3v3 Singles Metagame Discussion Thread

[Littha]

I have been having a lot of success with Salamence (Moxie/Dragon Dance), Nidoking and Klefki (dual screens) but I haven't bred anything else yet.

Nidoking especially has been a star because it takes Talonflame at least 3 hits to kill it through reflect unless it takes time to setup and nidoking 1 hits it in return with thunderbolt. That and it outspeeds blaziken on the turn before it speed boosts/mega evolves and gets a one hit ko on that too with Earth power (and it can take 2 hits from blaziken through reflect.

Incidentally Reflect (light screen less so much) has been extremely important and thus Klefki prankster/light clay reflect has been really useful as a lead because 8 turns seems to be the entire fight most of the time.

 

[Stellar]

I'd love it if people could post their current rating (or an approximation) when making a post. The "metagame" changes drastically as rating increases, so it'd be nice to know where people stand.

 

[kd24]

ive been floatin around 1800 today, looks like mandibuzz is the new cool thing as ive played it like 3 times. i actually like the idea of rocky helmet roost mandibuzz that has enough defense to survive 2 max kanga returns...it also has foul play as an attacking move, and it even could have knock off from breeding with farfetchd for a strong initial stab that disrupts them. 110/105/95 dark/flying is just a very solid defensive typing when you have reliable recovery

its definitely given me some trouble

 

[EsurioXY]

Would it be redundant that Talonflame and Azuril get mentions considering most of Smogon knows this? Rotom-W is very common as well.
Ironically AV Ttar is pretty lack luster. Most teams I beat run this.

I don't know why people dislike Goodra . . . a very solid Special Wall.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

I've been using this:

Furfrou
Chesto Berry
Impish
80At/252Df/168SpD/4Spd (I think)
Return
Sucker Punch
Toxic
Rest

It works surprisingly well. Most unboosted physical attacks don't do enough damage before a toxic/return combo finishes them off.
I should also mention that most people don't tend to see Fufrou coming and don't seem to know what to do with it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't EV's calculate differently at level 50, making stats with 4EV's not get an increase (isn't it 8 points for a stat increase)? If that's the case, 248 Def and 8 Spd would be best, methinks.

Anyway, I have yet to build a team for Battle Spot, though I'm very anxious to try it out. I'm thinking of jumping in at the beginning of the next season, so I can have time to prepare a team.

 

[Lord Wallace]

Would it be redundant that Talonflame and Azuril get mentions considering most of Smogon knows this? Rotom-W is very common as well.
Ironically AV Ttar is pretty lack luster. Most teams I beat run this.

I don't know why people dislike Goodra . . . a very solid Special Wall.

Really? I find AV T-tar to be quite great honestly,granted if you use it right. I run a mixed Ttar with AV to make up for the lack of SDef investment and its an amazing lure for common switch ins and I can still switch in to take special hits like standard Ttar, just without the Leftovers recovery.

 

[Yacoon]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't EV's calculate differently at level 50, making stats with 4EV's not get an increase (isn't it 8 points for a stat increase)? If that's the case, 248 Def and 8 Spd would be best, methinks.

Anyway, I have yet to build a team for Battle Spot, though I'm very anxious to try it out. I'm thinking of jumping in at the beginning of the next season, so I can have time to prepare a team.

If you have an odd IV number like 31, you will get a stat increase with 252 Df EVs.
A little example: Furfrou has 60 Base Def. On level 50 : ((60*2+31+252/4)/2+5)=112. He would have 112 Def on level 50. If you change to 248 EVs, he would have 111.5 Def. Pokemon only calculates integers and that means, Furfrou would only have 111 Def on level 50, so he would lose a point.
In short: When having an odd number IV you always go with a EV number you can divide by 4, but not 8, and on even number IVs you go with EV numbers you can divide by 8.

 

[dragonblade369]

If you have an odd IV number like 31, you will get a stat increase with 252 Df EVs.
A little example: Furfrou has 60 Base Def. On level 50 : ((60*2+31+252/4)/2+5)=112. He would have 112 Def on level 50. If you change to 248 EVs, he would have 111.5 Def. Pokemon only calculates integers and that means, Furfrou would only have 111 Def on level 50, so he would lose a point.
In short: When having an odd number IV you always go with a EV number you can divide by 4, but not 8, and on even number IVs you go with EV numbers you can divide by 8.

