.: At a glance :.
Hi there! This is my first RMT here and I also consider it my first post, since the others were only votes on the CAP project. I'm a random (noob, scrub, trash, whatever you want to call it), so, you probably have never heard of me before. I'm usually on Smogon's Pokémon Online server with the same nickname I use here, testing Gen 5 teams on the ladder. However, this one, isn't from Gen 5 and I never had the opportunity to use it on Smogon, since there was no Pokémon Online server yet. This team, that I'm retiring now, was made when people didn't fully discover how stuff like Tyranitar, Ghost-type Arceus, Heatran, among others could be awesome to use in this tier and potentialy, shut my team down. It got my alt, Shedinja, to the 11th place of the old Beta Server ladder, with, more or less, 1475 points (I can't remember very well, since I only played for fun back in time and therefore, I didn't print it). Unfortunately, that new thing called "Rating Decay", completely destroyed the good old times I had laddering there, but that's another story you probably don't care about.
About the team itself: After reading a RMT made by Ace Matador, a player who I respect a lot, I decided to try Shedinja too, and, hopefully, show people how good it was, when used decently well (I'm not the best player, but I was good enough to press Dark Void and see my opponent's Deoxys failing it's job). No, jokes aside. Keeping my field clean wasn't that easy, because good players would switch their lead, and I had to change my team a lot in order to accomplish my job (and I don't remember them all, so that's why there's no Team Building process). A last thing: You'll notice my team has lots of slashes and I'll explain you why before going ahead and stop annoying you. The first move is the one I used in the final team and the second one is an option, something I used before making my final decision, or a move that I'd like to test, but I just don't have pacience.
Without further ado, there's it!
.: A Closer Look :.
★ 'Nightmare' the Darkrai ★
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+ Spe, - Atk)
~ Dark Void
~ Dark Pulse
~ Nasty Plot / Focus Blast
~ Trick
This set was once the best Anti-Lead around, but Jibaku's Choice Scarf Deoxys-S and some Pokémon from lower tiers like Mamoswine kind of stole it that place. I needed something to keep hazards away beside Forretress. I thought about Shaymin-S, Deoxys(-S / A) among others, but after testing a lot, I ended using this, since Air Slash wasn't reliable and risking a speed tie with other Deoxys wasn't beautiful at all. The fact I could cripple my foe's ResTalk Kyogre, their Blissey or other stuff was amazing, since a well played stall team could easily put me playing with five Pokémon without this guy. Dark is such an amazing type that I can sweep with the help of Nasty Plot (if I decide to use it, of course) and some Spikes in the end.
Below, I'm going to explain what I do against my foe's lead (And, in general, most people would do if they had Darkrai):
- Dark Void gets them to sleep, since most of the people go for Taunt, expecting me to be slower (Why, just why? Focus Sash Darkrai sucks as a lead...). If I feel they're wearing a Choice Scarf (or, the person using it isn't dumb), I go to Forretress right of the bat, since it can take a Superpower / Signal Beam, Rapid Spin their hazards away and do well against most answers to my lead, like Scizor and other Forretress (I'm slower than them thanks to my nature and in the worse case scenario, there's a speed tie).
- This thing lacks the bulk of Lugia, Giratina, Blissey or Skarmory, but is bulky enough to survive my Dark Pulse, and that's frustrating. I go for Dark Pulse anyways, since it 2HKOs and may flinch, leaving me with the momentum (and a furious opponents, who is easier to defeat). I can also use Trick while they U-Turn away or Stealth Rock, but Mew is usually paired with Scizor, and a smart foe will want to keep it at full health to use Explosion later.
- Dark Void is enough for this one. Sometimes I may predict a switch (which is obvious, but I like to safeplay and usually, sleeping their absorber isn't that bad, since they can't control the number of turns they sleep) and I go for Trick, to cripple their Kyogre, or Focus Blast, in case I have it, to dent some Bulk Up Dialga switch.
- Switch to Forretress, since Scizor can't cause much damage to it.
- I'm usually more confident against this one than I am against its faster counterpart, since they never carry a Choice Scarf and the team that backs it up is more offensive oriented, meaning they don't have any dedicated ResTalker most of the time. Dark Void is pretty self explanatory here.
- Read above.
- I switch to Arceus, because it can easily take a Air Slash or a Seed Flare. Then, I switch back to Darkrai, so I can get something crippled.
