Kia Ora!
I love Cinderace. Gen 8 Cinderace was (rip) my favourite OU mon, so strong and fast. Fast forward to Gen 9 and power creep has hurt it a lot. Yeah, the Libero nerf hurt but Pyro Ball -> U-Turn does the same thing now as it did back then. It just struggles to keep up offensively in SV, no longer is it an apex predator. I wanted to build around Choice Band Cinderace, to try to return it to top threat status and remind everyone why it was banned in gen 8.
https://pokepast.es/c1090c6bd7a1c7b8
The Fool (Cinderace) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Pyro Ball
- Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot
In order to make Cinderace feel as hard hitting as it did in gen 8, it needs a little help in the form of Choice Band. Pyro Ball has a 98.8% chance to 2HKO max HP Great Tusk, and with Tera Fire you 2HKO max defence Gliscor even after 2 turns of poison heal recovery. Zamazenta can only switch in to Cinderace once before it gets cooked, same with Dragapult. Most everything else gets fried. Only the most sturdy Pokémon in the tier can stand up to Ace, and that's what coverage is for. Gunk Shot hits bulky Clefable and Primarina, as well as random tera fairy that may pop up. Zen Headbutt may seem odd, but it lets you 2HKO fully phys def Great Tusk without commiting to tera, and is handy into Iron Moth, Clodsire and Pecharunt. U-Turn lets you pivot out of the few Pokémon you cant break such as Alomomola, Dondozo, or Bulky Dragonite, while also providing a strong offensive tool into all Ogerpon forms or something like Darkrai, which can be otherwise tough to switch in to for this team.
Cinderace is a great lead into most teams, as you can threaten huge damage before they have a chance to limit you with stealth rocks. Claiming a KO with your coverage moves early (against something like a Primarina lead who usually forces you out) is huge, because it means you can just click fire move for the rest of the game. Samurott-H/Lando leads are a bit annoying as with a scarf they threaten all of hazards, pivot move, a KO on Cinderace and a 2HKO on Hatterene. Samurott is a little easier to tell if it is scarf based on team structure, but I would pretty mush always hard switch to Tusk/Zapdos on a Lando lead, just to scout their set. If you are confident that you're facing non-scarf Samurott, the single funniest interaction with this team is U-Turn to bring them to sash, then Great Tusk switch so they die to helmet and are denied spikes.
The Magician (Hatterene) @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SpA / 116 SpD / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind
- Nuzzle
With no boots, Cinderace requires hazard control and appreciates a strong offensive & defensive presence to support it. Hatterene is one of the most reliable methods to keep hazards off, while also helping out against some of Cinderace's bad matchups. Most notably with covert cloak, Hat obliterates Garganacl which otherwise can give this team trouble. Cloak also boosts consistency against threats like Darkrai and Iron Valiant, allowing you to ignore Sludge Bomb poisons or Shadow Ball SpD drops which could cause you to lose the 1v1. Cloak is such an insane item on this pokemon. It turn Hat from okay but inconsistent into one of the most consistent mons on the team, which is very welcome given all of Cinderace's strong moves can miss.
24 speed EVs allow you to outspeed paralyzed Kingambit, The SpA means you always KO Valiant with Psyshock, almost always KO Darkrai at +1 with Draining Kiss, and outheal Great Tusk's Headlong Rush with Kiss.
The bulk investment helps out against the aforementioned special threats, surviving a +1 Valiant Shadow Ball, and allowing you to click calm mind against boots Darkrai to avoid a 2hko. You also have good odds to live a tera fairy specs Enamorus Moonblast, and can cripple it with Nuzzle. You can also take on some physical threats with just max HP. Notably Zamazenta doesn't OHKO with Heavy Slam and Dragonite is forced to tera in order to KO you from full even at +2, allowing you to cripple them with Nuzzle, or chip with Kiss/Psyshock.
Hatterene really enjoys Cinderace melting steels like Gholdengo, which can beat you if they get in before you're set up enough. In turn Hat helps immensely into Garganacl, and can put checks like Zamazenta or Dragonite in awkward positions.
