera Normals. You checks to Darkceus don't have reliable recovery, so they can be worn down over the course of a game, if you're worried that might happen, just tera Giratina and try to get Tspikes up. Arceus-Electric can be annoying, but Giratina can handle it to an extent. Once again, Giratina plus Tspikes should be able to handle it.
Last edited: