Houses Of The Holy (Ubers)

The entire Uber Metagame revolves around two Pokemon: Arceus and Kyogre. A bold statement, yes, but true nonetheless. Unbalanced teams quickly and easily fall to a Specs Water Spout Attack, or a boosted Extremespeed. But this brings a double edged sword. Because they are so powerful, everyone brings a counter or check for them. In the current metagame, there are two options for being successful. Run a team carrying the big threats with team support, or run an anti-metagame team meant to counter the biggest threats, and then clean up afterwards. This team is the former, Kyogre and Arceus wreaking havoc with team support. This particular team is all about synergy, and was the main focus of my team building. I only had one phase of actual team building, so I'm not doing to include that. I had a Rayquaza on the team, but was replaced by Dialgia.

I had peaked at #5 on the Smogon Ubers ladder on PO before Showdown had a climbable Ubers ladder, I have yet to take it there to see how it fares. And all other servers Uber ladders were pretty sucky anyway.

That being said, I always revolve my Uber teams around a Led Zeppelin Album. Houses of the Holy fit for this particular one.



TheRainSong (Kyogre) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Water Spout
- Surf
- Thunder
- Ice Beam

The most powerful Special Attacker of the game, bar none. Everyone knows the raw destructive force of Specs Kyogre. Laughing at potential special walls like Ferrothorn and Chansey as they get 2HKO'd by Water Spout. Dare not invoke the wrath of Specs Kyogre, one misplay and game over. Standard set, Max HP for the bulk. Kyogre without Scarf isn't going to be outspeeding much, and the extra HP helps with opposing Kyogre, Palkia, and Groudon that might try to ruin the fun.

Kyogre is the focal point of the team, as far as synergy goes. Because nobody wants to take a specs Water Spout, they usually have something that can take a hit and retaliate quickly to stop the HP-Dependent Water Spout (Usually Palkia). Ferrothorn and Dialgia make a great combination with Kyogre, covering weaknesses and specific threats. Kyogre also provides Rain for Kabutop's Swift Swim, which in turn provides Rapid Spin to keep Kyogre healthier to fire off more attacks.



No Quarter (Dialga) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SAtk / 200 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Att)
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Roar

Aside from the occasional battle where all of the attacking moves miss, Dialga fills three important roles on an Uber team. One: Stealth Rocks. Two: A powerful Fire Blast to get rid of (or hamper in rain) Ferrothorn and Forretress who are the premier set-up users of the metagame. Three: Fills the mandatory Dragon-Type to fire off obscenely powerful Draco Meteor attacks. Roar to help with opposing set ups and subs, as well as racking up entry hazards. You know the drill.

Dialga pairs extremely with Lugia, immune and 4x resistant to its two type weaknesses. From there, Lugia can also capitalize on Stealth Rocks being up with Whirlwind, or support the rest of the team with Reflect.



Dancin' Days (Kabutops) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Waterfall

Hands down, MVP of the team. Kabutops makes a return from the lower tiers again to sweep entire teams without a second thought. Breaking 500 Attack with A Choice Band, a Waterfall in the Rain OHKOs Anything that doesn't resist after Stealth Rocks and Spikes that isn't named Skarmory (Still 2HKO'd though). Stone Edge smashes Giratina-O, who poses a large threat to the rest of the team. Dialgia pairs very well with Kabutops, as this set is utterly walled by Palkia, Giratina, and Grass Arceus, and Rayquaza. While Rapid Spin may seem odd on a glass cannon like Kabutops, it plays a key role in situations where Kabutops may not be so useful against the opponent's team, and hazards (Particularly Toxic Spikes) hamper the sweeping ability of Kyogre and Arceus. I have been in many situations where a Rapid Spin and sacking my Kabutops led to a successful Arceus set-up and sweep.



SongRemains (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave/Protect

Any Uber team running Kyogre without Ferrothorn or Forretress is doing something wrong. Everyone knows how well Ferro does in the rain, able to sponge up attacks from all of Kyogre's top switch-ins. Combined with additional switching power of Lugia and Dialgia, the three create a powerful defensive core, broken only by odd sets and the ever occasional crit. Set is fairly standard, Protect and Thunder Wave have been mixed and matched, both have their pros and cons, but I find myself sticking with Thunder Wave more than anything. Getting that nice Paralysis on switches is very nice. The combination of Dialgia and Lugia play very well with each other. Lugia is able to sponge any sort of fighting attack that would otherwise demolish Ferro; in turn Ferrothorn resists Dark, Ghost and Electric attacks that would otherwise plague Lugia. Ferro still takes neutral damage from Ice, but with the Sassy EV spread, it's not gonna be doing much.



