3v3 Singles Metagame Discussion Thread

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Yay! I can finally get back into Singles now that my record is longer 0-10 -.-

I'm going to go a bit more meta than the last couple seasons - I was running Mega Manectric, AV Landorus-T, BD Azumarill, 4 Attacks Balloon Heatran, CalmPass Espeon and (iirc) Gourgeist... It was good in places but very bad elsewhere. Going to keep Manectric and Lando (and probably Azu) and add an Aegislash somewhere, as well as Screens Klefki and something to take care of Mega Venusaur that isn't Espeon. Back to teambuilding...

EDIT: What's the special ladder this season?
 
Last edited:
Yay! I can finally get back into Singles now that my record is longer 0-10 -.-

I'm going to go a bit more meta than the last couple seasons - I was running Mega Manectric, AV Landorus-T, BD Azumarill, 4 Attacks Balloon Heatran, CalmPass Espeon and (iirc) Gourgeist... It was good in places but very bad elsewhere. Going to keep Manectric and Lando (and probably Azu) and add an Aegislash somewhere, as well as Screens Klefki and something to take care of Mega Venusaur that isn't Espeon. Back to teambuilding...

EDIT: What's the special ladder this season?
Which Aegislash aet are you planning to run? I've found the toxic stall set works really well. Weakness policy not so much, but maybe I'm just using him wrong.
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
EDIT: What's the special ladder this season?
It's 6v6 with no items.

Which Aegislash aet are you planning to run? I've found the toxic stall set works really well. Weakness policy not so much, but maybe I'm just using him wrong.
King's Shield + 3 Attacks with Weakness Policy usually works fine for me, although I might be thinking of a different Weakness Policy set. Do you mean the physical sweeper with Autotomize? I don't think that would be quite as successful.

SubToxic is something I've wanted to try for a while as well. The problem is that it seems to me everything it beats it would beat with the standard offensive sets anyway, except for something like Mandibuzz.
 
It's 6v6 with no items.



King's Shield + 3 Attacks with Weakness Policy usually works fine for me, although I might be thinking of a different Weakness Policy set. Do you mean the physical sweeper with Autotomize? I don't think that would be quite as successful.

SubToxic is something I've wanted to try for a while as well. The problem is that it seems to me everything it beats it would beat with the standard offensive sets anyway, except for something like Mandibuzz.
I used to switch between the toxic stall set and a special autotomize set with Kings shield, shadow ball, hp ice, and autotomize. I used go have flash cannon over king's shield, but found that it was never really needed.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Mixed WP Autotomize looks like fun (especially under screens) but there's merits to just running Crumbler as well. I don't see SubToxic being helpful because of what Hulavuta said, not to mention I've never seen a Mandibuzz on BS ever.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Naïve
Stance Change
252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd/4 Atk
-Autotomize
-Shadow Ball
-Shadow Sneak/Flash Cannon/Sacred Sword
-Shadow Sneak/Flash Cannon/Sacred Sword

Only need to figure out moves and decide on max Atk spread or max Sp. Atk. ((Or run Crumbler))

What would you guys say is the best Mega Venusaur check? I saw a bulky Taunt Talonflame build on the OU forum that might be more fun to use than standard Choice Band/Life Orb/pick your cancermon. I don't really like TFlame at all but Psychic-types tend to suck... Reuniclus?
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
I used to switch between the toxic stall set and a special autotomize set with Kings shield, shadow ball, hp ice, and autotomize. I used go have flash cannon over king's shield, but found that it was never really needed.
Yeah, I kinda see what you mean now. I don't think this set would be too successful either. I'd recommend the Crumbler set as a tank/pivot instead of trying to sweep. I still use Weakness Policy on it though, since Aegislash pretty much always goes last, getting hit by the super effective move right before it attacks gives it enough power to take out the other Pokemon. Even if the next Pokemon forces you out, it's still less than a 1-for-1 trade.