- Trick. They're usually coupled with Blissey or another dedicated special wall, and having it stuck into a single atttack is pretty good, so I can get hazards down more easily.
- The "king" of the tier can't touch my Shedinja, what a shame! I go for Shedinja first, in order to take the Water Spout, Surf or Thunder Wave and then I do a double switch to Forretress, in order to scout my foe's Shedinja counter and get (Toxic) Spikes up, if I do well against it (Like I do most of the time, since things like Scizor can't touch the grenade).
- God, if I had pacience to open my paint and color this thing with red, I'd do it. Arceus hates being paralyzed, but is pretty much the only thing able to wall it out, and even there, will fail if he has Dragon Pulse / Draco Meteor misses, because I rely on the Special Attack drop to make it wallable.
- I have lots of ways to deal with this, but if my foe is good or has something I'm not expecting, I'll lose a Pokémon. The first one is going for Dark Void, even knowing it has a Chesto Berry since Earthquake can't kill me and I'd sacrifice Darkrai to Thunder Wave anyways. The second one is using Trick, because I can cancel their Thunder Wave if they're using a Lum Berry (which is retard, because of the situation I just referred). If they have Leftovers or a Life Orb, it's easier to shut it down.
---
★ 'Hatred' the Shedinja ★
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Lonely (+ Atk, - Def)
~ Swords Dance / Protect
~ X-Scissor
~ Shadow Sneak
~ Will-O-Wisp
This is the Pokémon I based my team around, Shedinja. I won't make any "cliché" presentation because you know all about it: It's uncommon, has only 1 HP, even when invested and even then, walls some of the most threating Pokémon around. With some hazards, Swords Dance Shedinja can clean all stuff like an Arceus (The Swords Dance one, to be more clear). Shadow Sneak is cool to revenge kill things like Mewtwo or Latios and X-Scissor is the main STAB, hurting things such as Kyogre and Latias, who it can completely wall (except if it's some strange lure with Toxic / an effective Hidden Power). Will-O-Wisp is a filler. Sometimes I sacrifice Shedinja's Focus Sash in order to get a burn against something like Arceus, Groudon or another physical based thing. I've been thinking about a more defensive oriented set, but that would spoil, in my opinion, the concept of this team. At best, I can just use Protect in order to scout weird stuff.
---
★ 'Judgement' the Arceus ★
Item: Iron Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+ Spe, - SpA)
~ Cosmic Power
~ Swords Dance / Roar
~ Recover
~ Iron Head / Extremespeed / Earthquake
Arceus is the god, it can do everything you can think about. It can sweep your team with Swords Dance, Calm Mind, with 17 different types, who have completely different counters! In this team, it works as a defensive Pokémon and is the glue. Shedinja and Forretress can easily take a Draco Meteor, but Palkia, Dialga and their friends often have a Fire-type move to roast them, that Arceus can easily take if Rain is up (and if it isn't, I can put it up by double switching, since I play Kyogre very conservatively and it will be alive most of the time) and proceed to set up. Roar is also an option to consider, since it allows the team to rack up damage more easily, while scaring those Ninjask away, but Swords Dance is the best option because Groudon can do all I wrote above and Iron Head is very weak if unboosted. With the raise in usage of Heatran, Earthquake also became an option, but it's not a good mono attacking type, because of the huge among of Flying-type Pokémon. The same can be applied to Extremespeed.
---
★ 'Earthquake' the Groudon ★
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Atk / 32 Def / 60 SpD / 8 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+ Atk, - SpA)
~ Stealth Rock
~ Roar
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge / Dragon Claw
Groudon is only here to get Stealth Rock up, since my team usually prefers to have Kyogre's rainy weather instead of sun, but the fact it can keep physical Arceus, other Groudon, Garchomp, Rayquaza and others in check is too good for this team to even get rid of it. It can also change the weather for other Kyogre, if Shedinja gets nailed by Stealth Rock (or something very weird happens). Roar is a must in a team like mine, since it relies on stacking damage for Shedinja / Arceus, and I can't let myself get sweeped because a Ninjask got +6 / +6 against Forretress or another thing on my team (I would never let that happen, silly examples). I try to keep it at full health so I can put my foe's physical sweeper in check. If my foe has an offensive core made by things that strike very hard by the physical side, I sacrifice Shedinja's sash in order to get a burn and then I send it in.
★ 'Flood' the Kyogre ★
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+ Spe, - Atk)
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Thunder
~ Sleep Talk / Water Spout
The team's revenge killer. Darkrai will end tricking its Choice Scarf away, so having a Choice Scarf in this is almost a must (almost, because a ResTalk set with Roar / Calm Mind would be pretty neat, in my opinion). Sleep Talk sounds strange at first, but every team needs a Pokémon with it in order to make sure Darkrai doesn't "kill" a Pokémon. First I had Water Spout, but I noticed that Kyogre wasn't needed here because it could "clean" by itself (and it never did), instead, it was here because almost every fast Pokémon with a move able to hit Shedinja for SE damage, like Mewtwo, most Dragon-type Pokémon could take my team down in few seconds. My team also prefers to play under the rain it provides than the sun, because stuff like Dialga are easier to check with it.
---
★ 'Grenade' the Forretress ★
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+ SpD, - Spe)
~ Spikes
~ Toxic Spikes
~ Payback / Gyro Ball
~ Rapid Spin
Forretress is one of the only two effective Rapid Spin users in Ubers (It's sad none uses Starmie, that rain boosted Hydro Pump and Thunder sound so awesome!), and is the best one for defensive oriented teams, like you already know. My team hasn't Wish support and Forretress lacks recover, so, sometimes I play it too recklessly (When my foe's Pokémon with Stealth Rock is out, to be more clear). The set that is currently onsite has a Careful nature and I find it very useful to be slower, so if my opponent has one, it can't get Spikes up and then go to his Giratina(-O), what could make my team fall really quickly. When playing, I go for Spikes first, because I prefer the added damage to the poison and it helps me more because of Kyogre, Darkrai, Shedinja and Arceus. Poison-type Pokémon are very uncommon, but they also make me do what I wrote before. Another funny thing is that, before this, I was around saying Forretress was bad and I couldn't use it well, but I got used to it very quickly, because I needed one if I wanted to have Shedinja with me.
Hi there! This is my first RMT here and I also consider it my first post, since the others were only votes on the CAP project. I'm a random (noob, scrub, trash, whatever you want to call it), so, you probably have never heard of me before. I'm usually on Smogon's Pokémon Online server with the same nickname I use here, testing Gen 5 teams on the ladder. However, this one, isn't from Gen 5 and I never had the opportunity to use it on Smogon, since there was no Pokémon Online server yet. This team, that I'm retiring now, was made when people didn't fully discover how stuff like Tyranitar, Ghost-type Arceus, Heatran, among others could be awesome to use in this tier and potentialy, shut my team down. It got my alt, Shedinja, to the 11th place of the old Beta Server ladder, with, more or less, 1475 points (I can't remember very well, since I only played for fun back in time and therefore, I didn't print it). Unfortunately, that new thing called "Rating Decay", completely destroyed the good old times I had laddering there, but that's another story you probably don't care about.
About the team itself: After reading a RMT made by Ace Matador, a player who I respect a lot, I decided to try Shedinja too, and, hopefully, show people how good it was, when used decently well (I'm not the best player, but I was good enough to press Dark Void and see my opponent's Deoxys failing it's job). No, jokes aside. Keeping my field clean wasn't that easy, because good players would switch their lead, and I had to change my team a lot in order to accomplish my job (and I don't remember them all, so that's why there's no Team Building process). A last thing: You'll notice my team has lots of slashes and I'll explain you why before going ahead and stop annoying you. The first move is the one I used in the final team and the second one is an option, something I used before making my final decision, or a move that I'd like to test, but I just don't have pacience.
Without further ado, there's it!
.: A Closer Look :.
★ 'Nightmare' the Darkrai ★
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+ Spe, - Atk)
~ Dark Void
~ Dark Pulse
~ Nasty Plot / Focus Blast
~ Trick
This set was once the best Anti-Lead around, but Jibaku's Choice Scarf Deoxys-S and some Pokémon from lower tiers like Mamoswine kind of stole it that place. I needed something to keep hazards away beside Forretress. I thought about Shaymin-S, Deoxys(-S / A) among others, but after testing a lot, I ended using this, since Air Slash wasn't reliable and risking a speed tie with other Deoxys wasn't beautiful at all. The fact I could cripple my foe's ResTalk Kyogre, their Blissey or other stuff was amazing, since a well played stall team could easily put me playing with five Pokémon without this guy. Dark is such an amazing type that I can sweep with the help of Nasty Plot (if I decide to use it, of course) and some Spikes in the end.