The Chariot (Great Tusk) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 184 HP / 72 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Rapid Spin
- Close Combat
- Ice Spinner
Hatterene is not enough hazard control unfortunately, and I needed something to remove them if they did go up (or at least threaten removal to force progress). As the most consistent removal in the tier, Great Tusk was an easy choice. Rocky helmet punishes contact moves like opposing rapid spin, giving you a switch in in the mirror and something to auto KO any low hp physical attacker.
Tera Ghost is used here to block rapid spin from opposing Great Tusk/Iron Treads, in the case that you need to outspeed them after your own spin or you really need spikes to stay up.
184 HP allows Great Tusk to survive a max attack Ogerpon-W Power Whip from full, and also lets you live a 5-allies +0 Kingambit Iron Head and Sucker Punch at -1 defense.
The attack investment gives you a shot to KO Ogerpon with Spin --> CC after spikes, and lets you 2HKO a tera'd Kingambit with headlong, after helmet chip. It also gives you much better odds to KO Raging Bolt from full, forcing them to tera or be KO'd.
Close Combat is used over Knock Off in order to deter grasses like Ogerpon-W, which otherwise have a free switch. It also lets you punish non-Gholdengo balloon steels, which otherwise think they are safe against Tusk, like Iron Treads or Kingambit.
Tusk appreciates Cinderace softening up shared checks like Moltres and breaking Dragonite's multiscale with U-turn. In return, Tusk can help it with its hazard vulnerability, and finishes off answers like Dragonite and can chip other shared checks like Zamazenta.
The Hermit (Ogerpon-Wellspring) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn/Knock Off
- Spikes
- Ivy Cudgel
- Encore
This Ogerpon set is cracked. Both U-turn and spikes are great options to punish the many switches Oger forces, and Encore allows you to force even more of those. Encore + Spikes gives you a guaranteed endgame against last mon Kingambit/Raging Bolt, as you can fully stall them out of Sucker Punches/Thunderclaps. Encore also can force continued set up from mons like Zamazenta/Sinistcha who think they can set up on you safely. Solely relying on Ivy Cudgel for damage is usually fine, Ogerpon is strong enough to do decent damage to most resists (does ~25%-30% to bulky Dragons, they can switch in once then drop to Tera the next time)
Unfortunately, Ogerpon doesn't have a lot of EV flexibility. You need max speed to outspeed and threaten Walking Wake & Alolan Ninetales, and you need pretty much max attack to OHKO defensive Moltres with Tera.
Ogerpon appreciates Great Tusk and Hatterene helping with it's hazard vulnerability, and appreciates Cinderace outspeeding other Ogerpon and KOing them with U-turn so it can freely click Ivy Cudgel. In return Ogerpon stonewalls the bulky Waters that can stomach Cinderace's Pyro Balls such as Alomomola and Dondozo, and use them as an opportunity to lay spikes.
The Emperor (Kingambit) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 188 HP / 24 Atk / 252 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
Earlier versions of this team used AV Hatterene as a way pivot around special attackers, but I found it stretched too thin, forced to take too much damage early game to do its job late game. I needed something bulky, with enough offensive power to not be set up food for various boosters in the tier. Kingambit provides a very solid defensive typing, and a big enough offensive presence to force SD opportunities for itself.
The drop off in power from usual sets if definitely noticeable, but in exchange you are able to live some absurd hits and set up.
252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Kingambit: 236-278 (60.8 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (83.6% minimum against just 252HP, 99.1% minimum to bulkless)
+1 252 SpA Tera Ghost Iron Valiant Shadow Ball vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Ghost Kingambit: 296-350 (76.2 - 90.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (Guaranteed OHKO on 252HP)
132 SpA Iron Moth Fiery Dance vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Ghost Kingambit: 102-121 (26.2 - 31.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery (you can literally set up on Iron Moth)
+1 252 SpA Iron Valiant Vacuum Wave vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Kingambit: 300-352 (77.3 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (No more guessing games against the vacuum wave sets on ladder)
The speed lets you outspeed a paralyzed Gholdengo, and you still have enough HP to live 2 tera dark Zama crunches as a ghost, letting you KO with SD -> Iron Head -> Sucker Punch (guaranteed if you burn Dauntless Shield beforehand, need a little chip to guarantee for anything less than 5 fainted allies) . It is a roll to live 2 from LO Tera Dark, but one that is in your favour ~75% of the time.