What would you guys say is the best Mega Venusaur check? I saw a bulky Taunt Talonflame build on the OU forum that might be more fun to use than standard Choice Band/Life Orb/pick your cancermon. I don't really like TFlame at all but Psychic-types tend to suck... Reuniclus?
I tend to use Goodra as my main Mega Venusaur check. It can take pretty much any move from it, but the problem is it can't really do that much damage in return especially when most Venusaurs use Synthesis. However, its special bulk is just so good it can sometimes come out on top anyway after the Venusaur blows all its Syntheses.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Goodra's an intriguing choice but I'm kind of looking for something slightly more offensive that can benefit from screens and basically trash Venu in one or two hits, as in my experience stall hasn't really worked out :( Thing is, most Psychics are either events or just generally bad, and Talonflame does so much better than so many other Flying-type... I guess I could try Staraptor. Whatever I'll figure it out :p
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
ethan06 one thing that comes to mind is offensive Zapdos with Hidden Power Flying which will 2HKO Mega Venusaur. It might be hard to get a hold of one though, you'd have to RNG it or arrange a trade on Smogon like I did.

And yeah, I never realized that but you're right, most of the good Psychics are legendary and can't be used. I think Psychic is the most common typing for a legendary Pokemon! (Just checked Bulbapedia, it is)

It looks like your best option as far as Psychics go is Mega Gardevoir...although thanks to its Fairy typing it can't switch in well either. And it does mean you can't use another mega unfortunately. But I do know it will easily destroy any Mega Venusaur with Psychic.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Mega Garde is an interesting option... getting a decent one with Hyper Voice is tough though and I already have Mega Man... I'm all too prone to derping and bringing both at once :( Zapdos sounds interesting though, I picked Fennekin on my game so I could try for one. Kinda wanted to keep it for VGC but eh. Thanks :)
 

cant say

twitch.tv/jakecantsay
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
ethan06It looks like your best option as far as Psychics go is Mega Gardevoir...although thanks to its Fairy typing it can't switch in well either. And it does mean you can't use another mega unfortunately. But I do know it will easily destroy any Mega Venusaur with Psychic.
252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Venusaur: 156-186 (83.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 126-150 (87.5 - 104.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Yeah I'm not sold on M-Gard as it's a pretty shaky matchup. But you guys are right, good psychics are hard to come by, your best bet is a good flying type. If you can afford a mega slot I would recommend M-Pinsir as Aerilate makes Return a more powerful Brave Bird with no recoil! He also gets Quick Attack which benefits from his ability as well, with Swords Dance to boost that. Then you get to decide between coverage in Earthquake, Close Combat or more STAB in X-Scissor.. Scarf Staraptor is like the hipster version of Band Talonflame if you want to go that way too.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
k so my options are:

MGarde
MPinsir
Staraptor
Talonflame
Zapdos
MMedicham
Tyranitar
some other Psychic-type that would also work like Reuniclus or MAlakazam?

Nope, even 252+ MAlakazam Psychic isn't guaranteed to OHKO, and it's a pretty sketchy mon anyway. It's fairly easy to get it into KO range for MGarde Psychic so I may give that a shot :)
 
Last edited:
Mega Tyranitar and AV Tyranitar are both decent checks against Venusaur if you swtich into a Sludge Bomb. Landorus-I is also an option if it carries Psychic. Mega Medicham with Psycho Cut can OHKO but cannot switch into MVenu.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
AV Tar and MegaCham sound interesting. I hate base genies with a passion (Therians are fine because the designs are actually interesting) and I can't run Landorus anyway because I have Landorus-T :(
 
I have been using Quagsire for some time and the amount of pokemon it counters if huge: Blaziken, Talonflame, Minimize users, Azumarill...

