Featured Ubers RMT

Team by Go10 and Private, with commentary by Furai. Art by nov.
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Introduction

I'm not going to tell you how boring the Uber metagame is now, thanks to a certain newcomer. It's pretty easy to use a rain team, and you have to take a lot of risks when playing offense if you want to be original and not be swept by Arceus / walled by Ferrothorn.

So, 6 month ago, my fellow Uber brother, Private, and I decided to build a team that wouldn't use any standard core currently used. We took a look at the current metagame and Kabutops was something that often came in our minds since he could walk through Drown All, shit on random offense, and make his way through Drought teams. This team peaked at #1 a lot of times, but hey, the Smogon and PO ladders aren't what we would call a challenge.

We did something we can be proud of for sure, since this team was our most successful in BW Uber despite being restricted by a lot of things. Anyway, here is the team !

Team Building Process

 

Started with Ogre + Kabu obviously since we wanted to make a rain team around the fossil.

         

We were watching Dr. House and didn't have any ideas, so we used the house trump card : throw everything you have on the board and test it ! Mewtwo for wallbreaking here and there, Deo-A to setup SR and hit the whole metagame hard, Scizor for a cool Uturn and a needed dragon resist that can also "revenge kill" with BP, and DragoCeus in the last spot for a second Water resist and our second main sweeper. After some tests, Ferrothorn walled the whole team, recovering more on Leech Seed than what he lost on U-turn ... Kyogre was also a pain in the ass.

         

Ok so we kept the formula we used previously, removed Deo-A for Dialga LO SR, since it brought another water resist and could setup SR and hit Ferrothorn fairly hard with Fire Blast. However, Dialga doesn't hit hard when not super-effective (hi Arceus / Chansey / Lugia). It was a little better but still not good. And that's where we made the worst choice ever for an offense user ...

         

Removed Dialga for BandChomp for an elec' immunity and very good dual STAB and put GrassCeus over DragoCeus. Ferrothorn wasn't able anymore to spam Leech Seed (free Spikes now though), but God ... it was really bad at best. GrassCeus is the worst Arceus ever for an offense user. He doesn't hit hard, he let a free setup for everything ... anyway, he wasn't what we needed. We also tried SD Chomp, but wow, Arceus eats Chomp alive ...

         

Tried MixKrom over Chomp, we can lure Groudon and Ferrothorn easily and kill them with Focus Blast / Draco Meteor. But the team was a bit too much EH weak.

         

Bronzong on Garchomp for a Groudon check and also to lure Ferrothorn and "kill" him with Hypnosis. He helped vs MindCeus too. Hi Pokemon Online; I never hit with this shit. We also used GroundCeus + Palkia: not bad, but still not what we want.

         

Fuck off Mewtwo, here is TyraniBoss; we tried to make a team without him, but meh, he's too great. Changed GroundCeus for something more manly, with more swag--Ghostceus SD. The team worked really well, but we had nothing for checking Thunder. Since Hypnosis never worked, we decided to get rid of Bronzong.

         

The team was almost perfect, the only thing that was a problem is (again) Ferrothorn and some other mons. We needed something that hit like a truck. Since MixKia wasnt good enough, we changed it for the Specs set and changed Ghostceus for EKceus. Here, it's perfect ! We got what we wanted.

At a Glance

         

Rider @ Focus Sash

Caster @ Choice Scarf

Berseker @ Choice Specs

Lancer @ Leftovers

Saber @ Life Orb

Archer @ Silk Scarf

Introduction

Pulling off an offensive team in Ubers is anything but an easy task. Unlike stall teams that try to cover as many threats and have as many resistances as possible, offensive teams will often have at least one type they are weak to. This means that a single mistake or misprediction can be a pain to recover from. In exchange, however, offensive teams put TONS of pressure on the foe by grabbing all the momentum they can have. These teams are extremely hard to pull off, but hey, once you do pull them off, there is no happier man than you!

Unlimited Victory Works is the perfect example of an offensive team. While the team is awfully weak to Fighting- and Grass-type moves, the team gets literally all the momentum by constantly hitting hard or setting up on a foe that took a teammate down, such as Choice Scarf Garchomp against Excadrill, who is setup fodder for Arceus. The team took quite a long time—6 months—to make, and is also a joint team.

The Team

Basically, the idea is to pull off a Kabutops clean sweep late-game. Kabutops's great base 115 Attack and Swift Swim ability allow it to tear teams apart with its STAB moves: Stone Edge and Waterfall. These are only resisted by Ferrothorn, which is easily 2HKOed by Low Kick. Kabutops is definitely a destructive sweeper in rain. However, since Kabutops has no way to boost its Attack, it's going to need the opponent's team greatly weakened before trying to pull off the sweep. Have no fear, however, as this team is perfectly designed for this!

Tyranitar is the one that kicks off the match. In fact, it's a fantastic anti-lead in Ubers. Thanks to its wide movepool and high offenses, it can defeat a wide variety of leads, such as Dialga and Deoxys-S. The main idea behind Tyranitar is to land some damage, and then set up Stealth Rock. By luring in Skarmory and 2HKOing it with Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage, Tyranitar has given Kabutops an open path to sweep. Kyogre is there to simply change the weather to rain, which doubles Kabutops's Speed. It is also a fantastic revenge killer that can hit extremely hard with its STAB Water Spout. Kyogre also puts many threats in check: Groudon, Mewtwo, Darkrai, Shaymin-S, and more, with its STAB and coverage moves: Thunder and Ice Beam.

Then there's Palkia and Excadrill. The dragon and the mole. Sounds like a cute tale, isn't it? Well, I wish it would be cute to face these two. Choice Specs Palkia is definitely one of the strongest powerhouses when used in rain, and heck, even out of it if not using its Water STAB. Back in the HGSS era, everyone was so excited when Palkia got Hydro Pump: "OMG IT CAN 2HKO BLISSEY IN RAIN WITH 1 SPIKES AND SR LOOOOOL". Then everyone completely forgot about it. Go10 and Private utilized its rain-nuking powers to punch huge holes in the foe's team, making Kabutops's sweep easier. Excadrill is another key member. By using Substitute, it can set up on any Giratina unless it uses Roar over Dragon Tail. Substitute blocks Will-O-Wisp, and Dragon Tail does not break it either, allowing Excadrill to grab a Swords Dance boost and have a field day with the foe's team, again softening it up for Kabutops.

And last but not least: Arceus. Arceus serves a few roles on this team: a) backup sweeper, b) revenge killer, and c) a Kabutops preparation sweeper. Arceus is that one thing that pops to every Ubers player when saying "strong physical attacker that can do tons of damage." Thanks to its high bulk, Arceus can set up on various threats that bother the team: Garchomp that bother Excadrill, Palkia that counter Kyogre, and more. With the vast amount of Pokemon that use Draco Meteor, Arceus can take advantage of that Special Attack drop to set up a Swords Dance, and start hitting hard, mitigating Kabutops's sweep or just cleaning. Simple as that.

Threats

Despite how threatening the team is, there are a few threats that can stand up to it. Strong physical attackers can take the team's momentum by setting up and starting to wreak havoc. Prime examples would be Groudon, Garchomp, Rayquaza, and Terrakion. All four pack at least one unresisted move (for everyone but Rayquaza it's their STAB move!) and a way to set up, though Choice Scarf Terrakion also puts up a fight for the team. The most threatening one is Groudon, however. If it can grab a Rock Polish boost, something is getting killed or is taking a TON of damage. Its STAB Earthquake is not resisted by any of the team members, which is why its so threatening. If it also landed a Swords Dance boost, may God have mercy on your soul. Calm Mind Arceus are also problematic, where Grass is the most prominent one. It can come in on Excadrill, Choice-locked Kyogre, or Palkia, set up a Calm Mind and Recover the lost health. The only way of taking it down is catching it on the switch-in with Kyogre or Palkia, or relying on Kabutops and Arceus to 2HKO it. Ghost and Fighting Arceus also deserve a mention due to their great STABs and coverage.

But enough with the offense, let's talk defense. There are a few defensive threats that can hold this team for a long while. StallTwo can sponge an attack from Kabutops, burn Arceus, and threaten the team with its STAB Psychic, while also Recovering its health. Unless it has Light Screen, Kyogre and Palkia are the only ones to stop it. If Gliscor manages to get behind a Substitute, such as against a Choice-locked Thunder from Palkia or Kyogre, it can take the team's momentum, and start Toxic-stalling stuff to death, and no one on this team enjoys being poisoned. The combination of Skarmory and Grass Arceus is also a pain, as the team mainly relies on revenging Grass Arceus with Kabutops and Arceus—a strategy that is stopped by Skarmory. This core even gets tougher when backed up by Giratina and Chansey; Chansey can take Palkia all day thanks to her high Special bulk, and Giratina is a fantastic backup wall to stand against Kabutops and Arceus.

Conclusion

Unlimited Victory Works is a perfect example of an innovative Ubers Hyper Offensive team. The momentum it gains, by either the swift change from sand to rain, having fantastic revenge killers in Kabutops, Excadrill, and Arceus, or wielding the pressure with a lot of hard-hitting Pokemon: Palkia, Kabutops, Excadrill, and Arceus, is so precious to offensive teams. By utilizing creative sets, such as SubSD Excadrill, and forgotten sets, namely Choice Specs Palkia, Go10 and Private's team proves to us all that they still do have their place in the metagame.

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