Team Silent Alarm - Featuring Xatu
a team by Superstar
Having always been a rain player in Ubers, I decided one day that I was going to give sun a go. Many people play sun offensively, using Resharim and Ho-oh to smash walls. However, with the dominance of Kyogre in Ubers I really wanted to make a sun team that could function well even without its favorite weather. This team has done well on the PS ladder, peaking in the Top 10. However, that doesn't mean much because the PS Ubers ladder is godawful.a team by Superstar
A better indicator is its 1460 peak on the PO ladder, which is pretty damn solid. I lost only from getting outplayed, not from the team. Except for the guy with Kyurem-W, Mewtwo, AND Ghostceus CM. He raped me.
This team certainly has flaws, and any help ya'll could give would be excellent. I give you: Team Inedible Strawberries!
Team building process:
I experimented with many things to try to build a successful bulky offense team in sun. However, all of them needed the summoner of the sun, Groudon:
The main reason I wanted to run sun was so that I could run what is the best Pokemon in the game in my opinion (at least when Stealth Rock is off the field!):
Now, Ho-oh absolutely requires Rapid Spin support. However, I had always disliked using Forretress: It was set up bait for ExtremeKiller and I could never manage to actually get a spin off. Excadrill was all right, but I just didn't like how easily he was worn down, and with a bulky offense team the matches take a while. The answer to my troubles came to me after watching my standard Ferrothorn spike-stacking team get murdered by something on the ladder when I couldn't get a single layer of hazards up: Go Xatu!
Okay, so that left me with a gaping weakness to everyone's least favorite blue whale. Ferrothorn kinda sucks in the sun, and I didn't really want to use Palkia since it lacks recovery. Latias seemed like a great choice, since it got its Soul Dew back.
Now, I needed an Extremekiller check, as well as something that could somewhat deal with Darkrai. I also wanted it to be fast, to provide a revenge killing threat to things like Mewtwo. Scarf Terrakion fit the bill perfectly.
Finally, I wanted a late game sweeper. I wanted it to be able to somewhat deal with Giratina, while also giving me a back-up revenge killer. I decided on ExtremeKiller
This team was pretty decent, but Mewtwo was an enormous *****, there was no steel-type to tank dragon attacks, and Terrakion and Arceus weren't doing ****. So I followed Furai's excellent suggestion. Arceus and Terrakion were out, ScarfSect and Giratina-O are in.
And there you have the team.
The Sun Summoner
Banquet (Groudon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Groudon is necessary on this team to summon the sun that is so important to Ho-oh. A Kyogre locked into Surf in the sun is also a great opportunity for Arceus to set up. I decided to use a Defensive set to provide a back-up check to Extremekiller, since teams with a Darkrai and Extremekiller usually manage to take Terrakion out. It also can handle Dragon Dance Raquazza that lack Draco Meteor as well as walling Zekrom to hell and back. Also, it gives me an extremely reliable Stealth Rock user. Speed is to outspeed most Ho-Oh and kill with Stone Edge before they can Sub.
Stone Edge is solely for opposing Ho-Oh (I will just Dragon Tail Rayquaza or the Latis if I'm not switching), but is important. Earthquake gives a powerful STAB, and Dragon Tail is for phazing. I don't need to say what Stealth Rock does.
Roles:
-Weather Inducer
-Stealth Rock Setter
-Defensive Wall
-Backup Ekiller check
The Tank
Helicopter (Ho-Oh) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Atk / 80 SDef / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Recover
Ho-oh is insane...if Stealth Rock didn't exist it would be on every team. There are so many Pokemon it can switch in on, especially if sun is up. The best part is that Sun will usually be up, because once he is behind a Sub Ho-oh shreds over 65% from offensive Kyogre with Brave Bird. He can Sacred Fire when Zekrom or Arceus tries to come in and have a good shot at a burn. He takes Dragon Pulses like a boss, and totally counters Genesect, especially if sun is up so that Thunder is unreliable.
