ORAS Ubers Cretaceous Downfall [Peaked #1]

[Lacus Clyne]

Cretaceous Downfall

Hey there. So I have finally finished all of my tournaments and decided to post a team since the ORAS era is coming to an end. In this thread, I will present a team which I used on both ladders and tournaments. After looking at the current ORAS Ubers Viability Rankings, I wanted to try some underrated Pokémon like Mega Lucario or Mega Kangaskhan. However, I chose Mega Aerodactyl as it is quite unique. I don't remember who suggested me the Cloyster + Mega Aerodactyl core, but that was the core that made me build this team. Anyway, here is how I created the team:

Teambuilding​

The main idea started with the Mega Aerodactyl + Cloyster lead core. Mega Aerodactyl sets up Stealth Rock, while Cloyster is the anti-lead against other teams.

The next step was to add Primal Groudon. It always enhances the team with its presence.

I wanted something that could act as a cleaner, while giving me a check to Dark-type Pokémon such as Darkrai and Yveltal. I chose the offensive RestTalk Xerneas set.

So I needed a Spin-blocker since anti-leads are more common nowadays. Since I am already using a Mega Evolution, I couldn't pick Mega Gengar, while Giratina-O is too slow, so I went with Arceus-Ghost.

Lastly, I needed a good revenge-killer who can also act as a nuke. I went with Deoxys-A.

In-Depth

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite

Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
Taunt
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Stone Edge

Mega Aerodactyl is a good lead Pokémon which is able to outrun Darkrai and set up Stealth Rock. I usually lead with it when I see a Darkrai on the opposing team. I chose the Ability Unnerve over Pressure since it allows me to inflict more damage to a Shuca Berry Dialga and knock it out if it is already weakened. I do acknowledge that Pressure does have some niches over Unnerve though. The EVs let me outrun Darkrai before Mega Evolving, so I can Taunt it. Taunt in general is a good move to stop Defog and set-up moves. The remaining EVs were placed into Attack and HP for a bit of bulk, since Aerodactyl outruns almost everything after Mega Evolving anyway. The main goal is to set up Stealth Rock and stop Defog with Taunt. For the last two moves I chose the common Ground/Rock coverage, because it deals neutral damage to almost everything. Mega Aerodactyl can also more or less stop Extreme Killer Arceus and Mega Salamence from setting up, or tank a hit and knock them out in case they are already weakened.

Cloyster @ Focus Sash

Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Shell Smash
Icicle Spear
Toxic Spikes
Rapid Spin

Cloyster is one of my possible leads. In general, it is one of the best anti-leads since it is also able to sweep with Shell Smash + Icicle Spear. I lead with Cloyster when my opponent does not have Darkrai or anything that is able to stop it. I use a Focus Sash to tank one hit, because Cloyster's Special Defense is extremely low. Toxic Spikes is an excellent move since it deals a lot of passive damage and puts everything in range for my sweepers. The last move is Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards from my side of the battlefield. Originally I chose Explosion over Rapid Spin since Arceus-Water was quite annoying, but Rapid Spin in general is way more useful. Cloyster's Jolly Nature combined with its 252 Speed EVs allow it to outrun all passive Pokémon, while the rest of the EVs are placed into Attack to maximize its damage output output in case I set up a Shell Smash.

Groudon @ Red Orb

Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 SpD / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
Fire Punch
Rock Polish
Precipice Blades
Dragon Claw

As many people would say, an ORAS Ubers team without Primal Groudon is not a good team. I decided to use the physically-offensive Rock Polish variant, although I really wanted to use a mixed Rock Polish variant since Mega Salamence becomes an incredible threat to this team if I needed to sacrifice Mega Aerodactyl too early or allow Xerneas to be weakened before the Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon comes in. For this set I chose the Dragon Claw + Fire Punch combination because I really want to kill Giratina-O before it is able to Defog. Combined with Fire Punch, Precipice Blades gives the Continent Pokémon a pair of powerful dual STABs. Rock Polish is not a move I use often, but it can definitely come in handy against offensive teams or Mega Gengar. Primal Groudon is my main Xerneas check, which is why it needs to stay healthy most of the time. My EV split looks odd but it is able to tank any +2 attack from Xerneas after Stealth Rock damage. I prefer Speed instead of bulk since I being able to outrun opposing Primal Groudon gives me a large advantage in battle, especially given this Pokémon's sheer prevalence in the ORAS Ubers metagame.

