SM Ubers The Dreaded Circus (Peaked #31 at 1720 ELO)

THE DREADED CIRCUS

Hello everyone! Welcome to the circus! This is my first RMT here at Smogon. I have been playing on PS! for a while now, lurking about in the Ubers room and the ladder.

This here, is a team that has helped me reach the 31st spot on the current Ubers ladder and I consider this quite the achievement. But, I feel that this team doesn’t have the extra oomph to make the final push to the top 10, so here I am, asking for your guidance!


I wanted to use something that I don’t use regularly. So I thought of using CB Rayquaza due to its massive damage output and the ability to severely dent fat teams with the right moves. Making the other Pokemon have a much easier time.


I needed another threat that exerted a lot of offensive pressure. So I added the CM variant of Ultra Necrozma using Dusk Mane as the base as that’ll soften some of the otherwise super-effective Moonblasts and Rice Beams. Dusk Mane also saves me from the potential Toxic.


For hazards, I added Mix SR Primal Groudon that uses Rock Tomb to cripple any incoming switches and make them more susceptible to easy damage and, Overheat that can nuke opposing steels, and severely dent Supportceus variants that aren’t Water. It also helps me in checking Xerneas which is death to the dragons.


I needed a defogger that could help me take on opposing Groudon, and many of the dragons in the tier that drop dead to an Ice Beam (Sup MMence?) So, I added Arceus-Water to the mix.


My greed for having multiple choiced mons had just started. I needed a nuke that hits hard on the special side. Knowing how YGod is still one of the best Choice Specs options to have in Ubers. The ability to deal obscene amounts of damage on the likes of Zygarde was something that was not to be ignored.


Lastly, I needed an additional check to Ultra Necrozma, YGod and, Xerneas. So I slotted Magearna in.

But, wait. I wonder why there’s always a but?

But, Waterceus and Magearna weren’t helping much against teams that contained Mega Lucario. I was sorely mistaken into believing that Magearna could check Necrozma day-and-night. And, Waterceus wasn’t doing much, instead I felt I was losing momentum due to it.


Replaced Waterceus to Groundceus as it checks Primal Don better while threatening Dusk Mane and Lucario. Shifted Magearna to Choice Scarf Xerneas to keep around as a revenge killer for Ultra Necrozma as well as a check to YGod.


Upon suggestion from my peeps at STAG. I switched CM Ultra Necrozma to Double Dancer Dusky Boi (uff..) to turn it into a late-game sweeper that doesn’t have to slower than Mega Gengar.


Here’s the team in depth...


The Fool (Rayquaza) @ Choice Band
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- V-create

Do not be fooled by the name. The star of the circus is responsible for dealing a hell lotta damage right off the bat. Truth be told, there are very few that survive a 2HKO from it if the right move is used against it, such is the power. But with great power, comes great stat drops. The strongest of The Fool’s moves are packed with sharp drops that make it more of a hit-and-run mon than a cleaner. This mon is best used versus slow paced teams to dent the the fat away to make way for Yveltal or Dusky Boi. The crippling weakness to Stealth Rock is also a liability, so make sure to keep rocks away as much as possible!

The EVs should be self-explainatory. I use Adamant for the maximum damage output with Choice Band and at 289 Speed, I’m able to outrun neutral base 90s like Primal Don and Ogre and everything under them.


The Chariot (Necrozma-Dusk-Mane) @ Solganium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 156 HP / 132 Atk / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Autotomize
- Sunsteel Strike
- Earthquake


The second act of the show is the ruthless late-game cleaner of the team. Thanks to user Serial Ekiller, I found out that 132 EVs in Attack is just enough to destroy opposing threats, while the HP EVs combined with the Attack EVs minimize damage from Yveltal’s Foul Play. Searing Sunraze Smash deals a solid amount of damage on threats but it is truly best used on opposing YGods or for powering through Offensive variants of Ho-Oh. Sunsteel Strike also makes it better as I have another way of dealing with Xerneas. Earthquake takes care of Primal Groudon and anything that resists Steel. The speed EVs put it to 246 which at +2 lets it outrun everything relevant in the tier.

14/11/17 Edit: With 220 EVs in Speed you can hit 490 at +2 which outruns Scarf Timid YGod/Xern. Unless, of course you wish to speed tie with Timid Scarf Palkia at 492 then don't bother changing!

P.S.: HAIL DUSKY BOI!


Judgment (Arceus-Ground) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Judgment
- Ice Beam
- Defog
- Recover

Judgment is a bunch of roles fused together. It is the primary defogger of the team. It checks Mega Salamence, Mega Lucario, Primal Groudon and, Zygarde-C. Judgment powers through most mons while Ice Beam is to cover for what Judgment can’t. Recover is needed to keep it healthy for the harder times. 248 HP EVs for the necessary bulk. The Speed EVs put me to 356 which let me outrun Mega Lucario, the rest I dumped in Defense to bulk it up further.


Strength (Groudon-Primal) @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 120 HP / 20 Atk / 232 SpA / 136 Spe
Mild Nature
- Overheat
- Rock Tomb
- Precipice Blades
- Stealth Rock

The fourth act of the dangerous circus isn’t a joke either. It is by far the best Hazard Setter in the entire game and the multitude of sets it can run only makes it more lethal. The Speed EVs put it to 250 Speed letting it outrun standard GeoXern, fat YGod, and tank variants of Dusky Boi. 20 Attack EVs is just enough to dent most target with the EdgeQuake combo of Precipice and Tomb, with tomb in specific helping a lot when it comes to crippling switchins like Supportceus and Lugia. Overheat lets me one-hit standard Tank NecroLeo and Celesteela with ease.



Death (Yveltal) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- Heat Wave
- U-turn

We're close to the end of the show. Here is The Fool's partner in crime. While Rayquaza dents from the physical side, Death rains death from the special side. Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing are obligatory STABs, I keep Heat Wave for Magearna and U-Turn is for scouting out potential threats and going out safely out of them. You can choose whether to go for more power or speed. I generally go for speed as it's able to outspeed max speed Rayquaza and the max speed Primals. However you can go Modest to generate much more damage, especially on supportceus formes.



High Priestess (Xerneas) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast / Thunder
- Aromatherapy
- Defog

The final act—High Priestess is the solution for threats like Ultra Necrozma. It revenge kills a lot of potential threats like Marshadow and Mega Salamence. Alongwith this, it also acts as an emergency cleric and defogger. I generally use Focus Blast to hit Ferrothorn/Magearna on the switch but Thunder can be used for Waterceus, Ho-Oh and, Primal Kyogre.

Threatlist
- To be filled in later

Steal My Team!
https://pokepast.es/d22dd5da7594502f (for the V1, the RMT)


14/11/17 Edit: http://pokepast.es/1be273e330515740 (for the V2 with 3017 edits, note the Speed EVs on Dusky Boi now is just enough for outrun Timid Scarf Xern/YGod at +2 and the 4 EVs can be dumped in HP or Attack. That change has been reflected in the OP but not in the paste above so be careful! Also thanks to user 3017 for the rate!)

Oh, here's proof of my peak!


Shoutouts (Cuz, we can never have enough!)
The entire STAG klan: I don't remember everyone's name so a huge sorry! ;_; But special af s/o to peeps like Mags and TTG who accepted me into the klan. JJoy, Loloartsi, and Holy Break for helping out with the team. Cucc Leru, Gayray Oak and, 4gb the Unnuttable for being high-level badasses. And EVERYONE who has to deal with my dumb daily shenanigans. Thank you guys, you'll have my respect till the very end.

CKW and Serial Ekiller:... and several other people from the Ubers room who helped me in testing several versions of this team and for just being good all-around friends. Special mentions for Ekiller for bringing in strange stuff on the ladder but still being a dangerous opponent.

And you for reading through this huge wall of text! Thank you!
 
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Stoward

Ah, you're finally awake
Hi cool team here. Personally I don't really have many issues with it other than that you have 3 choiced mons and since you're not running any SpD on Primal Groudon I believe that ogre would be annoying and if Dusk Mane Necrozma takes any previous damage, then Xerneas would be rather threatening. Furthermore since nothing on your team is that weak to hazards, I don't see the need to run two defogs. Fortunately those are all minor issues so fixing these won't take a lot of effort. Also I'm on my phone so apologies for the wall of text.

CHANGE 1: MEGA SALAMENCE > RAYQUAZA

As I mentioned before, 3 choiced mons seems a little excessive. Since this team doesn't have a mega, I don't really see any reason to run Rayquaza over mence. In fact you're benefited with intimidate before you Mega which is always nice when you're facing physical attackers. The set I have in mind is pretty standard, but I'll post an inportable below:

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Double-Edge
- Roost
- Facade


CHANGE 2: PRIMAL GROUDON
While your Primal Groudon set is awesome (I've never actually tried Overheat Don but it looks like a lot of fun). I believe a set with more SpD would improve your matchup vs Kyogre and Xerneas. The set that I have in mind is the offensive Stealth Rock set from the analysis. With 152 HP and 44 SpD which guarantees that you live a focus blast or hidden power Ground from Xerneas after Stealth Rock and means that you're take a lot less damage from Ice Beams from Kyogre. I've got the option for Dragon Tail or Fire Punch since one phases out mons (especially giratina, Salamence and Rayquaza or one lets you hit ferrothorn and celesteela super hard. Since you have fire coverage on Yveltal and Dusk Mane Necrozma though, Dragon tail seems more ideal in this situarion.

Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 152 HP / 236 Atk / 44 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Tail/Fire Punch
- Rock Tomb

CHANGE 3: ARCEUS GROUND
As I mentioned before, I don't see the need to have double defog in a team that's not weak to hazards. Right now your Groundceus is completely walled by Ho-oh so personally I feel like your best option is to just run toxic over defog. Toxic is also just one of the most spammable moves in the game, and really useful for Arceus Ground since spamming toxic invites in steel types and poison types which are all weak to Ground.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:
I honestly really enjoyed rating this team, it honestly looks like a lot of fun to use (which considering I haven't been that keen on USUM ubers, that actually says a lot). Anyway I hope you enjoy using the team with the changes that I've made and I wish you good luck with your team :)
 
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