Below, I'm going to explain what I do against my foe's lead (And, in general, most people would do if they had Darkrai):
---
★ 'Hatred' the Shedinja ★
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Lonely (+ Atk, - Def)
~ Swords Dance / Protect
~ X-Scissor
~ Shadow Sneak
~ Will-O-Wisp
This is the Pokémon I based my team around, Shedinja. I won't make any "cliché" presentation because you know all about it: It's uncommon, has only 1 HP, even when invested and even then, walls some of the most threating Pokémon around. With some hazards, Swords Dance Shedinja can clean all stuff like an Arceus (The Swords Dance one, to be more clear). Shadow Sneak is cool to revenge kill things like Mewtwo or Latios and X-Scissor is the main STAB, hurting things such as Kyogre and Latias, who it can completely wall (except if it's some strange lure with Toxic / an effective Hidden Power). Will-O-Wisp is a filler. Sometimes I sacrifice Shedinja's Focus Sash in order to get a burn against something like Arceus, Groudon or another physical based thing. I've been thinking about a more defensive oriented set, but that would spoil, in my opinion, the concept of this team. At best, I can just use Protect in order to scout weird stuff.
---
★ 'Judgement' the Arceus ★
Item: Iron Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+ Spe, - SpA)
~ Cosmic Power
~ Swords Dance / Roar
~ Recover
~ Iron Head / Extremespeed / Earthquake
Arceus is the god, it can do everything you can think about. It can sweep your team with Swords Dance, Calm Mind, with 17 different types, who have completely different counters! In this team, it works as a defensive Pokémon and is the glue. Shedinja and Forretress can easily take a Draco Meteor, but Palkia, Dialga and their friends often have a Fire-type move to roast them, that Arceus can easily take if Rain is up (and if it isn't, I can put it up by double switching, since I play Kyogre very conservatively and it will be alive most of the time) and proceed to set up. Roar is also an option to consider, since it allows the team to rack up damage more easily, while scaring those Ninjask away, but Swords Dance is the best option because Groudon can do all I wrote above and Iron Head is very weak if unboosted. With the raise in usage of Heatran, Earthquake also became an option, but it's not a good mono attacking type, because of the huge among of Flying-type Pokémon. The same can be applied to Extremespeed.
---
★ 'Earthquake' the Groudon ★
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Atk / 32 Def / 60 SpD / 8 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+ Atk, - SpA)
~ Stealth Rock
~ Roar
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge / Dragon Claw
Groudon is only here to get Stealth Rock up, since my team usually prefers to have Kyogre's rainy weather instead of sun, but the fact it can keep physical Arceus, other Groudon, Garchomp, Rayquaza and others in check is too good for this team to even get rid of it. It can also change the weather for other Kyogre, if Shedinja gets nailed by Stealth Rock (or something very weird happens). Roar is a must in a team like mine, since it relies on stacking damage for Shedinja / Arceus, and I can't let myself get sweeped because a Ninjask got +6 / +6 against Forretress or another thing on my team (I would never let that happen, silly examples). I try to keep it at full health so I can put my foe's physical sweeper in check. If my foe has an offensive core made by things that strike very hard by the physical side, I sacrifice Shedinja's sash in order to get a burn and then I send it in.
★ 'Flood' the Kyogre ★
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+ Spe, - Atk)
~ Surf
~ Ice Beam
~ Thunder
~ Sleep Talk / Water Spout
The team's revenge killer. Darkrai will end tricking its Choice Scarf away, so having a Choice Scarf in this is almost a must (almost, because a ResTalk set with Roar / Calm Mind would be pretty neat, in my opinion). Sleep Talk sounds strange at first, but every team needs a Pokémon with it in order to make sure Darkrai doesn't "kill" a Pokémon. First I had Water Spout, but I noticed that Kyogre wasn't needed here because it could "clean" by itself (and it never did), instead, it was here because almost every fast Pokémon with a move able to hit Shedinja for SE damage, like Mewtwo, most Dragon-type Pokémon could take my team down in few seconds. My team also prefers to play under the rain it provides than the sun, because stuff like Dialga are easier to check with it.
