Septic Shock: A fun Ubers Video-Guided RMT (Peaked #18 on PO)

[TheStarRapper]

Hey guys and gals, the StarRapper here (username for laddering was Sepsis , hence the name of the thread, #pre-medftw). Though my post count may belie this fact, I've been a lurker for a long time , a simulator player for even longer, and lucky enough to grow up with Red and Blue. I've read almost every warstory on site, and I wanted to emulate that level of excitement and fun in this RMT. Also, warning for the kiddies, there might be some impolite language in the text/videos, if you will be offended, then press that back button. It may require you to have a decent amount of time to enjoy it all and the patience to watch a few youtube videos, but my hope is that it will be infectiously good. If you watch all the videos, I think this might be the most enjoyable (or at least different) RMT you've ever participated in. Take a deep breath and enjoy!


Presenting Personal Proof of Perfect Pokemon Performance

Hide

Teambuilding Process​

I've always been a fan of balance Offense, and Ubers is the perfect environment for that kind of fast paced brutality. And let me just give you this hint, there is no better guy for balance offense than ExtremeKiller Arceus. Hey. You. Wipe that look on your face right now, about me using cliche E-Killer Arceus. You will see the magic in just a bit, I promise.

I gotta kick it real to you, the hipster in me refused to use hazards for the longest time while playing PO, as I hated how it centralized the metagame. But slowly, the idea of dealing damage indirectly to every 'mon on a team grew on me, like an infection. As a result, I knew I needed Deoxys-S to get up hazards and keep everyone else's off the field.

The Ubers tier is Extremely (see what i did there) dangerous, with an Arceus forme and Kyogre 'round every corner. Groudon has had ENOUGH of that crap. Quick math question: What is the limit of the function 1/X as x proceeds to infinity? Yeah, that's how many f**** Groudon gives. By reversing rain, phasing calm minders and E-killers, and hitting Darkrai and Smeargle in the face with a pimp chalice, Groudon'tgiveno***** earns his spot on this team, and then some.

Considering how volatile the tier is, it becomes necessary to have a failsafe for when a shellsmash gets passed, or any other high speed, high power threat appears. Rayquaza is your man to take the fight to them. Think you won the game? Nope. Ray Quaza. An ability that negates sandstorm's effects (as well as brick break and fireblast to kill Tyranitar and excadrill) means that Ray has an easier time keeping his focus sash, and boy does that thing come in handy for shutting down sweepers, especially E-killer. Also, I run a mixed set to keep the opponent on their toes, and crushing switch in's like Groudon with a Draco Meteor.

Momentum, hazards, walls, counters, checks. Sometimes all the complexities of pokemon get old, and you need a mon that can survive hits, and hit back to kill. Simple as that. Specs Dialga has an excellent Defensive typing, and a massive SpA stat, so he can Everlast and make the opponent Tapout (You'll get the boxing puns in a minute, sweetheart). All in all, this may be the most reliable guy on the team.

As the latest addition to the team, Tentacruel may seem out of place on a sun team. (Oh man the video for this guy is just perfect for the analogy, I really hope you've seen the Princess Bride before). Too many times I found myself beaten by Forretress in a battle of poison, and Tenta's triumvirate of 4hkoing with surf, toxicspiking, and rapid spinning are the perfect counter to Forry. Tentacruel's primary objective of keeping toxic spikes and hazards in general off my side is vital for preserving Ray's sash and letting E-killer have survivability.

As the new tenant in the KickAss Apartment o' Coolness, Xatu fills a similar role as Tenta in that they are both Anti-Hazard and Hazard Pokemon (though Xatu more indirectly). Dual Screens also provides amazing opportunities for Dialga to bring the pain and Arceus to SD and Sub Up.

I told y'all the general stuff, now here's the specifics that make the magic.

Sets - Watch The Video Before Each One


Arceus: AmazingHorse- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6opE1EIMWNA

Arceus-Normal @ Leftovers
Multitype
Adamant Nature: 236 HP, 252 Atk, 20 Spd
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
-Extremespeed
-Earthquake

I may be one of the only people you ever see running Sub SD arceus, but AmazingHorse wins almost every single game for me because i protect him from leech seed and status. Near max hp and leftovers gives him surprising durability (and of course 101+ subs), while the 20 Spd are because I like to speed creep. I used to run Dragon Claw instead of Earthquake, but I would much rather be walled by Skarm and Giratina-O than Dialga and Ferrothorn, it's just the way my matches seem to end up. As he is the star of the show, getting him to at least +2 with a sub is a priority, and even if he falls, he will have severely ravaged the opponent to the point that the dawn patrol can commence.