Sorry for my ignorance, but on your formula, why do you add 5 after (Base+IV+EV)/2?

 

[Yacoon]

Sorry for my ignorance, but on your formula, why do you add 5 after (Base+IV+EV)/2?

That's the way how stats are calculated as you can read here: http://www.smogon.com/bw/articles/bw_ev

 

[Sir HC Snave]

So it seems 3v3 is not too popular since most other forums don't have much talk about it, but I really like this metagame, maybe because I'm so new to competetive battling. Maybe you guys can give me some tips on my team. I only have three that I use (which are the first three Pokemon I ever perfect bred in all the pokemon games I've played, all the way from Gen1)

Garchomp Adamant
Earthquake
Poison Jab (deal with fairies in a pinch)
Sandstorm (change to swords dance?)
Dragon Claw

Lapras (clearly needs to be switched to Rotom-W after reading this thread)
Surf
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Protect

Mega Blaziken Jolly Speed Boost (maybe switch or add Talonflame? I really like Blaziken though...)
Brick Break
Flare Blitz
Protect
Rock Tomb

I have also been considering adding a Blissey minimize SToss and perhaps a Dragonite DD, which might remove my need for Garchomp

I am also curious if these competitive teams will also be effective in Battle Maison/Institute etc.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

If you have an odd IV number like 31, you will get a stat increase with 252 Df EVs.
A little example: Furfrou has 60 Base Def. On level 50 : ((60*2+31+252/4)/2+5)=112. He would have 112 Def on level 50. If you change to 248 EVs, he would have 111.5 Def. Pokemon only calculates integers and that means, Furfrou would only have 111 Def on level 50, so he would lose a point.
In short: When having an odd number IV you always go with a EV number you can divide by 4, but not 8, and on even number IVs you go with EV numbers you can divide by 8.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for letting me know. I suppose I should redo my team's EV's before I go and ruin their EV's, then. Glad I figured that out before training.

 

[Explorer]

My killer sweeper in 3v3 singles:

Aggron (M) @ Aggronite
Trait: Sturdy-->Filter
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Rock Polish
-Power-Up Punch
-Heavy Slam
-Earthquake/Ice Punch

I've had a number of sweeps with this beast. Sturdy is the initial ability to ensure Aggron can get a Rock Polish off. Then Filter belittles the issues with its weaknesses. Rock Polish makes up for Aggron's poor speed, and now Aggron has a way to boost attack besides Curse. Power-Up Punch boosts Aggron's attack to incredible levels, and allows Mega Aggron to beat standard Gliscor 1v1. Heavy Slam is the main STAB for the best damage output--Aggron is incredibly heavy. Finally, Earthquake hits a great deal of things for major damage that Heavy Slam can't hurt very much, primarily Fire-types. However, Ice Punch can be used to nail Ground-types and Dragon-types, namely Dragonite. You can also move more EVs to speed if there is a certain benchmark you wish to hit.

 

[TorchicBlaziken]

Can someone make a thread for Triples and Rotation? Without a simulator this subforum is the one place where it would seem to be appropriate to discuss these battle formats competitively.

 

[Phaelzdot]

I had so many problems with Greninja and Mega Blaziken that I decided to train a Staraptor adamant with choice scarf ... he simply destroy the two of them, with close combat for the Greninja and Brave Bird for the mega Blaziken. Mega Blaziken needs more them 1 speed boost to outspeed Staraptor and gets 1HKOed by Brave Bird

 

[JabbaTheGriffin]

Can someone make a thread for Triples and Rotation? Without a simulator this subforum is the one place where it would seem to be appropriate to discuss these battle formats competitively.

Anyone is free to make either of these threads (and doubles too). I just opted not to because I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to those two metagames.

