To my Teammates, I am a hero...
... to you?
I'M THE BAD GUY!!!
-Kingambit, probably
Now that Tera has been banned from National Dex, I have decided to share what I would consider my best Post-Tera team for my very first RMT.
So behold...
CHAOS KING
(Click above for Pokepaste)
As soon as Tera got the axe in this format, I wanted to try out something involving Darkinium Z Kingambit. It seemed to be incredibly potent after viewing a few calculations, securing OHKO's on things like Corviknight, Alomomola, Landorus, and other Kingambits. I'll get to those later, though. This team is designed to lay on constant pressure with vicious attackers like SD Valiant, Charizard Y, and of course Kingambit, while allowing for some room for error with defensive Iron Treads and Slowbro. Well, without further ado, let's get down to my teambuilding process and what these Pokemon fulfill for this team.... to you?
I'M THE BAD GUY!!!
-Kingambit, probably
Now that Tera has been banned from National Dex, I have decided to share what I would consider my best Post-Tera team for my very first RMT.
So behold...
CHAOS KING
(Click above for Pokepaste)
Chaos King (Kingambit) (M) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
As mentioned before, I wanted to design a team around Darkinium Z Kingambit, so I started off with nothing but a standard fast Kingambit set, with Kowtow Cleave over Knock Off for that extra Z damage. Even without Tera, Kingambit still continues to do its thing with Supreme Overlord and SD. Its a nasty attacker that you have to respect, beginning to end. The Darkinium Z allows Kingambit to blast through something that would try to slow down its progress like Alomomola, Landorus, or Corviknight. The Z damage is boosted by Supreme Overlord, making it even more destructive than normal. Getting Kingambit in through Slowbro's Teleport and blasting an unfortunate Corviknight or Dondozo who think that they can take a Knock Off with the Z can pave the way for Kingambit and the team's other members to sweep the opponent.
Vs. 
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 490-577 (91.7 - 108%) -- 50% chance to OHKO1
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 1 ally fainted Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 538-634 (100.7 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKOVs. 
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 411-484 (103 - 121.3%) -- guaranteed OHKOVs. 
+2 252+ Atk Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 334-394 (100 - 117.9%) -- guaranteed OHKOVs. 
3 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 252-297 (50 - 58.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKOAfter one or two Kowtows, Dondozo goes down, just be wary of Body Press.
(252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 135-159 (26.7 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO)
Vs. 
+1 252+ Atk Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 340-402 (89 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO1
+1 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 1 ally fainted Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 375-442 (98.1 - 115.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKOOnly commit to this if you are willing to take significant chip damage.
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 254-302 (74.4 - 88.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Vs. 
3 +2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit: 326-384 (95.6 - 112.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO3
+2 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 3 allies fainted Kingambit Black Hole Eclipse (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Kingambit: 326-384 (80.6 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recoveryOther Options
It is possible to drop some Speed for HP if you want a little bit more bulk. Running max Speed Adamant is probably the safest way to make sure you go first when up against a Corviknight or an opposing Kingambit. Running Low Kick over Iron Head is a possibility if you aren't willing to trade blows with other Kingambits. I've been experimenting with different amounts of HP investment, and I have to say that the added bulk you get can be pretty nice.
Iron Valiant @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Spirit Break
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
A simple SD + 3-attacks Valiant set. I wanted something to deal with the Unholy Triad that just got unleashed (
), and it looked like Valiant could beat these guys quite safely. Booster Energy Valiant functions as my main form of speed control for this team, other than the priority moves that some of my Pokemon can use, I also wanted something with Knock Off to cripple nuisances such as Moltres and Zapdos, and Iron Valiant seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Without Tera, this thing can easily win games on its own. If the opponent makes a mistake and sends their Slowking in expecting a Moonblast, a well-timed Swords Dance will give them a nasty shock.Other Options
Valiant is very versatile, you can easily drop one of these moves for another. Encore or Ice Punch are also good tools for Valiant to have. If you wanted to run one of these moves, I would recommend dropping Spirit Break to fit them in. However, I personally prefer Spirit Break to secure KOs on stuff like Koko, Lele, Latios/Latias, and Z Dragapult safely. A Calm Mind 3-attacks set can also work here, with something like Shadow Ball or Thunderbolt to hit Gholdengo and Moltres/Corviknight respectively, and Aura Sphere/Focus Blast for Kingambit.
Slowbro (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Teleport
I wanted to give this team somewhat of a defensive backbone, it'd make getting my attackers in much easier. I went with Slowbro since Teleport is arguably the best pivot option in the game right now, and its utility and coverage options are immense. Rocky Helmet is there to punish Fighting types that might wanna CC into Kingambit like Lopunny, Medicham, and Urshifu (especially if the latter clicks Surging Strikes for some reason). Thunder Wave is simply a nice support move to have, it makes sure that whatever decides to switch into you, like an Ogerpon for example, gets punished for doing so. Future Sight is just a scary move in general, it conditions the opponent to switch out anything that wouldn't appreciate the hit, stacking it on top of Kingambit and Charizard make them all the more lethal.
