So, I've been using this team on Showdown! for a while, and I pretty much always win when I use it. A quick overview of the team is: Wall Dialga Physical Attacker Kyurem-B Sweeper Darkrai ExtremeKiller Arceus Wall Forretress Wall Giratina That's the basic idea, now the actual sets: Dialga @ Leftovers Ability: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpAtk / 252 SpDef Calm Nature - Stealth Rock - Roar - Thunder Wave - Draco Meteor Pretty normal Dialga. First turn it sets up Stealth Rocks, then it cripples the opponent with T-Wave. After that you can Roar it out into something that you can either cripple or Draco. It's special defensively invested because no one really expects it, and because of the number of lead Kyogres. 252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyogre Water Spout vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpDef Dialga in rain: 242-285 (59.9-70.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO Kyurem-B @ Choice Scarf Ability: Teravolt EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Speed / 4 HP Adamant Nature - Outrage - Fusion Bolt - Stone Edge - Sleep Talk Standard Scarf Kyurem-B. In my opinion, Black Kyurem can't function in Ubers without a Scarf; 95 Speed isn't enough. It can also switch in on Darkrai, then Sleep Talk and hope for the Outrage. Darkrai @ Life Orb Ability: Bad Dreams EVs: 252 Speed / 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef Timid Nature - Dark Void - Nasty Plot - Dark Pulse - Focus Blast It comes in, puts something to sleep, and then proceeds to set up a Nasty Plot on the switch/sleep turn. It outspeeds most the tier, barring Scarfed Pokes and a few other Pokémon. Arceus @ Life Orb Ability: Multitype EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Speed Adamant Nature - ExtremeSpeed - Earthquake/Shadow Claw - Recover - Swords Dance ExtremeKiller Arceus. One of the greatest terrors in the metagame. There's not much I can say about it. I just come in on pretty much anything, absorb a hit, set up a Swords Dance or two or three and sweep. ESpeed + Shadow Claw has good coverage but fails to hit Steel types. ESpeed + Earthquake hits Steel types but fails to hit Gengar and Giratina-O. Which one should I use? Forretress @ Leftovers Ability: Sturdy EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef Bold Nature - Rapid Spin - Toxic Spikes - Spikes - Pain Split It spins and sets up hazards and... does really nothing else. Giratina-A @ Leftovers Ability: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Atk Careful Nature - Dragon Tail - Rest - Sleep Talk - Will-O-Wisp I realized that Giratina-A had AMAZING bulk, so I tested it out a bit and it was awesome. It can live any special attack from pretty much anything in the tier. Just to show you how amazing it is, here's some calcs: 252+ SpA Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina: 428-506 (84.92 - 100.39%) -- 6.25% chance to OHKO 252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyogre Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina: 264-312 (52.38 - 61.9%) -- 98.05% chance to 2HKO 252+ SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Giratina: 234-278 (46.42 - 55.15%) -- 11.72% chance to 2HKO Importable: Spoiler Dialga @ Leftovers Ability: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpAtk / 252 SpDef Calm Nature - Stealth Rock - Roar - Thunder Wave - Draco Meteor Kyurem-B @ Choice Scarf Ability: Teravolt EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Speed / 4 HP Adamant Nature - Outrage - Fusion Bolt - Stone Edge - Sleep Talk Darkrai @ Life Orb Ability: Bad Dreams EVs: 252 Speed / 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef Timid Nature - Dark Void - Nasty Plot - Dark Pulse - Focus Blast Arceus @ Life Orb Ability: Multitype EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Speed Adamant Nature - ExtremeSpeed - Earthquake/Shadow Claw - Recover - Swords Dance Forretress @ Leftovers Ability: Sturdy EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef Bold Nature - Rapid Spin - Toxic Spikes - Spikes - Pain Split Giratina-A @ Leftovers Ability: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Atk Careful Nature - Dragon Tail - Rest - Sleep Talk - Will-O-Wisp So that's my team. What do you guys think about it?
I really like your team; each Pokémon has a set role that can take care of every Uber Pokémon (as a team). I have a question about your team: how has your team fared against teams with Blaziken (if Blaziken is used at all these days)? Giratina is your only check/counter to Blaziken, who can't KO Blaziken with the set that you gave it.
Well, Blazikens aren't really common in Ubers, but the occasional one does come along once in a while. I usually switch into Arceus, which completely disregards Speed Boosts with priority in the form of ExtremeSpeed. HI Jump Kick OHKOs Arceus, though, which is a problem, and ESpeed isn't an OHKO. So I can switch Arceus in on a Flare Blitz, get recoil damage, SD on the Protect, then ESpeed. That takes care of Blaziken, and with the +2 Attack under my belt I can proceed to sweep as well.
To answer your question (regarding the decision between shadow claw and earthquake), I think earthquake is the better move for your team because steel types like Genesect, Dialga, and Arceus-steel can be problematic for your team. However, if you can't really handle Giratina-O with what you've got, then shadow claw would be better for Arceus (Giratina-O is a bigger threat than any of the three steel type Pokémon I mentioned).