 

[TorchicBlaziken]

Anyone is free to make either of these threads (and doubles too). I just opted not to because I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to those two metagames.

lol me neither. That's why I came here so I could learn what the competitive scene is like with triples and rotation, I have a pretty good idea about doubles with VGC and the new smogon doubles

 

[Green Thunder]

I played 15 games yesterday on singles and was it absolutely disgusting
8
mega
kangaskhan
out of 15 matches, just shoot me. luckily they're all predictable, having a rough skin garchomp doesn't hurt either hehe, so i didn't have any trouble with them at all but this bitch needs to go.

My current team is
(Mega) Lucario: too damn strong lmao
Tyranitar: meh
Garchomp: Choice band garchomp is still the king
Rotom-w: Dual screens has saved my life like 4 times already, god bless
Togekiss: Surprisingly strong even without having any evs in special attack
Roserade: useless lol, prob going to be replaced by one of the new ghost/grass types or Mega Banette for when i'm not using Lucario but idk i always have trouble filling the last slot

luckily, i haven't seen greninja yet because i have a feeling greninja with dark pulse,grass knot, and hydro pump will wreak this team but w/e ill work out the kinks eventually

 

[kd24]

posted a battlespot vid with my thoughts on the singles meta

 

[Bigy]

I was going with Mega kangaskahan, mega Gengar (for when I'm not using kangaskahan), talonflame, dragagle, aiglidash and marlimar, but after a while I decided to start fresh and am working on a gible. this would work great with tokekiss, along with bringing back aiglidash. Then I'll probably have mega gengar in here and a couple more of the old ones.

 

[Ves]

My AVitar felt like a dead weight most of the time. For every special attacker it could take out, there were three Rotom-Ws.

 

[ilyanna]

I've been having a surprising amount of success with Rotom-Mow, he beats his fellow Rotom-Wash, and still pivots like a boss with volt switch. The threat of having it on your team seems to dissuade any water pokemon at all from entering the battle aswell (except Greninja...). He also attracts a great many blazikens and other such fire pokemon, that Azumarill can prey on.

I had so many problems with Greninja and Mega Blaziken that I decided to train a Staraptor adamant with choice scarf ... he simply destroy the two of them, with close combat for the Greninja and Brave Bird for the mega Blaziken. Mega Blaziken needs more them 1 speed boost to outspeed Staraptor and gets 1HKOed by Brave Bird

I've been having a few issues with Greninja, myself. What is your Staraptor build?

Also, long time lurker, first time poster :)

 

[farranpoison]

Been doing Free battle for a long time, but only started Rated battle recently (once I figured out how to register on the JP website lol). And I have to say, in the lower ranks, SABLEYE. Oh man, Sableye. No one expects this little bugger. I use him and he just disrupts the enemy team. If I see MKangaskhan, Azumarill, other physical threats, or walls, Sableye is my ghost. The main problem, though is what to use with him. If I predict the enemy team wrong, Sableye does his thing but I'll lose because I brought the wrong mons. Otherwise, if I have a good lineup, Sableye's disruptions allow my other mons to sweep.

Also, Gastrodon. Beats Rotom-W and has a handy immunity to water to counter Azumarill and the like. Problem is, though, there are times where I wish I had Ice Beam instead of Toxic to nab Gliscor, but Rotom-W is a much more annoying threat...

Damn you 4MSS!

Edit: Also, about Sableye. The thing is, I'm using the 5th gen OU build of Calm/252HP/4Def/252SpD, but most of the threats I use Sableye on are Physical. Now, WoW allows it to tank a surprising amount of damage, but I'm wondering, should I get a new Sableye and make it Bold with full Def investment, or is the current one I have fine? I have Physically Defensive Gastrodon and Assault Vest SpD Tyranitar as partners so...

 

[CoolStoryBrobat]

Been doing Free battle for a long time, but only started Rated battle recently (once I figured out how to register on the JP website lol). And I have to say, in the lower ranks, SABLEYE. Oh man, Sableye. No one expects this little bugger. I use him and he just disrupts the enemy team. If I see MKangaskhan, Azumarill, other physical threats, or walls, Sableye is my ghost. The main problem, though is what to use with him. If I predict the enemy team wrong, Sableye does his thing but I'll lose because I brought the wrong mons. Otherwise, if I have a good lineup, Sableye's disruptions allow my other mons to sweep.

