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VGC Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer - Mark II
- Thread starter Solace
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Dimsun
VGC 2012 Seniors Champion
It is ENTIRELY reliant on the team you're using. You'll have to look at individual synergies, speed tiers, and attacking options.
I plan on using a rain team with a TrickRoom alternate/backup if my opponent can shut down weather.
I really like Bronzong in rainroom, as with Levitate it effectively has no weaknesses unless your opponent changes the weather.
Alternatively, Reuniclus gets Thunder and has more offensive presence but is no where near as bulky as Bronzong.
I was thinking of a hail team to take to the UK nats as ice typing is a great offensvie typing with dragons and genies running amok. However, i wasnt sure about how viable it is or what pokes other than abomasnow, rotom-f and gyarados (best heatarn check) would work.
Musharna sounds good for RainRoom because it is immune it's partner's to Surf spam
so now that the 2013 ruleset is set, will there be an area similar to the OU section to discuss set lineups/team synergy?
Yup, go ahead and start a discussion if you'd like!
rain v. the field....
all the hype surrounding rain and the only thing i can see it cant use is keldeo. Is the ensuing format going to be a play rain or adjust your team for the rain match-up?
Rain has been a dominating team strat in OU this entire generation, so it makes sense to want to keep it in mind. The fact that it now gets to have a very frightening Thunder Spamming Thundurus-T helps rain out, as does Drizzletoed getting Icy Wind.
is it to the point where every team needs a way to stop the weather or be a rain team to win in this new(ish) format? like say i was building a team that had no weather, should i include the move to change the weather in my team just because otherwise rain will thunder/hurricane/hydro pump me to infinity and beyond?
as i was personally expecting a heavily restrictive pool of pokemon for this years events, im completely oblivious to how team were(are) built for VGC
You don't need to be a rain team to be sucessful, but you better pack answers to rain. If rain becomes a problem, try adding more Water resistant Pokemon and / or a Thunder Wave user to slow down swift swimmers. Generally, whenever I make a team, I carry at least two Pokemon that resist or are immune to Water. Thankfully, that isn't too hard to find between spectacular options like Latios, Rotom-W, and Ferrothorn.
Pretty much this. When building a team you need to think about what you could use that can do good vs Rain or Sand (Garchomp is legal, what makes you think it WON'T be used?) as well as Dragon-types (most teams have one), Steel-types (most teams have one to counter the dragons), and, going by vgc12, Cress and Thundurus.
Granted, there's a lot more than that to consider, but that would be a decent start, neh?
Edit: plus there's kinda a few overlapping things, for instance: Gastrodon is immune to Water (thanks to Storm Drain, which also can steal Water attacks targeted for its partner and turning them into Sp. Attack boosts.) and Electric type attacks (although Thundurus can learn Grass Knot) and can strike back with Ice-type attacks and gets STAB Water and Ground. Because of this, as well as its bulk, it's a fairly common sight to check Rain teams.
Does anyone have any bright ideas on how to take care of Landorus-T? Even before the rules were announced, he was being a constant and annoying presence to deal with, and now that he's legal for 2013, I'm worried about how to go about beating it without using a rain team. So, any ideas, or is countering him going to be a bigger chore than OHKOing Metagross or switching in on Hydreigon?
Latios, Latias, Hydreigon, and Salamence are pretty decent counters. Cresselia beats it too but it can't always nail it with Ice Beam before it U-turns out. Landorus-T also can't hit other Landorus-T that hard because of Intimidate and its own Earthquake immunity.
In general, fast Ground immune special attackers without a Rock weakness are good against it. The tricky thing is watching out for your physical attackers, since Landorus-T messes most of them up with raw power and Intimidate.
If Landorus-T just really gets on your nerves though, most people won't send it out at all vs rain teams or teams that use Hail, so there's a solution.
In general, fast Ground immune special attackers without a Rock weakness are good against it. The tricky thing is watching out for your physical attackers, since Landorus-T messes most of them up with raw power and Intimidate.
If Landorus-T just really gets on your nerves though, most people won't send it out at all vs rain teams or teams that use Hail, so there's a solution.
Okay so thinking about redesigning my team for VGC13. So, for anyone who has already been on the B2/W2 GBU or at least has been doing a lot of theorymoning:
- Which new moves did Pokemon receive that will likely be a big impact? I know Conkledurr got Ice Punch, but what other things should I look out for? I only want to know about things that are notable.
- Unlike new moves, I'm caught up with most of the major new abilities (TechniLoom, Shadow Tag Gothitelle, etc.), but there's one thing I'm unsure of: Imposter Ditto. It is worth spending a team slot for scouting? Is anybody using it?
- How much of a threat are the new Therians in doubles? Is Tornadus-T is good here as he is in OU?
- Which new moves did Pokemon receive that will likely be a big impact? I know Conkledurr got Ice Punch, but what other things should I look out for? I only want to know about things that are notable.
- Unlike new moves, I'm caught up with most of the major new abilities (TechniLoom, Shadow Tag Gothitelle, etc.), but there's one thing I'm unsure of: Imposter Ditto. It is worth spending a team slot for scouting? Is anybody using it?
- How much of a threat are the new Therians in doubles? Is Tornadus-T is good here as he is in OU?
I don't think Tornadus-T is to much of a worry. It has good speed, and has decent defenses, but I'm not seeing how it can be good in a fast paced VGC metagame. The other 2 Therians are very useful. Thundurus, and Landorus pack a punch, and Landorus has intimidate which is always handy. Imposter Ditto is as random as it gets. I don't think it's worth the risk. As for moves, just be aware of some surprise ones like Ice Punch Conkeldurr, and other punches etc. I haven't had much time to look at BW2 moves yet, so I'm not sure.
1. There's quite a few... the absolute most notable is Drizzletoed getting access to Icy Wind. Now the most common weather starter gets the best speed control move. Have fun.
2. Doubt it, it's too random to be amazing in double battles.
3. Regular Tornadus is a bit better than Therian Tornadus, due to Prankster and a little better offenses. Thundurus-T and Landorus-T on the other hand... The former has a Special Attack on par with Chandelure and Volt Absorb, the latter has an Attack that is as strong and Intimidate. They are probably going to be very, very popular, although interestingly enough: Regular Thundurus will probably not be less played, since it can very easily play differently than Thundurus-T thanks to Prankster, but regular Landorus will be completely overshadowed.
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