Write up a 3v3 RMT, get featured on front page/facebook

chaos

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We are looking to promote 3v3 more on Smogon. Right now I think a huge blocker for new players is figuring out what team to use, especially since there is a lot of breeding involved. A great way to get past this is for someone to write up the team they use. What Pokemon, moves, items do you use? What is the playstyle? Perhaps optionally you could you talk about some notable wins for a human interest element?

Well-ranked players who contribute a good quality write-up will get noted for an achievement. The best write-up will get their article promoted on our highly popular front page and Facebook page. To promote the team and article we are thinking about running a giveaway for one of the Pokemon on the team, to give a lucky 3v3 player a head start in learning this great metagame :)

High-quality write-ups that weren't selected for promotion immediately will likely get promoted at a later date, so work won't go to waste. Well ranked players only please, and thanks!

Aside: the badge system at Smogon is getting an upgrade early next year. Those who contribute will get a custom achievement on their profile detailing how they helped the Pokemon community :) Woo, internet points, etc
 
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I absolutely love the attention the Nintendo meta is getting, but with Pokebank just 10 days away I feel promoting RMTs right now may be premature when so much will change.

Heatran, Terrakion, Whimsicott, Cofagrigus, and the genies in particular will significantly change the meta. It would be odd to have a bunch of excitedly submitted teams that will be outdated in just over a week.
 

chaos

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I'm happy to delay this then :) let us revisit in like 2 weeks then. It would be cool if we could do a feature shortly after Pokebank releases!
 
What is the definition of a well ranked player? How high would you have to be in Battle spot? Would you still be eligible if you were 1850 or so on the Showdown Ladder? Or would this only be for people who have achieved a high ranking on the cart?
 

chaos

is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Programmeris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis an Administratoris a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnus
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Wow, thanks Hill!

Can someone tell me what the situation with Pokebank is? When Pokebank hits, does that mean non-Pokebank battles go away forever? Either way, we'll find someone to check the English, and promote the piece. At the least, it'll give people a starting point *now* for the 3v3 Showdown ladder.
 
we can definitely post these now to get people at least somewhat interested in anticipation of PokeBank!
 

Stellar

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Wow, thanks Hill!

Can someone tell me what the situation with Pokebank is? When Pokebank hits, does that mean non-Pokebank battles go away forever? Either way, we'll find someone to check the English, and promote the piece. At the least, it'll give people a starting point *now* for the 3v3 Showdown ladder.
Once Pokébank is released, pretty much all "pre-bank" metas cease to exist on Battle Spot unless they decide to bring them back as a "Special."

I'll probably write up the latest team I've been using tonight. :toast:
 

Surgo

goes to eleven
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This one is for DOUBLES, but maybe it can be used anyway.

This team abuses pokemon that have extremely terrible typing, speed, and movepools but have one or two outlandishly powerful attributes. These pokemon would never be usable in single battles, as they would get immediately wrecked by much more powerful and fast pokemon. But thanks to the 2v2 nature of doubles and key moves like Fake Out, in doubles you are practically guaranteed to be able to successfully use Trick Room. Thanks to Battle Spot being only 4v4 instead of 6v6, a couple Pokemon with outlandishly powerful moves can often sweep the entire enemy team before Trick Room wears off!

This is not the sort of team that works more than once. Generally, if an opponent knows what you are doing, they should be able to counter it. But for a one-off match versus an unprepared opponent, you can achieve surprisingly good results with hilariously obscure Pokemon.

THE LEADS:
Blastoise @Blastoisinite
Quiet, 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpAtk
Fake Out
Water Pulse
Dark Pulse
Aura Sphere

Blastoise must be picked first in every single battle. You use Fake Out to disable one of the two enemy mons, so you can get Trick Room off. The rest is just support.

This slot can technically be filled with any Fake Out user that has a reasonably low speed stat. For a while, I was even using Mega Medicham -- eventually I replaced him for Blastoise because I felt that Medicham was too strong on his own, thus defeating the whole point of the team! The less used and more obscure the Pokemon, the better.

Lunatone Focus sash
Quiet, 252 SpAtk
Trick Room
Psychic
Ice Beam
Will-o-Wisp / Explosion

One of two Trick Room users. Pick Lunatone most times -- when you think your opponent is just going to attack, attack, attack, and need to simply survive the first turn so you can get Trick Room off.

After Trick Room, you can utilize Lunatone's almost-acceptable base 95 Special Attack to fire off some attacks. Or you could Explode to simply get her out of the way. Will-o-Wisp can cover some Shedinja gimmicks, if you'd prefer; it's not like Explosion off of the base 55 Attack is going to be doing much damage.