Deoxys-S: CowboyHat- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ7kcjCpxSw

Deoxys-S @ Focus Sash
Pressure
Jolly Nature: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
-Superpower
-Taunt
-Magic Coat
-Stealth Rock

Shouting at the top of his lungs, uninvited onto the playing field, Deoxy-S yells "My hazards, my hazards", while keeping the opposing players from participating in the hazards jubilee. SR and spikes essentially enable Arceus to sweep, turning 2hko's on base 90 defenses into ohko's. Keeping SR off my side of the field is paramount, spikes are not as bad because Ray can fly high above them. Against lead pokemon, I can usually just go straight for SR instead of wasting a turn magic bouncing, as that's what they usually expect as they try to attack me. What I have learned with playing with Deoxys is that it is more important for me to get my own hazards up, as Tenta can spin stuff away later need be. As for the movepool, I am slightly torn. If i switch spikes for taunt, I feel like I would win half the games I have lost (by shutting down CM's), and lost half the games I have won. Need some help on this bad boy.


Groudon: Muscle Milk- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbsk127TnnE

Groudon @ Lum Berry
Drought
Adamant Nature: 200 HP, 108 Defense, 188 SpD, 12 Spd
-Roar
-Stone Edge
-Fire Punch
-Earthquake

Groudon is such a bro. I used to run him as a swole-ass RP variant, but found that a lum berry to counter Darkrai and Smeargle, along with Roar and a mixed spread to phaze threats from both spectrums put him to better use, especially against Kyogre. Stone Edge ohkos Ho-Oh and lum can avoid Sacred Fire Burn, Fire punch ohkoes Forry and Ferro, and EQ is pretty utilitarian. With this set, I am always able to stop and phaze a cm Mewto, a Cm arceus, and an SD arceus at least once, and maybe even twice if screens are up; because Ubers is such a fast paced metagame, Groudon does all I need him to. Thanks for the Mixed Wall EV's, Zorodark!


Rayquaza: Ray Quaza- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJP1DphOWPs

Rayquaza @ Focus Sash
Air Lock
Hasty Nature:252 SpA, 4 Atk, 252 Spd
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Brick Break
-Extremespeed

Late game, when the opponent has serious momentum, a Rayquaza may look just like a stuffed deer. But nope, he's about to pull some mad Chuck Testa and revenge yo kids, revenge yo wife. Draco Meteor surprises physical walls and does not lock me in like Outrage (I cannot express how valuable that is in fast-paced Ubers), Fire Blast ignores rain to ohko Forry and Ferro (about 61% to Ferrothorn if i have -2 SpA), brick break ohkoes Ttar and is a good move against E-Killer and Dialga if I still have my sash but have a SpA drop. Extremespeed usually doesn't do much, but enough so that AmazingHorse can get in the second Espeed for the kill.

Dialga: The Boxer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddzeuA0KTmk

Dialga @ Choice Specs
Pressure
Modest Nature: 236 HP, 252 SpA, 20 Spd
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Thunder
-Fire Blast

That fight video makes me laugh every time, but Dialga just makes me proud. He's a legit hard body ghetto boxer, working with Scrafty in a Pulp Fiction Jackson-Travolta Hood Scenario, taking names and dealing pain. Surviving (non Specs/LO) Reshiram's Blue Flare in sun? Check.(With 4% but alive is alive). Mewtwo's LO Aura Sphere? Easy money. Where Dialga's real power lies is in his attacks, however. Draco Meteor is an awesome stab, and dpulse is more reliable, (Thunder mainly for Kyogre and Lugia), but I actually use Fire Blast a surprising amount in sun, because the 1.5x boost gives it psuedo stab, and won't drop two stages like Meteor does. I'm not looking to change him a whole lot, I'll take suggestions for thunder and dpulse changes though.


