Table of Contents
Teambuilding process
In Series 12, I chose Yveltal as my first Restricted choice. Why Yveltal? Well:
- It is the best Max Airstream Restricted user. It doesn’t care about Prankster-boosted Thunder Wave which makes it better than Rayquaza or Lugia. Instead, non-Restricted Pokémon like Thundurus, Zapdos or Charizard can compete for the spot.
- Its power is overwhelming. It has a high rate of OHKOing non-Dynamax Pokémon: OHKO Dynamax Pokémon with Fake Tears support, 2HKO Dynamax Pokémon with Max Darkness lowering their Special Defense, including bulky Dynamax Pokémon like Dialga.
When I decided to use Yveltal, I read a lot of reports from top players, including:
- Wu Chen (Max), the best Yveltal player in Taiwan, established the core of Yveltal, Regieleki and Therian Landorus with his Series 8 Kaohsiung Regionals winning team (although he told me that Landorus is no longer good in Series 12 after his tournament!). You can read his report here (in Chinese).
- Tomoyuki Yoshimura (SNOW) used this Yveltal team to get an 11th place in this year’s International Challenge March. The EVs and moveset he made are very detailed.
- Zee Costagliola (Zee), a player who used this Yveltal team to reach top 8 in Salt Lake City Regionals. Their max Speed, bulky Therian Landorus is very unique. You can read their report here.
Yveltal has some flaws:
- The pressure from the Electric-type Pokémon (Thundurus, Zapdos, Regieleki).
- Zacian
- Hard Trick Room teams.
I wanted to build an Yveltal + Groudon team at first; it has been a good combination since 2016. And at that time, Wolfe Glick (Wolfey) built a good example. It can also solve problems 1 and 2, but both Restricteds were destroyed by Ice Rider Calyrex, and the accuracy problem from Sun teams is very annoying. Finally I chose a meta Zacian + Yveltal set.
I had two starting points:
- Heat Rotom was good before Series 12, but it is not good right now…
- So I chose this other variant, as double Intimidate can limit Zacian, though it is awful against Defiant Thundurus.
One day when I was sleeping and thinking about the team, an idea flashed: Alolan Persian. Persian had been featured alongside Kyogre in a successful team before, achieving 9th place in the International Challenge February in Suwoong Cheong‘s hands. So, I used Yveltal with Persian, a double Dark-type combo that is not afraid of Prankster and can destroy everything thanks to Fake Tears + Life Orb-boosted special-attacking Yveltal. Finally, I replaced Incineroar with Alolan Persian and completed the team.
The Team
Get the team’s paste here!
Regieleki @ Focus Sash
Ability: Transistor
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Thunderbolt
– Electroweb
– Screech
– Protect
Regieleki is the most important speed controller. It can make both Restricteds outspeed Zacian, can outspeed Kyogre in Tailwind after one Electroweb, and can offset Tailwind after two Electrowebs.
The Screech + Behemoth Blade combo can secure more OHKO, but keep in mind that it doesn’t work with Sacred Sword as Sacred Sword ignores Defense drops too.
Persian-Alola (F) @ Roseli Berry
Ability: Fur Coat
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 28 Def / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
– Foul Play
– Fake Out
– Icy Wind
– Fake Tears
Why would you choose Persian?:
- Persian’s Fake Tears with Life Orb Yveltal can take more KOs and it will not be limited either by the Dark-type immunity to Prankster or the Psychic Terrain.
- It is a fast Fake Out user (it outspeeds Raichu).
- It can take any attack from Zacian with Roseli Berry (except Close Combat).
- Without Intimidate, it can easily come in against Thundurus. Also, if it survives after using Icy Wind, Foul Play can hit Thundurus for big damage.
- I’m not good at using Incineroar… LMAO.
I was hesitating on what item Persian should hold. I thought about Utility Umbrella; taking physical moves from Zacian and special moves from Kyogre looked wonderful, but in fact it could not take a Water Spout from Mystic Water Kyogre, so I gave up on the idea.
Roseli Berry can make it take Whimsicott’s Moonblast. Fainting quickly is bad in the match-up of Kyogre teams with Whimsicott, plus it also took many Play Rough from Zacian during the tournament!
Even though only Yveltal can take advantage of Fake Tears, it is enough: the overwhelming power can destroy the opponent’s defenses.
+1 196+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Sacred Sword vs. 244 HP / 28 Def Fur Coat Persian-Alola: 144-170 (84.2 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Dark Pulse
– Oblivion Wing
– Heat Wave
– Protect
A standard Life Orb Yveltal. Because I would Dynamax it in over 90% of the matches, I chose Heat Wave (with access to Max Flare) to counter Zacian, although I think Foul Play is a better choice after the tournament.
252 SpA Life Orb Yveltal Max Airstream vs. -2 244 HP / 116+ SpD Grimmsnarl through Light Screen: 193-229 (96 – 113.9%) — 75% chance to OHKO 252 SpA Life Orb Yveltal Max Airstream vs. -2 252 HP / 172+ SpD Incineroar: 242-286 (119.8 – 141.5%) — guaranteed OHKO252 SpA Life Orb Yveltal Max Flare vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 174-205 (103.5 – 122%) — guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Max Darkness vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre: 146-173 (82.9 – 98.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Max Darkness vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dynamax Dialga: 195-230 (47.1 – 55.5%) — 73% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Max Darkness vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gigantamaxed Charizard: 220-261 (71.4 – 84.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted Sword
Ability: Intrepid Sword
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 196 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Behemoth Blade
– Sacred Sword
– Quick Attack
– Protect
This is SNOW’s Zacian set. Behemoth Blade + Quick Attack can KO no-bulk Zacian and it can outspeed max Speed Regieleki after a Max Airstream, an Electroweb or an Icy Wind.
Quick Attack is useful in some matches in which you lose the speed control, and take the Focus Sash from Regieleki, Grimmsnarl or Whimsicott. I chose it because the team didn’t need Play Rough.
Landorus-Therian @ White Herb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 44 Atk / 164 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Earthquake
– Fly
– Rock Slide
– Protect
I used SNOW’s Therian Landorus set at first; it outspeeds Zacian at +2 Speed, and it can also take a Behemoth Blade… but it is hard to get that +2 in battle. The most important thing is that the set can only outspeed Zacian in turn 2. So I ended up choosing Zee’s set instead, which outspeeds Zacian at +1 or after an Electroweb… but its Attack is very low! I only picked Landorus when the opponent’s team seemed weak to it.
+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 44 HP / 164 Def Landorus-Therian: 144-169 (84.7 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Amoonguss (F) @ Coba Berry
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 108 Def / 164 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 27 Spe
– Seed Bomb
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect
I chose Seed Bomb because Zee’s report said it is good against Kyogre and Groudon. But after the tournament, I think Pollen Puff would also have been a good choice in my opinion.
This is the most important counter for Ice Rider Calyrex + Palkia teams. Mental Herb was considered to avoid getting Taunted, but not being able to take a Max Airstream would be terrible for a Thundurus or Zapdos match-up, so I finally chose Coba Berry.
+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 236 HP / 108 Def Amoonguss: 180-213 (82.1 – 97.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Dialga Max Wyrmwind (150BP) vs. 236 HP / 164+ SpD Amoonguss: 185-218 (84.4 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO
However, I made some changes after the tournament:
- Heat Wave → Foul Play for the Thundurus match-up.
- Quick Attack → Substitute for the Trick Room match-up.
- Protect → Swords Dance with the EV spread: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe, for an Incineroar + Grimmsnarl lead.
- Seed Bomb → Pollen Puff for the Trick Room match-up.
How to use the team
Speed control is the most important thing for the team. Try securing speed control by using Electroweb, Icy Wind or Max Airstream, and use double-Dark Fake Tears combo to destroy your opponent’s team! 🙂
Common picks
| Most common leads | In the back |
|---|---|
| +++ | |
Some extra tips
| When Facing | Comment |
|---|---|
| You must consider Landorus or Amoonguss. |
 | Using Electroweb or Icy Wind is ok, you should not let Thundurus use Max Airstream and outspeed your team |
 | Don’t lead Regieleki + Yveltal before making sure you know what item Whimsicott carries. Eject Button making you switch into Zacian is practically game over. Amoonguss is good in this match-up too. |
Rinya Sun    | Lead with Persian + Yveltal, with Zacian and either Landorus or Regieleki in the back. |
Top cut
I’m very proud of the team after reaching top 4 at this Regionals. I like to add my own ideas into a meta team. And Persian is sooo awesome in this team! I will continue to use the team and hope I will get a better result at Taiwan Nationals.
See you next time!
