4-man Global Union team (Double Battle)

[Ashenlock]

I've been strategizing on how to climb the Global Union double battle system; I had some experience on Pokemon Battle Revolution, but that was when fewer people knew about doubles strategies and before weather-slash-trick room styled teams were really popular. I can't test my new idea online, and I don't want to breed my team only to find out it doesn't work. Double Battles are somewhat unorthodox on Smogon, but I hope someone will be able to assist me. To wit:

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Own Tempo
Impish
252 HP / 124 Def / 124 SpD
-Belly Drum
-Power Whip / Explosion
-Ice Punch
-Endure

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Technician
Jolly
252 HP / 6 Def / 252 Spe
-Fake Out
-Follow Me
-Spore
-Endeavor

Lickilicky and Smeargle begin this setup. Lickilicky Belly Drums and Smeargle uses whatever means necessary to keep Lickilicky from taking damage. If Smeargle survives, and Lickilicky is at half HP, he can Spore / Follow Me to keep Lickilicky alive. Ideally, Smeargle will be KO'd on the first turn, and one of these two will come out:

Entei @ Lum Berry
Pressure
Adamant
252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Spe
-Psych Up
-Extremespeed
-Flare Blitz
-Protect

Suicune @ Life Orb
Pressure
Quiet
252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Spe
-Psych Up
-Extremespeed
-Waterfall
-Protect

*Now* Lickilicky can Endure, and assure that Entei or Suicune will be able to Psych Up and get that +6 Attack. Both are bulky enough to survive the turn of getting that boost, although I can't cite any % numbers because I don't know what the common EV spreads are of OU doubles pokemon, much less the random selection I will probably encounter in the Global Union. They will usually Extremespeed, or use their STAB attack in cases where Extremespeed won't hit (Lickilicky's two attacks should have wiped out what would have resisted Fire or Water). Protect is reserved for stalling out Trick Room and protecting from Explosion if I choose to have it on as a move, as well as just being a generally useful move in double battles.

Lickilicky is bulky instead of attack-oriented because he has to survive, and even without 1000+ Atk. his moves will hurt the pokemon they are supposed to hurt (Even if Explosion is nerfed, with +6 Attack it packs a wallop.) Without Power Whip or Ice Punch though, he loses the ability to clear Water-types and Dragon-types effectively, which both resist both of Entei/Suicune's STAB attacks.

Theoretically it works well, but that doesn't account for much. I haven't playtested it yet of course, but it works well enough on paper that it was worth making a thread for. Any double battle buffs can help me out?

 

[hoiboy]

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Technician
Jolly
252 HP / 6 Def / 252 Spe
-Fake Out
-Follow Me
-Spore
-Endeavor

Lickilicky and Smeargle begin this setup. Lickilicky Belly Drums and Smeargle uses whatever means necessary to keep Lickilicky from taking damage. If Smeargle survives, and Lickilicky is at half HP, he can Spore / Follow Me to keep Lickilicky alive. Ideally, Smeargle will be KO'd on the first turn, and one of these two will come out:

This is lulz. Ain't happening unless they have an Abomasnow or T-tar that can OHKO w/ weather damage.

 

[Ashenlock]

I didn't make the "ideal" conditions explicit. In my strategy, I meant that ideally, Smeargle will use Follow Me and ideally, two attacks will be directed to him, KOing him. Or is that not how Focus Sash works now? I was of the impression that it would only activate for one attack, so if two pokemon attacked one pokemon with Focus Sash that one pokemon would be KO'd.

 

[Eos]

er, if you can somehow get this to work, then yes i suppose you'd have some success once you set up, but most of the time you are just going to have a tough time and probably get beaten pretty badly.

 

[Ashenlock]

er, if you can somehow get this to work, then yes i suppose you'd have some success once you set up, but most of the time you are just going to have a tough time and probably get beaten pretty badly.

Can you list some situations where this party would encounter trouble? I don't really see them; molf party does pretty much the same thing (actually, molf party has TWO different turns of setup, trick room and belly drum) But I am of course biased towards my own setup and can't see all situations objectively, and the party is by coincidence entirely made up of Gen IV moves/abilities, so it may not be compatible with the new double battle metagame.

 

[~Golden Emp]

Well, it's a nice idea, but beware weather & double-attacks teams. You may want to use a Dream World Lickitung, since Cloud Nine negates weather effects and (maybe) will keep Smeargle's sash intact.

Extremespeed is only a compatible move with the movie Suicune, who is forcefully shiny and relaxed nature.

 

[Ashenlock]

Well, it's a nice idea, but beware weather & double-attacks teams. You may want to use a Dream World Lickitung, since Cloud Nine negates weather effects and (maybe) will keep Smeargle's sash intact.

Extremespeed is only a compatible move with the movie Suicune, who is forcefully shiny and relaxed nature.

That's a good point, but I chose a non-Cloud Nine ability for a reason: I actually want Smeargle to be KO'd on the first turn (ideally), having taking two attacks that may or may not have been directed at him. That way, I can send out Entei/Suicune and Lickilicky can Endure; if Smeargle was alive after the first turn, I would have to Endure to survive ANOTHER turn before Smeargle is KO'd and then I wouldn't be able to Endure while the dogs were on the field; they wouldn't be able to safely get Lickilicky's boost because Endure would only work half the time having already been used. Another reason is that both Entei and Suicune benefit from a weather condition; if it's Droughted or Drizzled, I send one or the other out first.

Also, I had thought that Suicune was of a quiet nature, so that's why I put it up there. Certainly I wouldn't use such a nature on an attack based Suicune; I just thought that's what the movie Suicune was. Thank you for setting me straight.

EDIT: Y'all have been helpful so far, are there any final comments before I start making my team? I was also considering this instead of Lickilicky:

Hariyama @ Leftovers
Thick Fat
Careful
252 HP / 124 Def / 124 SpD
-Belly Drum
-Reversal
-Ice Punch
-Endure

Like Lickilicky, his defense spread is based of the fact that I don't know enough about common usages to make a sophisticated spread. And he serves the same purpose as Lickilicky, with better HP and lower Def/SpD. He can't hit Water-types as well, but Reversal, following the Endure, will hit any Water type (Except Frillish, the only one AFAIK) with at least x0.50 power, which is still quite a lot after Belly Drum. I so wish he had Mach Punch, but alas, 'tis not to be. Is this better than Lickilicky, do you think? He lacks the Fighting-type weakness, which is a big deal because of the absurd power and commonness of Fighting-type moves, but he has two weaknesses in place.

Any last thoughts on him, or on the team and its function?