Xatu: Nope- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mKIuZ4tIzk

Xatu (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Roost
- Toxic​

Xatu heard that you wanted to bring in a Forretress and lay down Toxic spikes. He also hear that you wanted to pull some ToxicStall Gliscor shenanigans. No, no, no, nope, I don't wanna, is what the wise bird says. Who are YOU, he asks, to use anything but non attacking moves against me. Xatu shows that a little light(clay)hearted humor goes a long way in helping protect AmazingHorse and Friends, as dual screens give great survivability, mostly being set up against Ferrothorn, Groudon, and Forretress. Roost is for his own health, and toxic helps bring down any switch in who thinks he is setup fodder. Thanks Furai!

Final Notes:​

Overall, I am very happy with this team, and will continue to ladder with it because the ranking I gave at the top is current. Thanks for reading, and I hope you had fun.


To RMTer's, please advise me on:
a. Dialga's Moveset.
b. If you had fun reading this, cause I spent a lot of time making it. :)

Threats to take into account:
-Most CM sweepers, especially those who have an SE move on Groudon.
-Sub-Toxic Gliscor (sand does not otherwise bother me)
-Ghost Arceus (can wall everyone outside of pre-SD'd and Sub'd Arceus and Dialga, usually takes multiple sacrifices to bring it down).

 

[CottonPuff]

O.o I enjoyed the unique format and the team, good job! I will do a full rate later, but E-Killer and SD Rayquaza can potentially run through this team with the help of hazards. Just something to think about.

 

[ZoroDark]

First things first: AMAZING FORMAT
Anyways on to the team: I have a Groudon set for you :D, or at least I hope you like it: Adamant 200 HP / 108 Def / 200 SpDef
200 HP EVs afford Groudon the ability to take more hits while rounding down residual damage incurred from poison or Spikes, because from my own experience, Tentacruel isn't always able to spin. 200 SpDef for going Mixed Wall as you want, while 108 Def EV's ensure you'll take a +1 LO Outrage from Quaza. Adamant nature ensures you'll have a huge chance of KO'ing the same Quaza after SR damage.
Hope I helped and good luck!

 

[cfdu1202]

Nice team.
You should make your Groudon Physically Defensive, with 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def, and an Impish nature, because CB Terrakion can outspeed and 2hko every single Pokemon in your team with Close Combat(bar Deoxys). A well-played Rock Polish Groudon and SD Normal and Ghost Arceus can give you a lot of trouble.
Change Rayquaza's Item to Life Orb, as you cannot garantee that SR can be spun. Also, Brick Break is amazingly weak against Extremekiller without 1,3x boost.
CM Mewtwo with Psystrike/AuraSpere/Ice Beam OHKO 4 of your pokes with a little prior damage, and can survive one E-speed from either Arceus or Rayquaza, but I don't have any idea to deal with it without changing your team a lot.

 

[Jerp]

To Answer the math question in your Team Building process, the Limit is X --> 0.

Anyways, on a more serious note, your team gets raped in the face by Scarf Palkia and Kyogre. So here are my suggested changes:

Switch D-S to D-A. Two reasons for this, it rips holes in the enemy team, and it can use SR if you want it to.

Next, switch Tenta to Ferrothorn. He too can absorb t-spikes, set up his own, along w/ any other hazard, use sunny day, and volt switch away.

Try Max HP and Max Speed groudon. It turns it into a powerful tank.

Dialga could remedy your palkia/kyogre problem. Switch Dragon Pulse to thunder, and your set, and maybe take off the specs?


I liked your team, and I know I suggested a lot of major changes. I realize you probably won't do it, and even if you don't, congrats on your calculus understanding and ranking (I myself peaked at 17, but w/ a hyper offense rain team). Have fun!

 

[TheStarRapper]

@zorodark- I will change Groudon's ev's, thank you for putting in the time and checking them.

@cfdu, almost every game the sash comes in handy, so i think i will keep it. For CM mewtwo, i usually bring in Ray, DM as my sash goes down and e speed before death, then e speed with Amazing Horse. Thanks for the rate.

@jerp, props for answering the math question. I might give Deoxys A a try, but also find that people like to lead with scarf ogre and I can get up SR and spikes by outspeeding the scarf 90 range. I don't actually have problems with those two anyway, if i can switch to sun, max hp arceus takes their hits all day erryday. Ferrothorn is unfortunately grass and steel not absorbing t spikes, does not learn rapid spin, and cannot volt switch, and does not benefit from sunny day. I already have Thunder on Dialga, so im not sure exactly what you're suggesting.