Beheeyem Lum Berry
Quiet, 252 HP / 252 SpAtk
Trick Room
Psychic
Ice Beam
Signal Beam

The other Trick User, to be used whenever you think your opponent's openers will attempt to status you. Beheeyem is reasonably obscure and has an extremely respectable base 125 Special Attack, so at least his attacks will hurt. He can't learn Explosion though; if you're after that, try something like Exeggutor (who also gets a grass STAB, if it matters).

THE CAVALRY:
Camerupt Life Orb
Quiet, 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpAtk
Eruption
Earth Power
Stone Edge
Protect

Camerupt is, in most respects, an awful Pokemon. His attacking stats (100 / 105) are horrible for a sweeper, he's slow, and his defensive typing is horrible. But there is a saving grace, that makes him perfect for our team of obscure Pokemon! He learns a 150-power fire attack that he gets STAB on and hits both opponents! Eruption is hideously powerful and is capable of wiping both opponents. You won't be able to spam it thanks to Life Orb, but just once will get the job done.

Rampardos @Sitrus Berry
Mold Breaker
Brave, 252 HP / 252 Atk
Head Smash
Hammer Arm
Crunch
Earthquake

Man, this guy is rough. Absolutely horrible stats and an awful mono-rock typing, but check out that attack! Plus, a 150 power STAB attack! Rampardos isn't about to be rocking OU any time soon, but it sure is high on the obscure list. The raw power available makes him usable for our purposes.

Mold Breaker Earthquake can be used if it's absolutely needed, but you're almost always better just Head Smashing away. Rampardos is the definition of one-trick pony.

Octillery Expert Belt
Sniper
Quiet, 252 HP / 252 SpAtk
Water Spout
Energy Ball
Ice Beam
Hydro Pump

Octillery is a lot like Camerupt with different typing. Like Camerupt, it has average-to-good attacking stats (105/105). Like Camerupt, the rest of its stats are mediocre. Like Camerupt, it's reasonably obscure. And like Camerupt, it has a base 150 power STAB attack that hits both opponents. Hydro Pump is for when your HP is low and you need single targeting, and Energy Ball deals heavy damage to Rotom-W.

===

Well, that's the team. I'm sure you can come up with your own variation. There are plenty of stronger Pokemon that could be used in their places, but remember the ultimate goal: beat extremely overused and uber Pokemon with hilariously obscure and neverused Pokemon!
 
I'm sure a well ranked player sits above 1900. 1800 is the average.
If nintendo uses a Arpad Elo rating system the average is around 1500. (i dont know if that is the system nintendo uses but seems similar) so any rating above 1500 is above average a decent player should be 1600-1700 a good 1800+ an exelent 2k+ considering the #1 ranked singles player was around 2200
 
Wish there was a Battle Spot RMT section, its a nightmare searching for a decent team that can peak good ratings which are up to date. The Japanese must have it to be dominating the scene so hard, I just get crushed at the 1500's >_<. Feel so much in the dark about what to do as a new battler :<.
 
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Age of Kings

of the Ash Legion
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
tbh I think the primary reason is that most Western players aren't interested in Battle Spot or don't play it enough as the Japanese. Most competitive Pokemon activity in the West is centered on Smogon metas - which are fanmade - and VGC. Since 2011, Japanese presence in VGCs have been paltry due to lack of official support - namely that regionals have not been held there for years. iirc they get Wi-Fi tournaments and Nats and that's it. Asia Cup and Battle Road Gloria are unofficial, grassroots tournaments that have arisen due to this lack of support. There are a few desperate people who fly from Japan for Worlds just to try and qualify through LCQs. VGCs are simply not that accessible to most Japanese who want to compete because their qualifiers are a mess compared to the US and even Europe. It's a sad irony because Gamefreak has largely neglected the Western fandom until 2009 - who have found simulators to enjoy competitive Pokemon on their own terms in the meantime. (P.S. Holy shit, doesn't Netbattle turn 10 years old this year?)

A lot of people on Smogon don't even own physical copies of the games and only play Pokemon for the competitive aspect; due to the rich tradition of simulators, it is possible to be good at competitive Pokemon without ever touching the cartridge. Since Battle Spot exists primarily within the games, there is little to no reason for people who primarily play on a different environment to care about Nintendo metas. Before I played VGCs, I was a traditionalist who thought 6v6 singles was the only proper way to really play Pokemon - I still prefer this most even though I have since dabbled into other metas. For a lot of people, going from 6v6 singles down to 3v3 with no events and an arbitrary banlist is not desirable. Add in the fact that while Smogon is a relatively central place for competitive Pokemon within the Western fandom, the Japanese have no real unified competitive community. When you don't really have a common ground to discuss, it seems convenient to fall back on Nintendo rules.

I don't claim any degree of omniscience, but in conclusion I attribute the Japanese being good at Battle Spot to the differences in the fandoms and lack of real alternatives. If most of the Smogon community were interested in 3v3s, then I bet we would be just as good as the Japanese. But we don't have as strong a tradition for it as we do 6v6 and the simulator.
 
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