The Ocean (Lugia) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Reflect/Toxic
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Which brings us to the final piece of the defensive core. Lugia is an extremely capable defensive wall that is often overlooked for Giratina, and even Skarmory. However, Lugia has many advantages that make it a much sturdier wall. First and foremost is its access to instant recovery, something that Giratina covets and tries to imitate with Rest SleepTalk sets. Second is Whirlwind, able to phaze the ever-so-common Sub SetUp Pokemon in the Ubers Metagame. Since Lugia takes the role of being the main Defensive Wall, Reflect is an excellent addition in order to help the rest of the team in case Lugia gets in a hot spot. Ice Beam is handy to have to take out Rayquazas who try to set up, only to be demolished. I have swapped out Ice Beam for Toxic as well, but usually Reflect is the more expendable move.



D'yer Mak'er (Arceus-Ghost) @ Spooky Plate
Trait: Multitype
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 SpAtt
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Judgement
- Focus Blast
- Recover

Whereas Kyogre is the focal point of team Synergy, Arceus is the glue that holds it all together. Ghost Arceus provides a much needed Spinblocker, as well as an answer to Sub Punch Palkia, an otherwise plague to the team. Also provides a handy check to opposing Extremekiller Arceus Sets. Pairs extremely well with the Darkrai-Ferro-Lugia core, providing an immunity against Fighting for Dialga and Ferrothorn, Lugia's screens allow for an easier set-up for Arceus. Set is very standard and simple. Max HP to allow for bulkyness, Timid to outspeed Adamant Ekiller, Judgement and Focus Blast for coverage, Recovery for additional bulk.



Giratina/O - God Dammit Giratina. It utterly counters two of my three primary attackers with proper prediction, and laughs at Lugia's attempt to do damage. Giratina-O is deals quite a chunk to Ferrothorn with HP fire, who would otherwise stall to hell with Leech Seed. The most common types of Giratina are Rest Talkers with Dragon Tail and W-O-W. While Ferrothorn can EVENTUALLY stall this set out, it phazes (Usually supported by Hazards) and spreads burns, taking its toll on the rest of the team. Best handled by an Ice Beam smacked to the face by good 'ol SpecsOgre, or a Draco Meteor my Dialgia. If I see a Giratina in the team preview, I always try to keep Kyogre alive as long as possible. Giratina-O is less of a problem, but always leaves a dent in everything. Dialgia is the best way to stop this, but a nice Ice Beam from Kyogre will work well too. Stone Egde from Kabutops helps alleviate the pressure (Pun intended) Giratina puts on the team.


Sub Punch Palkia - I hate this set, as it completely and utterly counters 4 out of 6 Pokemon on my Team. I don't see these often, so usually I'm safe. But if a Palkia subs up and starts a punchin, that's GG. A trade off I'm willing to put up with. If I'm lucky, Lugia can survive a Thunder and Whirlwind Palkia out, giving me a fighting chance. Ghost Arceus is the best counter to the set, but is for some crazy ass reason Arceus is gone, then SubPunch Palkia still has the upperhand.


Sub Hone Claws Zekrom - This set it the bane of my existence, as there is nothing my team can do to this set. Zekrom simply subs up and laughs at my attempts to do anything as it sets up. From there, it easily goes on a sweeping spree, dispatching all of my Pokemon. My best bet is usually to get rid of these as soon as possible. With some nice predictions it's very possible, and I've done it multiple times. However, there's always that one occasion that they're able to set up, and from there there's nothing I can do. Best handled by a Roar from Dialgia, and then kill later when momentum is back on my side.

That's the Team, feel free to rate, comment, steal, whatever.


Importable

I'd put kyogre in your threats list, it 2hkos your entire team

[3:44:43 PM] Ianeh: tell him specs palk > dialga sr on ferro exca > kabu and scarf ogre
[3:44:45 PM] Divination: lol k
[3:44:48 PM] Ianeh: :3
[3:44:49 PM] Ianeh: .-.
[3:44:51 PM] Ianeh: - lila

so in short specs palkia gives you another switchin to kyogre, along with ferrothorn, so you can get handle it easier, and also has great synergy with the scarf kyogre reccomended [specs palk lures in and 2hkos ferro with hydro pump, opening up a sweep for ogre].

excadory helps with your zekrom problem and apparently is one of the best offensive spinners in ubers

also this just in

[3:47:09 PM] Ianeh: tell him to run a more offensive exca set so that he wear down gira-a / o and spin
[3:47:13 PM] Ianeh: and it helps vs zekrom

also former youtube great blazin kickin chicken [bkc] suggests lum iron head exca, to counter the influx of WoW giratina-o in bw2 metagame, also switch lugia over to multiscale

hopefully all of our rating helped your team so it can get to #1