Xerneas @ Power Herb

Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Def / 96 SpA / 56 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Geomancy
Moonblast
Rest
Sleep Talk

Xerneas is my cleaner and primary win condition. I decided to use a more bulky set to tank some physical hits when I am using Rest and Sleep Talk. I didn't really need max. Special Attack because I can knock out most Pokémon in one hit anyway after I set up with Geomancy. Moonblast is the only attack Xerneas needs, although a more common set with Hidden Power [Rock]/Focus Blast + Aromatherapy also has some use. I liked the RestTalk set more though which is why I went with it since I can set up on Pokémon like Klefki without fear of paralysis. Sleep Talk is a really useful move, since it gives me a chance to attack with Moonblast, and the odds of that happening are 50% since Geomancy isn't triggered by Sleep Talk. Overall RestTalk Xerneas is probably one of the best sets in the ORAS Ubers metagame, and I highly suggest others to use it.

Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate

Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance
Shadow Force
Extreme Speed
Brick Break

My Spin-blocker. Arceus-Ghost is really underestimated and many teams don't even prepare for it anymore, which is why it can sweep quite easily most of the time. With Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock on my team, I have very little need to fear an opposing team featuring both a Normal-type Pokémon and a Ghost-type Pokémon when using Shadow Force, since I get to opportunity to spread passive damage, and this is why I decided to use Extreme Speed over Shadow Claw. Extreme Speed in general is really good to pick off a weakened Extreme Killer Arceus or Deoxys-A. I am obviously using Shadow Force for huge damage and Brick Break since it is the best coverage move in this set. Swords Dance is the fourth move to enhance the damage output. I chose a Jolly Nature since I need to outrun some Pokémon like Latios and Mega Diancie in order to not take damage from them.

Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Rash Nature
Psycho Boost
Extreme Speed
Knock Off
Superpower

My revenge-killer. I only switch it in when I am absolutely sure my opponent won't attack on that turn since Deoxys-A is extremely fragile. Its nuclear Psycho Boost absolutely obliterates the vast majority of Pokémon in the metagame and spreads massive damage in general, while Extreme Speed is the typical revenge-killing move. Superpower knocks out Darkrai and does good damage to many other Pokémon. I decided to use Knock Off over Ice Beam for this team, since bulky Steel-type Pokémon that are not weak to Superpower, such as Bronzong and Aegislash, can be quite annoying for the team. I decided to use the Rash set, because I prefer dealing more damage over outrunning or Speed-tying opposing Deoxys-A. If it comes down to a Deoxys-A versus Deoxys-A I would switch to Arceus-Ghost anyways. The EV split is straightforward and there is nothing to explain.

Importable

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Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 SpD / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Rock Polish
- Precipice Blades
- Dragon Claw

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Def / 96 SpA / 56 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Geomancy
- Moonblast
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin

Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Force
- Extreme Speed
- Brick Break

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Rash Nature
- Psycho Boost
- Extreme Speed
- Knock Off
- Superpower

Threatslist

Mega Salamence
Don't let Groudon become set-up bait.

Primal Groudon
Primal Groudon has almost no way to set up a Rock Polish against the team if you don't send in Xerneas often. It becomes extremely threatening if it does set up with that move though, and I have to rely on a combination of poison damage and Extreme Speed to knock it out. Thankfully, it has no opportunities to set up without taking a huge chunk of damage.

Darkrai
You really need to be careful when playing against Darkrai. Deoxys-A and Mega Aerodactyl outrun it and knock it out in one hit or Taunt it, but you have to be extremely careful to not let it do too much damage.

Arceus-Ghost
I often have to rely on the poison damage and Xerneas or Groudon tanking a Shadow Force hit if it is has Extreme Speed. The last resort would be a speed tie between my and the opposing Arceus-Ghost.

Shoutouts

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German Community:
Ambi - Danke das du das Translation Projekt leitest. :]
Wings of Night - Bring mir Ubers bei.
captivity - Geh duschen. Du stinkst.
Erz - Fairy Tail ;]
ShadowQuinn - Wo bist du? :o
Ice Tea - Du bist schwach und gebrechlich.
qwily - Wieso spielt er Pokémon?! Er kann doch nix.
Serpi386 - UU Suspect Ladder times~
bluri - Hi.
DnB - AV King.
Liones - OLT Sieger Liones?
schnalkser - Deine Kinder werden erstaunt sein.
FullLifeGames - RE:Zero <3
Obliviate - Blau steht dir nicht.
Melle2402 - Darkrai Stall ist scheiße.
Magermilchpuur - RIP.
RoryMercury - QC Lord.

Frost Cavern:
Draciel RC - Buy a toilette.
NananaBatman - Your maple syrup is so sweet like you, Softie.
AFK Vision Ward - Monica.
Fate Testarossa - Best admin.
JoyFrost - Best mod.
DAVIDpwns - I found Kaitou Kid. :o
The Alio - Always suggests me good anime.
amber lamps - Good friend but he lost his voice.
Chill Shadow - Best LU player.
TraceofLife - ... bully.
xdevo13 - Can be funny sometimes but is most of the time a virgin.
Z+V - Legend Z+V!
BenXxX - Hi
sin and victimization - Broken duck. I will eat you for breakfast.

Ubers:
Astounded - The king himself.
Arii Stella - The queen herself.
Mr.378 - The ironman himself.
LJDarkrai - The noob himself.
James Jimmy - The broke guy himself.
Mysterious M Another broke guy.
SparksBlade - The Shah Rukh Khan himself.
Gastrik - The disgusting guy himself.
Californium - The unlucky player himself.
hyw - The standard guy himself.

Heavenly Dragon Gods:
Transcendent God Champion - One of the nicest persons I like talking to.
Dragon God Red - Good player but vanished into the voids.

Other channels:
Ed - HaxED.
Fille - From hero to zero.
SkyPhoenix - The german mastermind.
Carl Murray - Alisha -> Edna
PrinceLucian - qt
Serga - Underrated player.

Huge thanks to Transcendent God Champion and SparksBlade for helping me creating this RMT.

Some art from gastrik

 

[Hack]

This seems like a fair bit of improvement from dice's old team. Cloyster's speed is what makes it more viable than Forretress, and Deo-A incorporated gives another reasonably strong priority user (xern was a weak point of aeroforry). Still, I question if using Cloyster in this metagame is actually worth it, as it's just much more inconsistent (especially vs Sab+Waterceus) than Excadrill and requires an additional SR user. I would say Exca+Mence > Cloyster+Aero gives the team everything and more except for Toxic Spikes... Which is a largely overrated tech anyway.

Due to this team not really having a Pdon check, the match up vs Gengar+RP Pdon (or any Pdon really) becomes super hard to handle. This team will need Toxic Spikes down to even have a chance vs it, but even if it does, the priority on the team isn't very strong. Ho-oh+Msab, Waterceus+Msab and Lugia+Msab are all combinations puts too a lot of pressure on the hazard users as well (in some cases hazards seem pretty much impossible to get up).

The team has a very strong match up vs standard HO (dialga or deos), I think no one would argue otherwise due to their incapability of handling Toxic Spikes. Similarly Ho-oh+Exca/Cloyster based teams will have a very tough time so props on that.

I can't really give an suggestions on how to make the team better, as I said the best I could recommend is using lead Excadrill and Mence. This makes the team lose its original concept, though. Good luck in the future