This is a pretty standard Ho-oh set. Sub and Recover allow Ho-oh to survive essentially forever, especially if rocks aren't up. Sacred Fire and Brave Bird provide incredible dual STABs. Brave Bird even has a chance to 3HKO Specially Defensive Giratina. The EVs provide good special bulk. They are from the on-site analysis and have worked for me, so I didn't change them, except to add 12 Spe EVs to try to creep uninvested base 90s, and more importantly, outspeed the Smogon Uber Heatran set by 2 points (in case they creep)
Roles:
-Tank for hits
-Sun Abuser
The Hazard Control
Modern Love (Xatu) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def/ 20 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Reflect/Toxic
- Light Screen
- Roost
- Heat Wave
This guy...I can't even put into words how essential he is for the team. Over and over again I have used him, and over and over again I have been simply blown away by his performance. A lot of people like to use Espeon. That's cool, I respect your opinion, but Xatu blows Espeon out of the water. First off, it totally walls Ferrothorn and Forretress, which Espeon cannot do because of its Gyro Ball problems. It also has reliable recovery even when I don't manage to keep sun up. You have Deoxys-S? That's nice. Unless it has Ice Beam, I can set up screens in its face.
The EVs are chosen to maximize Xatu's best defensive stat, which allows him to switch in on Stealth Rock from Defensive Groudon, set up Reflect, and then stall out the PP of Stone Edge until he switches. I chose Speed 20 EVs because it lets me outspeed Base 90s with 56 EVs invested, which is a good number to creep to I guess. Roost provides reliable recovery. Light Screen comes in handy so often. The best example is with a Ferro/Kyogre combo. I can come in on Ferrothorn, set up Light Screen, and then switch to Latias. Latias can now comfortably take a Specs Ice Beam and threaten heavily with Thunder. Heat Wave is there to swiftly eliminate Ferro and Forry so that I don't have to worry about them. It also takes a huge chunk off Deo-S in the sun. I sometimes use Toxic over Reflect or Light Screen. Its really nice to have something to nail Kyogre and Ghostceus switch-ins.
Roles:
-Secondary Physical defender
-Hazard Controller
-Stallbreaker
The Kyogre Check
She's Hearing Voices (Latias) (F) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SDef / 140 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Dragon Pulse
- Roost
- Calm Mind
Latias is great. It can check a huge plethora of special threats. Kyogre is easily walled, except for Modest Choice Specs, which is a bit of a pain. Luckily, Choice Specs is rare. Latias is always very reliable in her job.
The EVs may seem a bit unusual, but I rarely have problems with Palkia or even see Garchomp, so I opted for just enough speed to outpace Timid Kyurem-W, which is essential as Specs/LO can really hurt the team. The extra bulk is nice when I am not at full health.
I used to have Hidden Power Fire in the last slot, but I found I didn't need it since Xatu walls the targets for it anyway. This allows me to have Calm Mind. I generally use it more defensively. It's not as useful as the other moves, but can come in handy. Roost is obvious recovery, while Dragon Pulse is reliable STAB. Psyshock is better than Thunder, which I used to have. It lets me hit Ho-Oh hard in Sun, while still nailing Kyogre.
Roles:
-Kyogre check
-Special Wall
-Pivot
-Semi-Sweeper
The Revenge Killer
Blue Light (Genesect) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 Att/ 4 SpAtt/ 252 Spe
Hasty Nature (+Spd -Def)
- U-Turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Explosion
Furai gave me this great Genesect set, and it has improved the team by so much Genesect is an improvement over Terrakion in two major ways: First, his steel-type allows me to actually come in on dragon-type attacks. Second, his bug-type STAB and possible Download boost gives me a way to KO Mewtwo. Did you know his base attack is only 9 points less than Terrakion's? Yeah, me neither. But he's great and I love him.
U-Turn is obvious for STAB and scouting. Iron Head gives me a way to hit Kyurem-W hard, and flinch hax has won me a game before. Ice Beam is good to OHKO Rayquaza and Garchomp (who I have literally never seen except on a **** sand team). Explosion is used to go out with a bang and give a free set up for Latias or Ho-Oh, but is rarely used. However, Flamethrower and Thunderbolt don't really appeal to me, so Explosion will stay, mostly to take out a rouge Ho-Oh.
Max attack gives me a powerful U-Turn, and Hasty nature ensure I can take some of the weaker Dragon Pulses and Ice Beams (here's looking at you, Latias). Overall, an incredible asset to the team.