The moves are very standard, Iron Head and Kowtow Cleave are strong STAB, SD is required to make use of your bulk to become a threat, and Sucker Punch cheats. Kingambit really appreciates Hatterent and Great Tusk's hazard support so it can make use of it's excellent calcs from full HP. It also enjoys Cinderace and Ogerpon chipping physical checks, so Kingambit has an easier time lategame dealing with them, and doesnt miss it's max attack as much.
The Sun (Zapdos) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 25 Spe
- Roost
- U-turn
- Discharge
- Hurricane
This was the final addition to the team, swapped in from a Raging Bolt. I needed an electric type, as to not double up on grass types while still having a way to threaten bulky waters like Dondozo and Alomomola. Zapdos also provides more methods of spreading paralysis through Static and Discharge, and it a great pivot as well with U-Turn.
252/252+ defence provides Zapdos with as much sturdiness as possible against physical threats like Dragonite or Booster Energy Great Tusk, giving it plenty of opportunity to paralyze and slow them doen, or just to find KO opportunities with the often unreliable hurricane.
25 Speed IV lets you still outspeed 0 speed Gliscor while ensuring that you are slower than other Zapdos, letting you pivot out after they do.
Zapdos also provides an immensely useful backbone in a team otherwise lacking in recovery. Zap allows you to slow down in Fat Balance/Stall matchups, giving you more time to correctly position your other team members rather than just running out of steam.
Cinderace especially appreciates Zapdos handling bulky waters for it, and also enjoys the help against Dragonite. Zapdos also provides a way to check Zamazenta without burning Tera, shrugging off life orb boosted Stone Edges with roost and threatening it out.
Overall i really love this team I have been playing and tweaking it for a long while now, and wanted to share it with you all. Please let me know what you think of it, and any improvements you would make.
Nga Mihi
I love Cinderace. Gen 8 Cinderace was (rip) my favourite OU mon, so strong and fast. Fast forward to Gen 9 and power creep has hurt it a lot. Yeah, the Libero nerf hurt but Pyro Ball -> U-Turn does the same thing now as it did back then. It just struggles to keep up offensively in SV, no longer is it an apex predator. I wanted to build around Choice Band Cinderace, to try to return it to top threat status and remind everyone why it was banned in gen 8.
https://pokepast.es/c1090c6bd7a1c7b8
The Fool (Cinderace) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Pyro Ball
- Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot
In order to make Cinderace feel as hard hitting as it did in gen 8, it needs a little help in the form of Choice Band. Pyro Ball has a 98.8% chance to 2HKO max HP Great Tusk, and with Tera Fire you 2HKO max defence Gliscor even after 2 turns of poison heal recovery. Zamazenta can only switch in to Cinderace once before it gets cooked, same with Dragapult. Most everything else gets fried. Only the most sturdy Pokémon in the tier can stand up to Ace, and that's what coverage is for. Gunk Shot hits bulky Clefable and Primarina, as well as random tera fairy that may pop up. Zen Headbutt may seem odd, but it lets you 2HKO fully phys def Great Tusk without commiting to tera, and is handy into Iron Moth, Clodsire and Pecharunt. U-Turn lets you pivot out of the few Pokémon you cant break such as Alomomola, Dondozo, or Bulky Dragonite, while also providing a strong offensive tool into all Ogerpon forms or something like Darkrai, which can be otherwise tough to switch in to for this team.
Cinderace is a great lead into most teams, as you can threaten huge damage before they have a chance to limit you with stealth rocks. Claiming a KO with your coverage moves early (against something like a Primarina lead who usually forces you out) is huge, because it means you can just click fire move for the rest of the game. Samurott-H/Lando leads are a bit annoying as with a scarf they threaten all of hazards, pivot move, a KO on Cinderace and a 2HKO on Hatterene. Samurott is a little easier to tell if it is scarf based on team structure, but I would pretty mush always hard switch to Tusk/Zapdos on a Lando lead, just to scout their set. If you are confident that you're facing non-scarf Samurott, the single funniest interaction with this team is U-Turn to bring them to sash, then Great Tusk switch so they die to helmet and are denied spikes.