Quagsire@Leftovers
Relaxed Nature
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Toxic/Yawn
- Recover

I'm trying to make it work with Mega Venusaur and they make a fantastic core, but I still need something to switch into a Draco Meteor

ethan06 Other counters you coud try are Extrasensory Greninja and Scizor (as long as M-Venu doesn't carry HP Fire), but AV TTar is my personal favorite
 
Mega Garde is an interesting option... getting a decent one with Hyper Voice is tough though and I already have Mega Man... I'm all too prone to derping and bringing both at once :( Zapdos sounds interesting though, I picked Fennekin on my game so I could try for one. Kinda wanted to keep it for VGC but eh. Thanks :)
If you don't mind (and it's not against the rules) I can provide you with a hacked one.
 

ethan06

⋖(☼┆☼)⋗
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
My Lando-T is hacked so that isn't a problem for regular Battle Spot :) I guess I have a couple legit Pokébank events I could offer you, I'd have to have a look...
 
What EV spread do people like for belly drum Azumarill on Battle spot? I've been playing around with the following:

Azumarill@Sitrus Berry
Adamant
4HP/252Atk/252Spe
Aqua Jet
Belly Drum
Play Rough
Superpower

The 252 speed outpaces 0speed impish/adamant Gyarados, but I'm not sure it's worth the investment. Do most people have luck splitting between speed and HP? going full HP?

Either way, He's been putting in a ton of work for me now that I'm getting better at predicting switches and knowing when to/when to not belly drum. Just wondering what more experience people have had luck with.
 

cant say

twitch.tv/jakecantsay
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
DrZoidburglar I prefer the 248 HP route, maximise that bulk but still activate Sitrus Berry at full health with Belly Drun. Once you've got the BD off you will mostly be spamming Aqua Jet anyway so speed is mostly irrelevant, and with max HP he can still take hits like a champ after boosting. I've never used a speedy variant so I have no idea how good it is, I just want to back up the bulky one! Also I really like Waterfall over Superpower but that's mostly because I hate Aegislash (can still ohko shield form at +4 with Waterfall)
 
DrZoidburglar I prefer the 248 HP route, maximise that bulk but still activate Sitrus Berry at full health with Belly Drun. Once you've got the BD off you will mostly be spamming Aqua Jet anyway so speed is mostly irrelevant, and with max HP he can still take hits like a champ after boosting. I've never used a speedy variant so I have no idea how good it is, I just want to back up the bulky one! Also I really like Waterfall over Superpower but that's mostly because I hate Aegislash (can still ohko shield form at +4 with Waterfall)
Cool, I may have to give that a try! Good point about waterfall vs Aegislash too, I haven't been seeing Ferrothorn too much lately.
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
I have been getting absolutely destroyed so I had to throw out my team and decided to start from scratch building around Belly Drum Azumarill (coincidentally we were talking about that earlier...)

I've gotten so desperate I've resorted to using Mega Kangaskhan, and now I realize why this thing is hyped up so much. It is so insanely good.

My team is currently Azumarill of course, with Kangaskhan, Bold Rotom-W and Choice Band Scizor for switching, and Skarmory and Goodra as my defensive backbone. Basically, I just tried to throw together things that can beat what beats Azumarill, but I've found that it's really not quite that simple. Azumarill really can be dealt with in so many ways I've found, so it's hard to really ever sweep. But I've had a bit of success so I'm not giving up quite yet (although my rating is still garbo so that's to be expected).

Next team I'm going to build around Tyranitar and Charizard-Y, any ideas for what to add to that?
 
I haven't had any experience with those two, but would two different weather inducers work together? Or do you mean those two as your two Megas? Also, I found that Azumarill pairs really well with Char-X, if you wanted to mess around with him.
 
Last edited:
I have been getting absolutely destroyed so I had to throw out my team and decided to start from scratch building around Belly Drum Azumarill (coincidentally we were talking about that earlier...)

I've gotten so desperate I've resorted to using Mega Kangaskhan, and now I realize why this thing is hyped up so much. It is so insanely good.