---
★ 'Grenade' the Forretress ★
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+ SpD, - Spe)
~ Spikes
~ Toxic Spikes
~ Payback / Gyro Ball
~ Rapid Spin
Forretress is one of the only two effective Rapid Spin users in Ubers (It's sad none uses Starmie, that rain boosted Hydro Pump and Thunder sound so awesome!), and is the best one for defensive oriented teams, like you already know. My team hasn't Wish support and Forretress lacks recover, so, sometimes I play it too recklessly (When my foe's Pokémon with Stealth Rock is out, to be more clear). The set that is currently onsite has a Careful nature and I find it very useful to be slower, so if my opponent has one, it can't get Spikes up and then go to his Giratina(-O), what could make my team fall really quickly. When playing, I go for Spikes first, because I prefer the added damage to the poison and it helps me more because of Kyogre, Darkrai, Shedinja and Arceus. Poison-type Pokémon are very uncommon, but they also make me do what I wrote before. Another funny thing is that, before this, I was around saying Forretress was bad and I couldn't use it well, but I got used to it very quickly, because I needed one if I wanted to have Shedinja with me.
.: The Gen V Factor :.
Even though this is a Gen IV team, after "theorymoning" a bit, I found out it would be able to do pretty well in the new metagame, because Reshiram and Zekrom, the only two relevant addictions to the metagame can be easily dealt by this team and thanks to the new Wi-Fi clause, it would be easier to see what my foe has to hurt Shedinja and focus on taking down those points and almost every Pokémon in my team is able to lead on its own. Arceus would also be able to reach its full potential.
.: How does the team work? :.
If I had to classify this team, I'd put it in the Bulky Offensive category, even with Forretress, Groudon and such a defensive Arceus. That's because I'm able to punch holes into my foe's team, trick their walls with Darkrai and the hazards are used for stacking most of the time, instead of being used to take opponents out by theirselves. The fact I rely on Shedinja to spinblock really sucks, since Forretress carries Payback most of the time, but after trying Giratina(-O) over Arceus, but I couldn't take Dragon-type moves well, and if I couldn't, the team couldn't obviously work well in a metagame full of them. My goal is to create a situation where Shedinja can't be hitten by my foe or it can simply take care of the Pokémon who can hit it with the combination of Swords Dance and Shadow Sneak. With Heatran and Tyranitar rising in usage, I guess I won't be able to have the fun I had before.
.: Threat List :.
I will just post a very small thing, because you already know more or less what is able to threat my team, directly or indirectly, from the stuff I wrote about my Pokémon or above the list. I'll only write about Pokémon I find threating from either my battles, theorymon or really obvious stuff. If you need more then check the lead match up, since it applies in case I see them during the middle of the game, too.
Dialga - I have to clever switch between Arceus (who can easily take the Draco Meteor) and Kyogre (who summons rain with Drizzle, making its Fire Blast weaker, making the god's job easier). A clever player will usually predict my moves, making stuff a little bit harder. If it has a Choice Scarf, then things become a little bit easier and Shedinja can make its job.
Palkia - Most of the stuff above this can be applied to Palkia, except that Shedinja can fully take out some variants that lack Fire Blast. Choice Scarf, however, is a lot more common on this than on Dialga, so if I predict well, Forretress / Arceus can easily set up on the Draco Meteor, Kyogre can absorb a Fire Blast and then hit something very hard and Groudon can get Stealth Rock up on its Thunder. You know all.
Heatran - It walls Shedinja, can rack up damage on Kyogre until it dies and Arceus, Darkrai and Forretress can't do much against it. Groudon is hitten very hard by Lava Plume and since I'm really unlucky (not actually, the chances are just high), it will burn the beast.
Stall - This one isn't really a direct threat, it's a war of who uses its Forretress better (and how their Giratina or Ghost Arceus is used). Shedinja won't help me because Blissey will get a Toxic on it and hazards will obviously be on my field. The 6 - 5 scenario is pretty unfair. ;-;
.: Closing Words :.
I like different stuff and I swear I really tried to play UU, but it didn't go too well at all. Ubers quickly became one of my favorite metagames, even though I don't play it too much. I hope you liked this team and that there's not anything wrong about it (God, having my first thread closed would be such a shame). I'll miss Gen IV a lot, but when I learn how to play decently well the OU tier of this generation, I'll be back to you, giant whales and dragons!