The Magician (Hatterene) @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SpA / 116 SpD / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind
- Nuzzle
With no boots, Cinderace requires hazard control and appreciates a strong offensive & defensive presence to support it. Hatterene is one of the most reliable methods to keep hazards off, while also helping out against some of Cinderace's bad matchups. Most notably with covert cloak, Hat obliterates Garganacl which otherwise can give this team trouble. Cloak also boosts consistency against threats like Darkrai and Iron Valiant, allowing you to ignore Sludge Bomb poisons or Shadow Ball SpD drops which could cause you to lose the 1v1. Cloak is such an insane item on this pokemon. It turn Hat from okay but inconsistent into one of the most consistent mons on the team, which is very welcome given all of Cinderace's strong moves can miss.
24 speed EVs allow you to outspeed paralyzed Kingambit, The SpA means you always KO Valiant with Psyshock, almost always KO Darkrai at +1 with Draining Kiss, and outheal Great Tusk's Headlong Rush with Kiss.
The bulk investment helps out against the aforementioned special threats, surviving a +1 Valiant Shadow Ball, and allowing you to click calm mind against boots Darkrai to avoid a 2hko. You also have good odds to live a tera fairy specs Enamorus Moonblast, and can cripple it with Nuzzle. You can also take on some physical threats with just max HP. Notably Zamazenta doesn't OHKO with Heavy Slam and Dragonite is forced to tera in order to KO you from full even at +2, allowing you to cripple them with Nuzzle, or chip with Kiss/Psyshock.
Hatterene really enjoys Cinderace melting steels like Gholdengo, which can beat you if they get in before you're set up enough. In turn Hat helps immensely into Garganacl, and can put checks like Zamazenta or Dragonite in awkward positions.
The Chariot (Great Tusk) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 184 HP / 72 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Rapid Spin
- Close Combat
- Ice Spinner
Hatterene is not enough hazard control unfortunately, and I needed something to remove them if they did go up (or at least threaten removal to force progress). As the most consistent removal in the tier, Great Tusk was an easy choice. Rocky helmet punishes contact moves like opposing rapid spin, giving you a switch in in the mirror and something to auto KO any low hp physical attacker.
Tera Ghost is used here to block rapid spin from opposing Great Tusk/Iron Treads, in the case that you need to outspeed them after your own spin or you really need spikes to stay up.
184 HP allows Great Tusk to survive a max attack Ogerpon-W Power Whip from full, and also lets you live a 5-allies +0 Kingambit Iron Head and Sucker Punch at -1 defense.
The attack investment gives you a shot to KO Ogerpon with Spin --> CC after spikes, and lets you 2HKO a tera'd Kingambit with headlong, after helmet chip. It also gives you much better odds to KO Raging Bolt from full, forcing them to tera or be KO'd.
Close Combat is used over Knock Off in order to deter grasses like Ogerpon-W, which otherwise have a free switch. It also lets you punish non-Gholdengo balloon steels, which otherwise think they are safe against Tusk, like Iron Treads or Kingambit.
Tusk appreciates Cinderace softening up shared checks like Moltres and breaking Dragonite's multiscale with U-turn. In return, Tusk can help it with its hazard vulnerability, and finishes off answers like Dragonite and can chip other shared checks like Zamazenta.
The Hermit (Ogerpon-Wellspring) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn/Knock Off
- Spikes
- Ivy Cudgel
- Encore
This Ogerpon set is cracked. Both U-turn and spikes are great options to punish the many switches Oger forces, and Encore allows you to force even more of those. Encore + Spikes gives you a guaranteed endgame against last mon Kingambit/Raging Bolt, as you can fully stall them out of Sucker Punches/Thunderclaps. Encore also can force continued set up from mons like Zamazenta/Sinistcha who think they can set up on you safely. Solely relying on Ivy Cudgel for damage is usually fine, Ogerpon is strong enough to do decent damage to most resists (does ~25%-30% to bulky Dragons, they can switch in once then drop to Tera the next time)
Unfortunately, Ogerpon doesn't have a lot of EV flexibility. You need max speed to outspeed and threaten Walking Wake & Alolan Ninetales, and you need pretty much max attack to OHKO defensive Moltres with Tera.