My team is currently Azumarill of course, with Kangaskhan, Bold Rotom-W and Choice Band Scizor for switching, and Skarmory and Goodra as my defensive backbone. Basically, I just tried to throw together things that can beat what beats Azumarill, but I've found that it's really not quite that simple. Azumarill really can be dealt with in so many ways I've found, so it's hard to really ever sweep. But I've had a bit of success so I'm not giving up quite yet (although my rating is still garbo so that's to be expected).

Next team I'm going to build around Tyranitar and Charizard-Y, any ideas for what to add to that?
There was a post in the "Good cores" thread over in OU that introduced an amazing core of Azumarill, Charizard-X, and Ferrothorn. Their type synergy works well (FWG core and a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core at the same time!), unfortunately it doesn't translate so well to 3v3. They recommended their bulky versions, and those sets lack the power needed in the face paced game play of 3v3. Maybe if I decided to go offensive with Charizard-X and use CB Azumarill it would work better, but I'd need to get new Pokemon for that. Also I find that Ferrothorn, while being an amazing wall, tends to be dead weight whenever I use him.
 

AM

is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
LCPL Champion
Next team I'm going to build around Tyranitar and Charizard-Y, any ideas for what to add to that?
Yeah in the 3v3 environment it generally works similar to standard 6v6 in terms of pairing. Aegislash (Air Balloon is one of the better variants in 3v3 from what I can tell), Excadrill to abuse Sand, Terrakion, Thundurus, Garchomp. Those are just some that synergize well with the two. I guess it depends on your own personal preference and how offensive you actually want the team to be. Those are some I've used in practice with that core you're talking about with moderate success.
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Hey, thanks for the responses all.

I haven't had any experience with those two, but would two different weather inducers work together? Or do you mean those two as your two Megas? Also, I found that Azumarill pairs really well with Char-X, if you wanted to mess around with him.
Tyranitar and Charizard-Y actually make very good partners since they have great type synergy. Both of them being weather inducers looks a bit tricky at first but it's actually an advantage. Tyranitar and Charizard take advantage of their weather but the team really doesn't. This way, they can reset the weather timer for each other so they are always in their preferred weather.

Charizard-X does sound good (although I'd have to get rid of Mega Kanga). I'm not sure whether to use Dragon Dance or bulky Will-o-Wisp though, thoughts?

There was a post in the "Good cores" thread over in OU that introduced an amazing core of Azumarill, Charizard-X, and Ferrothorn. Their type synergy works well (FWG core and a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core at the same time!), unfortunately it doesn't translate so well to 3v3. They recommended their bulky versions, and those sets lack the power needed in the face paced game play of 3v3. Maybe if I decided to go offensive with Charizard-X and use CB Azumarill it would work better, but I'd need to get new Pokemon for that. Also I find that Ferrothorn, while being an amazing wall, tends to be dead weight whenever I use him.
Yeah, I've generally found Mega Venusaur to be better than Ferrothorn in 3v3, and it makes an alright partner for Azumarill. However, that does mean I won't be able to use Charizard-X either, so finding a fire-type would be an issue. (Heatran perhaps? I do have an RNG'd Heatran now :o)

Yeah in the 3v3 environment it generally works similar to standard 6v6 in terms of pairing. Aegislash (Air Balloon is one of the better variants in 3v3 from what I can tell), Excadrill to abuse Sand, Terrakion, Thundurus, Garchomp. Those are just some that synergize well with the two. I guess it depends on your own personal preference and how offensive you actually want the team to be. Those are some I've used in practice with that core you're talking about with moderate success.
Well as I stated above, I'm not really looking to abuse the weather so much, but Garchomp sounds like a great addition. I really want to use Thundurus and Terrakion but unfortunately I can't RNG and I don't want to use hacks.
 
Yeah, I've generally found Mega Venusaur to be better than Ferrothorn in 3v3, and it makes an alright partner for Azumarill. However, that does mean I won't be able to use Charizard-X either, so finding a fire-type would be an issue. (Heatran perhaps? I do have an RNG'd Heatran now :o)
I was considering using an Amoonguss as my grass type, but he honestly seems very underwhelming. Maybe a Rotom-C?
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top