Other Options
Slowbro can also run Psychic Noise over Future Sight to disrupt Wish passers or anything that wishes to Recover in front of you. It also gives you a nice Psychic move that you don't have to wait two turns to hit the opponent with. Another few great options would be stuff like Ice Beam or Flamethrower, if I were going for these moves I'd slot them over Thunder Wave. Thunder Wave is a good generalist option, and allows for good speed control, but going for a more powerful way to punish things like Gliscor, Ferrothorn, or Landorus is understandable. You can also replace the Rocky Helmet for Boots if you don't want to constantly take hazard chip.
Raging Bolt @ Magnet
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Thunderclap
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
I needed a strong special attacker, so I threw in Raging Bolt as it feels good to have a backup priority move in Thunderclap. There isn't too much to say about Bolt. This is a pretty standard Raging Bolt set apart from the item. It's probably a little bit weird, but it works. I wanted to give my Raging Bolt a little bit more power, I would've gone with Dragon Z but my Z slot was already taken by Kingambit, so I went with the Magnet. I didn't need Booster since I threw in a Charizard Y, and I don't like how Booster Energy is wasted after a switch either. It has worked pretty well so far, it nets KOs that the opponent would never expect. If they are confident that they live a Thunderclap or Thunderbolt, they get left bewildered when Raging Bolt takes them out with Magnet boosted move.
Other Options
If you don't really vibe with the Magnet, you can run the riskier Life Orb, or Leftovers if you don't want to live on the edge. Assault Vest is also good if you want to drop Calm Mind for Weather Ball, I always thought that AV Bolt and Charizard Y pair quite nicely. You can also invest in a smidgen of bulk if you want to. I personally prefer 252 speed Modest Bolt since it almost guarantees that you will outspeed an opposing Bolt, since a lot of them run some sort of HP investment.
Iron Treads @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Rapid Spin
This Treads set is a little bit unorthodox, but it has actually worked very nicely in practice. I threw this in to cover against stuff like Tapu Lele, which my team was looking quite weak to. I originally ran an Assault Vest to sponge special hits even further, but I ended up dropping that to allow myself to get hazards through Stealth Rocks. Rock Tomb is a cool tech to heavily wound, or even outright KO Pokemon like Moltres or Volcarona. The Speed drop can also come in handy, as the majority of this team have very lackluster Speed stats, and the 12 Speed EVs let it outspeed Modest Bolt. I also needed hazard removal, so I gave Treads Rapid Spin to cover for Charizard's Rock weakness. Many Landorus's (Landori?) and Gliscors will also naturally fear Ice Spinner, so you can use that to your advantage and attempt to bluff the move.
Other Options
You can run the standard 252 Speed Booster Energy Treads if you don't want this slower, more bulky variant. Ice Spinner is also a reasonable replacement for Rock Tomb, so you can chunk Landorus & Gliscor for a fair amount of their HP.
Charizard-Mega-Y (F) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Air Slash
- Scorching Sands
- Solar Beam
And last but certainly not least, we have Mega Charizard Y. This guy has gotten so much stronger since Tera's ban, no longer does it have to fear a random Tera Water Blissey or G-Slowking. I wanted another vicious special attacker. I originally tried Life Orb Tornadus-T, but I got absolutely sick of missing all those Bleakwinds and Focus Blasts, so I went with the more consistent Charizard Y. It also sets the Sun to soup up Raging Bolt, so I think it fits the team quite nicely. Air Slash is there to poke Dragons like Kommo-o and Dragonite, or Moltres, which loves to switch in on Charizard. Scorching Sands hits Heatran and Tyranitar for a significant amount and can burn the latter, and Solar Beam is just great Grass coverage.
Other Options
If you don't fear using less accurate moves, you can trade Weather Ball for Fire Blast for that added power, and Scorching Sands for Focus Blast to take down Tyranitar in one blow, while still threatening Heatran. It really depends whether or not you desire consistency or power. Roost is also a reasonable move to try to slot, giving up one of your four valuable moves is a tough choice though, but if I had to choose, I'd probably drop Air Slash for Roost.
Things to Watch Out For
Unsurprisingly, Dragapult is still a great disruptor for many teams. The sets that threaten this team the most would be the the Hex-O-Wisp set and the Specs set. Hex-O-Wisp can burn many of your attackers, and those who don't mind the burn (Bolt and Slowbro) will not appreciate an incoming Hex. Specs is probably more dangerous, as you have to do some very decisive switching around it, Kingambit will not appreciate a potential Flamethrower, and no one else wants to take a Shadow Ball to the face.
The Solution
Play a bit more patiently around Dragapult until you know what its moveset is, then play around it accordingly. Specs can be beaten with some decisive switching, and punishing the Dragapult's misplays like Shadow Balling into Kingambit or Draco'ing into Valiant, and if you are really confident, try to call out its U-Turns to penalize whatever comes into the field next. Hex-O-Wisp can be annoying at first, but once you chunk its HP enough, you can threaten it with a Thunderclap from Bolt, whittling it down by catching U-Turns with Slowbro is an OK way to do this, just beware of whatever switches into you. If you can get Valiant in, either SD on the Dragapult's switch, or if you think they are bold enough to stay in, use Spirit Break and send them to oblivion.
Tapu Lele, especially non-choiced variants, can be a menace for this team. Treads can function as a relatively safe switch against Lele with its Special Defense EVs, but you still have to fear a Focus Blast. As you are slower than the Lele, if they aren't choiced they might just release an All Out Pummeling, which will KO Treads. Specs sets also do considerable damage to Treads even without Focus Blast, if you don't deal with Lele fast it can overwhelm this team very easily.
The Solution
Try to figure out the Lele's set, going Treads is a safe play for the most part. I always assume its Scarfed if they don't do Specs boosted damage. Sometimes I will double to Slowbro after going Treads just to scout for a potential Focus Blast, and if they switch I can generally assume they are running a Scarf. Thunder Waving the Lele with Slowbro if you can is also a good way to neutralize it for the rest of your team. If the Lele reveals that it isn't choiced, threaten it with Charizard's attacks to force it out of the field or just defeat it. Do some clever switching if you think they will try to Focus Blast Treads on the switch, Slowbro can usually take a Moonblast or two, so sometimes it doesn't hurt to switch to Slowbro to try to catch a Focus Blast.
Another Pokemon that can prove incredibly dangerous for this team is Iron Valiant, without Tera it can be really difficult to respond to if you guess the set wrong. The set that is probably the most dangerous for this team would be a combination of Moonblast, Calm Mind, Aura Sphere/Focus Blast, and Thunderbolt. This combo can hit everyone on the team super effectively, resulting in some serious damage. If many of the team is whittled down, the only option might be to risk a speed tie with your own Valiant.
The Solution
Iron Valiant might be the most dangerous Pokemon for this team to deal with. If it has the right moves, it requires very diligent playing and trade-offs to take down. A +1 Thunderbolt will never OHKO Slowbro or Charizard from full HP. So if it comes down to that, Thunder Wave the Valiant or Weather Ball it, leaving it open to a priority Thunderclap, or an attack from your own Valiant. If you think they are going to set up with a Calm Mind, then hit them with a Thunder Wave or Rock Tomb with Treads or Slowbro to slow them down if you are okay with the possibility of losing these Pokemon. Make sure to keep hazards off as much as possible if you see a Valiant on the enemy team, so you can use Slowbro or Charizard as an emergency check. If the Valiant takes enough chip, threaten it with Bolt's Thunderclap. SD variants aren't nearly as threatening because they cant OHKO Slowbro even with a +2 Knock Off, same with Charizard. If worst somehow comes to worst, risk the speed tie with your own Valiant and go for Spirit Break.
+1 252 SpA Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 332-392 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Charizard-Mega-Y: 248-292 (83.5 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Iron Valiant Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 286-338 (72.5 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Charizard-Mega-Y: 248-292 (83.5 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Iron Valiant Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 286-338 (72.5 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
REPLAYS:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2247922568-vi54jnvsu2umrrhf98kztzyere9djvypw?p2
I think that this replay is a good showcase of the Dark Z Kingambit in action. I knew my opponent expected their Alomomola to survive so they can heal up their Tusk in the back, so I launched the Z to make sure that didn't happen, and won the game because of it.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2247346269-s0m3aigb8zi841q3yggq0n188f4w8y6pw
I couldn't afford to SD against this person's Melmetal, but after they switched it in, it got put in range for the Z move, so I took them out by using it.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2249814529-abzm5raf43s9nk7q79kd56altkegn8dpw?p2
Here is a replay of me catching a Dondozo with the Darkinium Z. They were clearly planning to rest off the damage after supposedly living the next Cleave, but got downed by the Z and lost.
I will try to add more replays to this as time goes on. But I think these ones are good enough showcases of what Dark Z Kingambit can do.
So let me know what you think of this team! I had a lot of fun building teams Post-Tera, it feels like a breath of fresh air after what I would consider a pretty lame meta with Tera involved. With clever playing I think that this team has a lot of potential, I hope it goes well for anyone who ends up trying it.
As of now, the highest ELO I have reached while using this team is 1916, #3 on the ladder!
This team also won "Best National Dex RMT of 2024"!
This team also won "Best National Dex RMT of 2024"!
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