Also, Gastrodon. Beats Rotom-W and has a handy immunity to water to counter Azumarill and the like. Problem is, though, there are times where I wish I had Ice Beam instead of Toxic to nab Gliscor, but Rotom-W is a much more annoying threat...

Damn you 4MSS!

Edit: Also, about Sableye. The thing is, I'm using the 5th gen OU build of Calm/252HP/4Def/252SpD, but most of the threats I use Sableye on are Physical. Now, WoW allows it to tank a surprising amount of damage, but I'm wondering, should I get a new Sableye and make it Bold with full Def investment, or is the current one I have fine? I have Physically Defensive Gastrodon and Assault Vest SpD Tyranitar as partners so...

I actually used a Sableye of my own, though me, being the weirdo I was, didn't look at the OU analysis, and instead ripped the UU build which has max HP with a little mixed investment between Defense and Special Defense. I have ironically not used Sableye too much on the battle Spot (For some wack reason every time I choose him, he ends up being dead weight for me :\ ), but I think that spread's probably what you'll want since you have Gastrodon and Tyranitar as your dedicated tanks.

 

[Bigy]

Edit: Also, about Sableye. The thing is, I'm using the 5th gen OU build of Calm/252HP/4Def/252SpD, but most of the threats I use Sableye on are Physical. Now, WoW allows it to tank a surprising amount of damage, but I'm wondering, should I get a new Sableye and make it Bold with full Def investment, or is the current one I have fine? I have Physically Defensive Gastrodon and Assault Vest SpD Tyranitar as partners so...

try breeding a new one and use that one for a while. then decide. but that's just my opinion. special defence would probably be better due to helping it tank occasional special attackers. I'm thinking of trying one out, so tell me which one you choose :)

 

[farranpoison]

After doing a lot more battles, I have decided (for now) to stick with my SpD Sableye. This thing... it has given me wins way more often than not. If I lose, it's because I was outplayed or I brought the wrong mons. If I win, it's often because of Sableye. Max SpD has saved me from specially oriented walls like Slowbro, and it can still take a few hits physically if the enemy is burned. Priority WoW is invaluable in this physically oriented metagame, and Priority Taunt has stopped all manner of enemy shenanigans, from Speed Boost/Double Team Baton Pass chains to SDs once they're burned, to prevent Aegislash from using King's Shield so my Talonflame can attack without fear, to random Furfrous (wtf why are people using him?), to freaking Klefki crap, the list goes on. Again, though the problems I have are what to use with it. I can't decide on a Mega to use on my team, and actually most of the time I barely even use my mega at all. I brought MMawile for a bit, and never used it. I brought Megazard X instead for a while, and barely used it except against a grass/steel heavy team or a mono Ghost team where it got me a win. Most of the time, I bring Gastrodon, Talonflame, or Tyranitar. Sableye disables a large part of the metagame that I feel it's better to go for a defensive lineup to out stall the enemy team, or to bring Talonflame in for priority clean up/or if I see Venusaur or other Grass types.

There's so much prediction involved in 3v3s, though, and I often end up mispredicting stuff because I think the opponent is predicting what I'm going to do. For example, MMawile gives me headaches. Do I burn it first turn, and then Taunt it but risk letting them get a SD, or do I Taunt it first to stop SD and then burn it but risk getting hit during the Taunt turn? That, and there's always a time where I know I could have won the match had I all 6 of my mons against their 6. I need to experiment more with different team lineups, but Sableye ain't going nowhere.

I might actually try using MBanette next. Priority Destiny Bond is nothing to sneeze at, and it'd make a great replacement if Sableye bites the dust. But then who to use with both of them...

Also, 252 Speed EV Talonflame bros. I've outsped and killed a decent amount of Talonflames with mine, it's hilarious. Another thing is I didn't know that if I defeat the opponent's last mon, but I die to recoil after, I still win. That's nice, considering that's what usually happens with my Talonflame...

Edit: To perhaps get some feedback, I'm currently running Cloyster/Sableye/Gastrodon/Tyranitar/Megazard X/Talonflame. Gonna put in Banette instead of perhaps Cloyster or Megazard X, I dunno...

I also feel like I should have a special attacker (Gastrodon doesn't count) but I have no idea what to use.