Ogerpon appreciates Great Tusk and Hatterene helping with it's hazard vulnerability, and appreciates Cinderace outspeeding other Ogerpon and KOing them with U-turn so it can freely click Ivy Cudgel. In return Ogerpon stonewalls the bulky Waters that can stomach Cinderace's Pyro Balls such as Alomomola and Dondozo, and use them as an opportunity to lay spikes.
The Emperor (Kingambit) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 188 HP / 24 Atk / 252 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
Earlier versions of this team used AV Hatterene as a way pivot around special attackers, but I found it stretched too thin, forced to take too much damage early game to do its job late game. I needed something bulky, with enough offensive power to not be set up food for various boosters in the tier. Kingambit provides a very solid defensive typing, and a big enough offensive presence to force SD opportunities for itself.
The drop off in power from usual sets if definitely noticeable, but in exchange you are able to live some absurd hits and set up.
252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Earth Power vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Kingambit: 236-278 (60.8 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (83.6% minimum against just 252HP, 99.1% minimum to bulkless)
+1 252 SpA Tera Ghost Iron Valiant Shadow Ball vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Ghost Kingambit: 296-350 (76.2 - 90.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (Guaranteed OHKO on 252HP)
132 SpA Iron Moth Fiery Dance vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Ghost Kingambit: 102-121 (26.2 - 31.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery (you can literally set up on Iron Moth)
+1 252 SpA Iron Valiant Vacuum Wave vs. 188 HP / 252+ SpD Kingambit: 300-352 (77.3 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (No more guessing games against the vacuum wave sets on ladder)
The speed lets you outspeed a paralyzed Gholdengo, and you still have enough HP to live 2 tera dark Zama crunches as a ghost, letting you KO with SD -> Iron Head -> Sucker Punch (guaranteed if you burn Dauntless Shield beforehand, need a little chip to guarantee for anything less than 5 fainted allies) . It is a roll to live 2 from LO Tera Dark, but one that is in your favour ~75% of the time.
The moves are very standard, Iron Head and Kowtow Cleave are strong STAB, SD is required to make use of your bulk to become a threat, and Sucker Punch cheats. Kingambit really appreciates Hatterent and Great Tusk's hazard support so it can make use of it's excellent calcs from full HP. It also enjoys Cinderace and Ogerpon chipping physical checks, so Kingambit has an easier time lategame dealing with them, and doesnt miss it's max attack as much.
The Sun (Zapdos) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 25 Spe
- Roost
- U-turn
- Discharge
- Hurricane
This was the final addition to the team, swapped in from a Raging Bolt. I needed an electric type, as to not double up on grass types while still having a way to threaten bulky waters like Dondozo and Alomomola. Zapdos also provides more methods of spreading paralysis through Static and Discharge, and it a great pivot as well with U-Turn.
252/252+ defence provides Zapdos with as much sturdiness as possible against physical threats like Dragonite or Booster Energy Great Tusk, giving it plenty of opportunity to paralyze and slow them doen, or just to find KO opportunities with the often unreliable hurricane.
25 Speed IV lets you still outspeed 0 speed Gliscor while ensuring that you are slower than other Zapdos, letting you pivot out after they do.
Zapdos also provides an immensely useful backbone in a team otherwise lacking in recovery. Zap allows you to slow down in Fat Balance/Stall matchups, giving you more time to correctly position your other team members rather than just running out of steam.
Cinderace especially appreciates Zapdos handling bulky waters for it, and also enjoys the help against Dragonite. Zapdos also provides a way to check Zamazenta without burning Tera, shrugging off life orb boosted Stone Edges with roost and threatening it out.
Overall i really love this team I have been playing and tweaking it for a long while now, and wanted to share it with you all. Please let me know what you think of it, and any improvements you would make.
Nga Mihi
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