Hey everyone, I’m hoping that I could get some advice on my reg G team. I’ve built it to this point over I'd say at least 100 games of bo1 CTS, and I like many aspects of it, but I am having a hard time with some of the common teams on the ladder (Caly-S and Miraidon primarily). I think I need some more experienced eyes to give it a once over in order to make sure there are no glaring mistakes in the teambuilding. This is my first attempt at building a competitive team, and my goal is to take the final version of this team to the tournament scene for reg G in 2025, with my ultimate goal of at least making day two at the Atlanta regionals in April. I believe my peak rank on the showdown ladder is just below the 1300 rating mark for now, so I have a long way to go on that front. Also, regarding the EVs, anything that is not a standard spread I believe I took from Pikalytics, I’m not really confident in making my own yet. Also, I apologize for any formatting issues in advance, this is my first post, after all! Thank you all for your help!
Zamazenta-Crowned @ Rusted Shield
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 12 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def / 124 SpD / 116 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Heavy Slam
- Iron Defense
- Protect
Zama is the star of the show, with the option of a dragon tera and iron defense, there is almost no physical threat he can't check. Using the iron press formula he aims to get into a favorable position, iron defense if needed, and blast through an opponents lineup with body press. I like to lead him into threats such as Koraidon, both Urshifu forms, Terapagos, and Caly-I. I’ve found that many games can be won by eliminating threats to a dragon tera and then capitalizing on the resistances that it provides to check many common mons in the format.
Rillaboom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- Fake Out
Rillaboom’s primary role is to provide regen, fake out and knock off support to Zama in a favorable matchup, and try its best to damage the position of unfavorable matchups enough that a back up sweeper can finish the job. I fluctuate between Knock off and High Horsepower in the third moveslot, mainly by whether Miraidon or Caly-S has been giving me more of a headache, but I think on paper I like knock off for the general utility it provides. Besides that, a well placed wood hammer does wonders to knock a threatening mon down a peg, as long as he survives the retaliation! Tera Normal is used here to give it a better chance against Caly-S, but in practice I rarely end up using it, so much so that I almost forgot to include the reasoning in the write up!
Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Sacred Sword
- Throat Chop
- Protect
Chien-Pao serves as a check to several support mons in the format such as the genies, Rillaboom, Whimsicott, and Indeedee, to name a few. He also has some simple synergy with Zamazenta with his ability, which can catch an unsuspecting opponent off guard if he is swapped in when Zama is already on the field. I have been trying Sacred Sword over Sucker Punch recently, and I like it for its use cases, but I do find myself missing the priority. I am not comfortable with the only dark move I have available being SP, so replacing the throat chop does not feel that good for me. Incin is very hard for the little weasel, as he seems to love catching will-o-wisps the second I let one stay on the field with him for more than one turn. He also seems to speed tie (or lose to) the threats I need him most for, which makes him very reliant on speed control, of which my team has only two options for.
Raichu @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Nuzzle
- Volt Switch
- Endeavor
Raichu is the newest addition to the team, and the one I am most unsure about. On paper, I feel like he has a lot of good things going for him, fake out pressure, 100% accurate non-prankster paralysis, a nice pivot move, and endeavor to tear down some bulkier mons to put them in range of my damage dealers for clean KOs. Not to mention if I can position him properly he makes Miraidon very sad. However the inherent fragility means that if I’m not careful he only gets a move or two off before he’s taken down. I wonder if there’s a better pick for this slot, but I think I’ve gone through at least 15 different members and nothing has felt “right”. Chien-Pao really needs the sash, so that’s not really an option either.
Volcarona @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rage Powder
- Bug Buzz
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
Volcarona has proven to be a surprisingly capable support Pokémon for this team. Personally, I never really liked this Pokémon, but after watching Chuppa use it at the Toronto Regionals recently I thought I would try it out, and I am happy I did! Combining redirection support and tailwind on a bulky Pokémon has really helped to streamline my game plan in various matchups, and heat wave can still do respectable damage in a pinch. I used to have struggle bug in the bug buzz spot, and while the special attack drop was very nice into certain Pokémon, it felt like a dead move in a lot of other match ups, so I wonder if maybe running bug buzz makes more sense. I haven’t played much with that move yet, so it remains to be seen.
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon @ Life Orb
Ability: Mind's Eye
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blood Moon
- Hyper Voice
- Vacuum Wave
- Protect
Last but not least, the big bipedal bear himself. I was looking for strong special attacker that could help out into physically bulky matchups that zama would have a hard time breaking through, and of course those pesky ghost types that really give him a headache. I opted for the max speed variant, as my team leans towards the faster side of things, but I have experimented with the Raichu slot holding a trick room mon with the min speed variant. I do miss the bulk that the min speed had, but I’m pretty lousy with trick room compositions, and the rest of my team makes that a bit of an awkward bring anyways. I think Vacuum Wave is the only non-standard move here, and I picked it because I've found a fair few instances where a KO is missed by less that 10%, and that allows for safe clean up.
Overall, I’d say I’m a bit worried about the teams flexibility into tough matchups and I think I’m currently pretty lacking in the bulk and pivoting departments, but I imagine you all will know better than me. If you have any tips for how you might approach the harder matchups with a team like this, I would be very glad to hear them! I tend to struggle to preserve my answers to those tough matchups long enough for them to be effective, which I think plays heavily into why I can have several “counters” (as I understand it at least) to those mons and still feel underprepared for them. Thank you again for taking the time to read and respond, I really appreciate it!
Zamazenta-Crowned @ Rusted Shield
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 12 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def / 124 SpD / 116 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Heavy Slam
- Iron Defense
- Protect
Zama is the star of the show, with the option of a dragon tera and iron defense, there is almost no physical threat he can't check. Using the iron press formula he aims to get into a favorable position, iron defense if needed, and blast through an opponents lineup with body press. I like to lead him into threats such as Koraidon, both Urshifu forms, Terapagos, and Caly-I. I’ve found that many games can be won by eliminating threats to a dragon tera and then capitalizing on the resistances that it provides to check many common mons in the format.
Rillaboom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- Fake Out
Rillaboom’s primary role is to provide regen, fake out and knock off support to Zama in a favorable matchup, and try its best to damage the position of unfavorable matchups enough that a back up sweeper can finish the job. I fluctuate between Knock off and High Horsepower in the third moveslot, mainly by whether Miraidon or Caly-S has been giving me more of a headache, but I think on paper I like knock off for the general utility it provides. Besides that, a well placed wood hammer does wonders to knock a threatening mon down a peg, as long as he survives the retaliation! Tera Normal is used here to give it a better chance against Caly-S, but in practice I rarely end up using it, so much so that I almost forgot to include the reasoning in the write up!
Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Sacred Sword
- Throat Chop
- Protect
Chien-Pao serves as a check to several support mons in the format such as the genies, Rillaboom, Whimsicott, and Indeedee, to name a few. He also has some simple synergy with Zamazenta with his ability, which can catch an unsuspecting opponent off guard if he is swapped in when Zama is already on the field. I have been trying Sacred Sword over Sucker Punch recently, and I like it for its use cases, but I do find myself missing the priority. I am not comfortable with the only dark move I have available being SP, so replacing the throat chop does not feel that good for me. Incin is very hard for the little weasel, as he seems to love catching will-o-wisps the second I let one stay on the field with him for more than one turn. He also seems to speed tie (or lose to) the threats I need him most for, which makes him very reliant on speed control, of which my team has only two options for.
Raichu @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Nuzzle
- Volt Switch
- Endeavor
Raichu is the newest addition to the team, and the one I am most unsure about. On paper, I feel like he has a lot of good things going for him, fake out pressure, 100% accurate non-prankster paralysis, a nice pivot move, and endeavor to tear down some bulkier mons to put them in range of my damage dealers for clean KOs. Not to mention if I can position him properly he makes Miraidon very sad. However the inherent fragility means that if I’m not careful he only gets a move or two off before he’s taken down. I wonder if there’s a better pick for this slot, but I think I’ve gone through at least 15 different members and nothing has felt “right”. Chien-Pao really needs the sash, so that’s not really an option either.
Volcarona @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rage Powder
- Bug Buzz
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
Volcarona has proven to be a surprisingly capable support Pokémon for this team. Personally, I never really liked this Pokémon, but after watching Chuppa use it at the Toronto Regionals recently I thought I would try it out, and I am happy I did! Combining redirection support and tailwind on a bulky Pokémon has really helped to streamline my game plan in various matchups, and heat wave can still do respectable damage in a pinch. I used to have struggle bug in the bug buzz spot, and while the special attack drop was very nice into certain Pokémon, it felt like a dead move in a lot of other match ups, so I wonder if maybe running bug buzz makes more sense. I haven’t played much with that move yet, so it remains to be seen.
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon @ Life Orb
Ability: Mind's Eye
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blood Moon
- Hyper Voice
- Vacuum Wave
- Protect
Last but not least, the big bipedal bear himself. I was looking for strong special attacker that could help out into physically bulky matchups that zama would have a hard time breaking through, and of course those pesky ghost types that really give him a headache. I opted for the max speed variant, as my team leans towards the faster side of things, but I have experimented with the Raichu slot holding a trick room mon with the min speed variant. I do miss the bulk that the min speed had, but I’m pretty lousy with trick room compositions, and the rest of my team makes that a bit of an awkward bring anyways. I think Vacuum Wave is the only non-standard move here, and I picked it because I've found a fair few instances where a KO is missed by less that 10%, and that allows for safe clean up.
Overall, I’d say I’m a bit worried about the teams flexibility into tough matchups and I think I’m currently pretty lacking in the bulk and pivoting departments, but I imagine you all will know better than me. If you have any tips for how you might approach the harder matchups with a team like this, I would be very glad to hear them! I tend to struggle to preserve my answers to those tough matchups long enough for them to be effective, which I think plays heavily into why I can have several “counters” (as I understand it at least) to those mons and still feel underprepared for them. Thank you again for taking the time to read and respond, I really appreciate it!
. Set is dropped below:
