With the ability to play this as a 4th gen team with one move substitution and a modified EV spread, this Ubers team brings out some old favorites and a couple new tricks. There's no fancy thought process or master plan here; my current setup is a result of gradual tweaks and substitutions. And so, resting uneasily on my laurels, it's:
At a Glance
In-Depth
Darkrai @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunder
- Trick
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
The Mindset
This is an antilead set of my own devising, and I have to say it works pretty well. No Deoxys can get more than a single layer of entry hazards, and bulkier spikers can be tricked into becoming setup fodder for one of my sweepers. Enemy Darkrai are OHKO'd 70% of the time, and Kyogre takes over 60% damage plus a possible paralyze. You'll notice that I'm lacking Dark Void, which I don't feel is necessary. Pulse takes care of some leads without risking a miss or leaving me useless against a switchin, and I've also found Espeon and such to be common enough that you may well sleep yourself if you Void indiscriminately. EVs are nothing special, letting me outspeed Modest Mewtwo with my scarf Tricked away or tying at worst with enemy Darkrai.
The Moves
Thunder gets its own slot solely because of Kyogre. As mentioned above, Kyogre will be heavily damaged and possibly crippled, limiting its usefulness in the match later on. Trick can cripple bulkier pokes in or out of the first slot, giving me room to set up, as well as giving me freedom to pick which move I want. Dark Pulse is a no-brainer, a decently powerful STAB with nice coverage and a chance to flinsh. Focus Blast rounds out the list with great coverage and power but accuracy that leaves much to be desired. Despite the risk, it's my best choice against Darkrai, Dialga, Arceus, and the like.
Mewtwo @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psystrike
- Aura Sphere
- Ice Beam
The Mindset
Ah, Mewtwo. While it no longer boasts an equivalent 744 BST (Literally more powerful than God) or undisputed dominance over the metagame, Mewtwo's glory days are far from over. On my team, Mewtwo serves as my primary special sweeper, able to hit hard right off the bat or boost itself into something truly terrifying. Great coverage complements its insane SAtk stat, and Psystrike allows it to put the hurt even on dedicated special walls like Chansey. My EV spread is, again, nothing unique, but it lets Mewtwo outspeed all but Deoxys and the rarely-seen Ninjask. The Expert Belt acts like a poor man's Life Orb against important targets, without the nasty recoil.
The Moves
Calm Mind is one of the best boosting moves in the game. At +1, Mewtwo is hitting off 611 SAtk, enough to OHKO a huge portion of the metagame. It also boosts its SDef to a respectable 324, giving it some tangible bulk on the special side. Psystrike is evidence that someone up at Gamefreak loves Uber players. Aside from being a powerful, reliable STAB option, it neutralizes fat pink whores and other special walls, as well as letting Mewtwo win Calm Mind wars with effortless ease. Aura Sphere is for steels like Dialga and Ferrothorn, as well as hitting hard on Arceus. The last moveslot is a bit of a toss-up between Ice Beam and Shadow Ball, but I'll sacrifice (in an uncharacteristic move) the ability to beat my own doppelgangers for a clean KO on Garchomp, Rayquaza, and at +1, Groudon.
Kyogre @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
The Mindset
Kyogre is, hands-down, one of the single best pokémon in the game. Pre-Arceus, the whole Uber tier revolved around Ogre, and while it's not quite the force it was in Gen IV, it's still an incredible teammate. This is a generic CM set with some speedfreak touches of my own, acting as the slower half of my special sweeping team. Like its counterpart Mewtwo, Kyogre can hit hard on turn one or boost its offenses to ridiculous levels. Leftovers, offensive EVs, and Calm Mind make an interesting combo, where I can tank some hits without feeling like a sitting duck or draining my own life away. Notable is the fact that Kyogre will, at the very worst, tie with any non-scarfed base 90, including other Kyogre. In a metagame where 2HKOs are standard, speed can be everything.
The Moves
This is such a basic set that any Ubers player should need no explanation. Calm Mind turns Kyogre into an absolute tank against physically weaker pokes, and lets me smash through some special walls. Surf is powerful, reliable, double-STAB, end of story. Ice Beam handles the numerous dragons and fliers in Ubers, including Giratina, Rayquaza, Skymin, and Garchomp, all of which are potent threats. It also takes care of Groudon and serves as Kyogre's only reliable attack once the sun is shining. Thunder, in the last slot, is powerful, accurate in the rain, good against enemy Kyogre, and useful for other coverage purposes. And that paralysis chance is just the cherry on top.
Garchomp (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Stone Edge
The Mindset
Garchomp may not be restricted to Ubers any more, but that sure doesn't mean he can no longer do his job there. I like to pack a fast scarfer on almost all my teams, and this is no exception. Chomp has great STABs, enough speed to troll other scarfers, and the all-important (in Ubers) ability to hit the physical side of things. EVs let it outspeed basically anything you might stick a scarf on besides Skymin and the rare Mewtwo, going so far as to beat Ninjask to the punch before a Speed Boost.
The Moves
Outrage vs Dragon Claw is a crucial choice, much like Ice Beam vs Shadow Ball on Mewtwo. In my opinion, however, Dragon Claw is just too weak to get the job done. Outrage allows for an OHKO against scarfed Zekrom, which comes in handy extremely often. Another crucial situation where this comes in handy is against scarfed Kyogre, where it allows me to drastically weaken Water Spout to the point where HP Water would do more damage. Earthquake is my main line of defense against steels, as well as serving as a good, powerful STAB option when I'm not confident enough to lock myself into Outrage. The remaining two moves are mostly filler. Stone Edge, that move we all love to hate, does stellar damage against Ho-Oh and hits Lugia SE, but is otherwise worthy of note only by how much it loves to miss. Fire Fang is even less useful, hitting mainly Scizor, Forretress, and Ferrothorn, though it does a pittance even then, on the order of something like 30% against Ferrothorn in the rain. Only really used when it's sunny out and I'm extremely confident on my predict.
Scizor (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Swords Dance
- Roost
The Mindset
Another fourth gen favorite, Scizor is still worthy in my eyes of a slot on my bench. My specific set, while rarely seen, isn't without precedent. Utilizing its great typing and decent bulk, Scizor is a great defensive pivot, but given the right circumstances it can even act as a sweeper in its own right. The EV spread sacrifices some bulk for power, while trolling 0/4-Speed Scizors by one point. Life Orb vs Leftovers or Iron Plate is the biggest question here, but the range of pokes OHKO'd at +2 with a life orb vs Leftovers makes it worth the health loss for me.
The Moves
Swords Dance gives this Scizor more power and versatility vs its Banded counterparts, and its +2 STAB moves are nothing to be laughed at. It also lets Scizor avoid being completely shut down by Will-O-Wisp, although its power output obviously suffers. Bullet Punch, as anyone who has played 4th gen OU knows, is extremely useful, hitting hard and making up for Scizor's rather lacking speed. Bug Bite also gets STAB and Technician boosts, and is a great move to hit switch-ins with when move priority is'nt an issue, or just to deal massive damage if survivability isn't an issue for Scizor. Roost, while somewhat contradictory with Life Orb, lets Scizor heal off residual damage or bring itself back to health against weaker opponents. Notable is the Scizor/Ferrothorn matchup (which people seem to think is a good idea), where I can boost, heal, OHKO, and leave myself in a great position for whatever comes next.
Arceus @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
The Mindset
Arceus' place on this team really needs no explanation. Fast, bulky, and powerful, with perfect coverage, an 80 BP STAB Priority move, and the ability to sweep at a moment's notice, it's hard to argue against the God of the pokéverse. A couple things that are worth arguing about, however, are my choice of nature and item. Alongside Scizor, Arceus serves as my only real defense against opposing Extremekillers. For that reason, I've chosen to sacrifice some power for the ability to get my own hits in first. While nothing can truly "counter" Arceus, I can switch in, Brick Break, Extremespeed, Bullet Punch, and continue an Arceus-less Ubers match when the need arises. As compensation for this loss of power, my Arceus sports a Life Orb, which is detrimental to its long-term survivability but gives it a better short-term chance of eliminating opponents before they can strike back.
The Moves
Just like Kyogre, Arceus sports a set that is predictable, unoriginal, and astoundingly effective. Sword Dance gives Arceus to OHKO most of the metagame. Extremespeed is the primary STAB and can annihilate all but the bulkiest of pokes at +2. Shadow Claw makes up one half of the perfect coverage due of Ghost/Fighting, hitting Ghosteus, Giratina, and the like, and Brick Break completes that combo, notably breaking screens and dealing massive damage to enemy Extremekillers to boot.
Closing Thoughts
I've done decently well with this team (hovering around the top 50 or so) , but I know I can always do better. One of my big weaknesses is an imperfect knowledge of Gen V, and as stated, this team takes advantage of little of what Black and White have to offer.
Known Threats
Extremekiller Arceus is a pretty big threat, although I'd like to see a team where it's not. My main line of defense consists of sacrificing my own Arceus and counting on Scizor to be healthy (or vice versa). Stall in general and Giratina in particular can give this team some problems. Nothing can do better than a 2HKO, and when you factor Will-O-Wisp and recovery in, it's almost impossible sometimes to do anything. Shedinja is another issue, and while it comes up fairly rarely, half my team can't touch it, Darkrai normally dies pretty quickly, Garchomp gets locked into easily-exploited suboptimal moves, and Arceus is just Arceus. Finally, there's hazard/phaze abusers (like the aforementioned Giratina), as I have no real way to stop entry hazards, and can only kill the user quickly or set up while it spikes.
Currently-Considered Changes
-Modest Darkrai, Adamant Garchomp
-Pursuit on Scizor (Problem finding a good place to slot it in)
-Possible change of Arceus to a more effective Arceus killer
-Shadow Ball on Mewtwo (again, 4-moveslot syndrome)
-Anything else that gets suggested