Thanks All. Still looking for suggestions, though I have been experimenting with a magic bounce/ t-wave/dm/ aura sphere Giratina O instead of Tenta to spin block. Fun stuff.

 

[Furai]

Very interesting offensive team, TheStarRapper! Deoxys-S is definitely a great Pokemon to lay and keep off hazards, and using that quality to sweep with Extreme Killer must have worked out for you. Neg's My Ball was actually pretty great.

Here's a quick fix for Deoxys-S. Simply run Taunt > Stealth Rock and give Groudon Stealth Rock > Fire Punch. I don't see why you are using Fire Punch, when you have both Rayquaza and Dialga in your team, which I will get to later. Moreover, change Groudon's spread to 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk, Impish nature. This would allow you to take on physical titans such as opposing Extreme Kilelr Arceus and Choice Scarf Salamence.

Now, Tentacruel seems out of place to me. A quick change that could fix your Gliscor weakness would be Xatu:

Xatu

Xatu (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Roost
- Toxic

By doing so, you easily fix your Gliscor weakness thanks to Xatu's Flying typing and Magic Bounce, as well as keeping hazards off your field. Toxic allows you to catch Calm Mind sweepers on the switch that as you said, bother you team greatly. This Xatu also synergizes well with the offensive nature of the team, bringing Dual Screen support to aid your team.

The team right now is awfully Kyogre and Reshiram weak. They can just nuke everything that comes in to them. Even Rayquaza, that resists Blue Flare, takes a massive 60.22%-71.02% from a Choice Specs Reshiram. Therefore, I suggest changing Dialga to Choic Scarf Palkia:

Palkia

Palkia @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor

You now have the best offensive check for Kyogre. It takes only 35.2% from Modest Choice Scarf Kyogre's full-powered, rain boosted Water Spout, and smacks back with Thunder. It may seem counter-productive to have Thunder in a sun team, but you're only going to need it against Kyogre. Draco Meteor is a good attack when Spacial Rend just won't cut it, such as against Giratina and Darkrai (Darkrai is not OHKOed by Spacial Rend).

These suggestions here are going to be optional, they are up to your decision. If you're in need of something to actually hit Calm Mind Mewtwo and the pink blobs, Chansey and Blissey, with, Outrage could replace Draco Meteor. I also think you should change Rayquaza's item to Life Orb. With Life Orb as your item, you have a good chance to 2HKO 252 HP / 80 SpD Lugia with two Draco Meteors after Stealth Rock, aiding Arceus in its sweep. Focus Sash is quite hard to play with when the Pokemon that holds it is a mid-game player, too.

tl;dr

• Taunt>Stealth Rock on Deoxys-S
• Stealth Rock>Fire Punch on Groudon
• 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk, Impish nature on Groudon
• Xatu>Tentacruel
• Choice Scarf Palkia>Dialga
  [*]Optional changes:
  • Outrage>Draco Meteor on Palkia
  • Life Orb>Focus Sash on Rayquaza

Good luck!

 

[Dusknight]

I suggest you to change your Deoxys-S EV distribution for this: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spd. Why? Because you are running Focus Sash and you really don't need they. Better 252 in Atk to hit more harder (If you can, tough).
Edit: Or you can put this EV distribution with a Timid Nature: 4 Hp / 252 SpA/ 252 Spd , with Ice Beam > Superpower to destroy opposing Xatu.

Good luck!

 

[TheStarRapper]

@Furai- Thanks! Wow I can't believe I didn't think of Xatu earlier. SR comes in very handy, more so than spikes, so I will replace spikes with Taunt. This way, I can keep Fire Punch on Groudon, which doesn't get a ton of use, but i would hate for a Forretress or Ferrothorn to have the ability to set up on me, and I have killed many greedy bugs and plants in the past. As for rays item, I think adding Xatu gives me even more incentive to keep the sash as I can bounce hazards. I can tell you took a bunch of time in the rate, Muchas gracias.

@Dusknight- Lol at your name, is that intentional portmanteau of Rising Dusk and Deck Knight? Those two are quite a pair. Anyway, I will switch the evs on deo, good point, thanks for the rate.