The Ekiller and Ho-Oh Check
Price of Gas (Giratina-O) @ Griseous Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 216 Atk / 252 Def / 40 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Outrage
Another contribution from Furai, this Giratina-O set doesn't do much, but does what it has to. Its defense allows it to easily tank a Shadow Claw from Extremekiller and even SD Ghostceus, and then burn (if it hits...). Adamant gives it a punch and lets it stand up against Ho-Oh. Dragon Tail is a good Phazing move. Outrage is rarely used, but can hurt a lot of threats.
Lead Matchups
I usually lead with Groudon. He can get up SR quickly, as well as sun if I am against a weatherless team. If they lead with Kyogre, it is usually sunny, so I can then switch in Latias, and switch in Ho-Oh after that if they choose to Ice Beam. If they show a Darkrai or Deoxys-A, I lead with Genesect and U-Turn to Xatu as they Dark Void/Attack with something Xatu resists/SR. I then switch immediately back to Genesect for the KO and they Dark Pulse/Ice Beam.
So there is the team, it has been pretty successful and does well against most threats. Major threats are below, along with an importable. Read, rate, steal, whatev.
P.S. Team name comes from Silent Alarm, an album by Bloc Party, its a great album go check it out. "Banquet" "Price of Gasoline" and "Modern Love" are the standouts.
Threats:
HEATRAN: Walls my whole team bar Groudon. If paired with a teammate that can take an EQ (Hippodon, Groudon, Tina) they will win. I do not know how to fix this, or if it is even worth fixing as Heatran is rare. Ho-Oh can do a lot of damage with Brave Bird but most Heatrans outspeed and Toxic me (if they creep up 2 EVs from the Smogon analysis they win), and even if they are slow they can just Roar me away and I hate to switch Ho-Oh in.
Psycho Killer Mewtwo : Tough to deal with. If it lacks LO Latias can deal with it somewhat. If it does have LO I try to outstall it and sac the Poke I need the least. Genesect can take most of its attacks and can KO most of the time with U-Turn. Giratina can do 37% with Shadow Sneak once it is in that range.
Specs Kyogre: This is tough because it can deal with Latias - ice beam does 52%. Ho-Oh can then switch in to take an Ice Beam though. I have to outpredict it, and try to wear it down. Keeping Light Screen up is important because then Latias easily walls it.
Specs Kyurem-W: Have to revenge with Genesect. SR wears it down quickly. Just have to play around it. Latias can outspeed and OHKO as well.
Ghostceus SD: Can be a big threat. Tina can take ONE shadow claw and do a fair chunk with Shadow Sneak/Phaze with Dragon Tail
Ghostceus CM: Have to try to Toxic it on switch with Xatu, CM up with it with Latias and go for the Psyshock, Shadow Sneak it, wear it down with Gene, or keep hitting it with Ho-Oh. He's really tough to deal with :/
Ho-Oh: Giratina all day. Is only 3HKOd by Brave Bird and hits like a mofo with Outrage. If I get burned I'm upset, but I generally don't have trouble keeping SR up against Sun.
Arceus: Walceus is actually somewhat annoying believe it or not, because I don't have anything that can reallly OHKO hit. Xatu proves his worth here. One of the main reasons I usually use Toxic over Reflect. EKiller can be owned by Tina and Groudon. Even Shadow Force barellly misses the OHKO on Tina after an SD.
Dialga: I really couldn't give less of a **** about Dialga because Ho-oh and Latias wall special variants to hell and back, and Groudon the same for BU. The problem is he can rape Xatu and get SR up.
Kyurem-B: I have seen this ***** exactly ONCE, and he murdered half my team. The guy I was playing sucked, but I have no choice but to revenge the thing with Genesect, and if it leads/they keep SR off the field, Iron head only does 87% so I am in for a lot of hurt with Gene + 1 other gone before Tina can do a secondary revenge with Shadow Sneak.
Importable:
Groudon @ Leftovers
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 196 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Xatu (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
Latias (F) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SDef / 140 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Dragon Pulse
- Roost
- Calm Mind
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Atk / 84 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Recover
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 216 Atk / 252 Def / 40 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Outrage
Trait: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 196 Def / 56 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Xatu (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Explosion
- Ice Beam
Latias (F) @ Soul Dew
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SDef / 140 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Dragon Pulse
- Roost
- Calm Mind
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Atk / 84 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Recover
Giratina-O @ Griseous Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 216 Atk / 252 Def / 40 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Dragon Tail
- Outrage
Last edited: