Before we knew that Paradoxes were banned, this was the team I crafted and had lots of success with in tests. I really enjoyed the team's offensive nature and how it felt like you were trying to checkmate your opponents by trading up on a lead and then winning with Dondozo in the back. When the rules were announced, I knew I wanted to run Dondozo still.
I won't lie to you, I slapped 4 Pokemon in the builder next to these and they just kind of worked. For a while I had Maushold over Life Orb Tera Dark Hydreigon, but I came back to the three-headed beast after seeing the amazing utility of Steel Tera Snarl sets. In essence it's just a core 4 that can function without Dondozo if it needs. And as the opponents got stronger, it was in fact much more needed. Let's talk more about each individual Pokemon.
Talonflame @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
Bulky Talonflame is absolutely incredible. I've seen lots of different moves this set doesn't have, like Quick Guard or Flare Blitz/Overheat, but I really like having both Taunt and Will-O-Wisp, a call back to the bulky Talonflame I ran at Worlds in 2016. When I was discussing the team with defending World Champion Edu he mentioned that I could get by with 204 HP EVs and 4 Defense EVs if I just wanted to take Choice Band Dragonite's Tera Normal Extreme Speed, so if you're adapting the team that's definitely an option. I chose Talonflame instead of Murkrow because I valued the Fairy resist on a team that's got three Dragon-types, and I felt like Will-O-Wisp being able to burn opposing Dondozo was a great way to win mirrors.
Garchomp @ Clear Amulet
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
- Protect
If I could give one Pokemon my definitve S rank in this metagame, it would be Clear Amulet Garchomp. After the banning of Paradoxes and a dex that features a crucial lack of base 130s, Garchomp is one of the defining Pokemon for a Speed benchmark - you can run and instantly expect to outspeed 50-66% of your opponent's team in neutral conditions. I opted for Tera Ground with Swords Dance for Maximum Damage Output and while I believe it to be the generally best Garchomp set in the metagame, I do think you can explore other third moves and Tera Types. It has great synergy with Talonflame as a lead, where Talon can quickly get Tailwind up and burns spread while Garchomp gets going with the Earthquake machine.
Sylveon @ Throat Spray
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 140 HP / 252 SpA / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Tera Blast
- Substitute
- Protect
The building group has decided that Sylveon has to be a staple on all of our teams this season because trans rights. Oh also it's like pretty good and stuff. In my games I rarely clicked non-attacking moves and if you have the same experience and wonder - why not Choice Specs - it's because switching between Hyper Voice and Fire Tera Blast really is essential. Sylveon has great bulk and the Speed EVs allow it to outrun up to base 120s in Tailwind, which was about as fast as I needed it to be, though I might recommend you take 36 EVs from HP or SpAtk and allow yourself to outrun the now more popular Meowscarada in Tailwind.
Hydreigon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Snarl
- Flash Cannon
You have never played a tier where Hydreigon is as viable as it is now in VGC 2023. Steel Tera is my preference but we saw a lot of Poison and Fire Tera from the weekend as well. I quite enjoy this set - you have such great natural bulk and high SpAtk that you just get to click Snarl into a lot of things and chunk them while Not Dying in return. It's super hard to wear down easily without Fire-types, but Garchomp and Dondozo do a great job of scaring them off. This set was what made the team worth it in the end I truly believe, as patched the teams matchups into things like Garchomp, Sylveon, Indeedee + Armarouge and so much more.
Tatsugiri @ Choice Specs
Ability: Commander
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Draco Meteor
- Helping Hand
- Hydro Pump
Tatsugiri is really simple - I picked Specs Draco because it hurts. It's like sometimes useful if you preserve Talonflame after Dondozo dies and then you can click Tailwind + Muddy Water too. Orange Tatsugiri because you need to be attack boosting on cartridge play - the defense boosting sets are just too slow in my opinion.
Dondozo @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 12 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Order Up
- Rest
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk
This guy is why I wanted to post the RMT as a whole. Dondozo is pure evil, and I truly believe this is one of the best sets the game has seen - also something I hadn't seen anyone but myself build with. Goggles + Steel Tera lets you completely ignore Amoonguss as a Pokemon, and resttalk lets you 1vX whatever you want with much, much more efficiency. I originally used Liquidation over Earthquake but I like how much more damage you can put on the field overall. Dondozo is truly a menace, but I don't think I would bring it to a tournament again. There are too many checks now, pokemon like Murkrow and Skeledirge beat it outright, and there are just many more soft checks that make it harder to take over games than it was a week ago. But make no mistake, Dondozo is very fun to pick up in small doses like ladder or one-off tournament games, so I don't think it will be disappearing anywhere.
Team Results
- Top 16 @ Limitless 1K piloted by BigMikeOG
- Top 4 @ Limitless 1K piloted by blckkkkk [Gholdengo > Sylveon variant]
- 19-1 run to Master Ball tier and beyond [peak 151 global] piloted by yours truly... this counts right?
Importable: https://pokepast.es/d0b421868a70bbb7
Thanks for reading and shoutouts to the DFPGs and Gaz. Only good things in store this year.