Anti-VGC Team

I've been looking around on various RMTs, and a couple battles on the Skarmbliss VGC server, And I realized that mainly everyone tends to use essentially the same strategy. So, because I was bored, I decided to try and make a team that counters all of these, and so far I feel it looks decently well.Unfortunately, I don't think the VGC ever bothered to come to Canada, or I never knew where it was, so I can't actually use this many places, but nonetheless, tell me what you think.

TEAM AT A GLANCE


Doesn't look much different, does it? A Key point to this team is it being so similar to most others, you don't expect it to be an almost perfect counter to yours.Nonetheless....

IN DEPTH

Thundurus (M) @ Electric Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Taunt
- Focus Blast

Often One of My starters. Priority Taunt shuts down Tailwinders and Trick Roomers, While HP Water does around 90% damage to Terrakion and Chandelure without Sp.Defense Investment, putting two of VGCs Top threats to conditions making them unable to sweep well It also deals significant damage to less seen pokemon such as golurk.While HP Ice may be more usable, I can't really change his IV's.Focus Blast simply does good damage to several pokemon such as Hydreigon that can threaten my team. Thunderbolt is STAB.


Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Wide Guard
- Mach Punch
- Facade
- Rock Slide

An occasional starter, but not too often. Essentially a basic Conkledurr, just with Wide Guard because of all the Earthquakes and Rock Slides running around, which will become useless for that turn, giving my partner a chance to take out one or two pokemon at the time. And Facade gives me near perfect neutral coverage. Guts'ed mach punch has the possibility to OHKO pokemon such as hydreigon and Terrakion, so I don't have to use Hammer arm/Drain Punch.


Terrakion @ Chople Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake

Also a Basic Terrakion. My Whimsicott doesn't carry Beat up, but his already impressive attack doesn't need a serious boost to it to cause damage.You should know what kind of damage Terrakion can cause with this.


Whimsicott (M) @ Mental Herb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fake Tears
- Tickle
- Protect
- Energy Ball

Always a useful member of any team. Fake tears+Special Attack=dead Pokemon. Tickle+Physical Attack=Also dead pokemon.Priority on Tickle and Fake tears is just amazing,and Energy Ball is for coverage(albeit very little) and because I couldn't think of any other Status moves to put on him. Taunt is a possible replacement for Protect.Protect is also a moveslot possibility over Shadow Ball.The herb that prevents Taunting and Encore is also an item I may possibly use to replace Brightpowder, which is only there for hax.Mental Herb prevents Him from being taunted before letting loose a tickle or fake tears, most likely OHKO-ingthe taunting pokemon.


Chandelure (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

Choice Scarf on Chandy is again pretty standard, But scarfed Overheat is the only thing on my team that can easily take out Tornadus.Heat Wave is there for double attacking support in concoction with whimsicott and fake tears. Energy Ball is because my chandelure has hidden power ghost(Completely worthless>_>) So energy ball provides attempted coverage.


Mienshao (M) @ Salac Berry/Normal Gem
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Endure
- Reversal
- Feint
- Stone Edge

A bit of a gimmick set here.an endrevver to start, I don't know if salac berry is considered legal in VGC though, so Normal gem is there to increase Feint's power. Speaking of which, feint is because not only is mienshao the only 5th gen pokemon that learns it, far too many pokemon in doubles use protect. Stone Edge takes care of various flying types that could be encountered.

EDIT:Thanks to Lucien Lachance & Muffinhead for the tips, but after a little more testing, I realize I have a rather big weakness to Water Spouting Jellicent, at least because I often encounter it while paired with Rage Powder Amoongus. Any Ideas?

So, What do you think?My attempt to counter 4 of the most common VGC strategies, I feel I at least did decently, but thatt's what I think about my own team, so that doesn't really count.
 

Thundurus (M) @ Charti Berry
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
Chande and Terrakion are owned by Conkeldurr. HP ice beats things that water doesn't. Protect is vital in VGC. Charti Berry is allows you to beat Terrakion.


Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Rock Slide

Drain Punch is to heal, Flame Orb activates it's ability guts. I'm not too sure what the 60 Spe EVs do.

Terrakion @ Chople Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 8 Def / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Chople Berry allows it to beat opposing Terrakions.


Whimsicott (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Encore
- Tailwind
- Protect
- Energy Ball

With Encore, you can cripple a pokemon that used protect the last turn. Tailwind neutralizes the opposing teams tailwind.


Chandelure (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Energy Ball

Choice Scarf brings out Chandes best. He outspeeds all pokemon and OHKO's so many before they can do anything.

Now everything Accelgor does can be done better by something else on your team. I suggest replacing him. But with what, I do not know.

Hope I helped.
 

muffinhead

b202 wifi vgc
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Hi, I enjoy variation from the incredibly standard metagame, and that is what drew me to this team. also accelgor.

I will start with Thundurus.

[box]Thundurus (M) @ Electric Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave / Taunt
- Protect / Taunt
[/box]
This is my suggested change. Electric Gem-boosted Thunderbolt still gives that high damage output, and even OHKOes other Thundurus with the same EV spread. HP Ice provides your team with extra Golurk, Whimsicott, Amoonguss, and Hydreigon insurance (without relying on Chandelure or locking Terrakion in to Close Combat).

Speaking of Terrakion, I think that Choice Band may be somewhat viable, but due to the high number of Focus Sashes on Pokemon Terrakion usually OHKOes, I think that a Chople Berry would work much better. This also doesn't force your other Pokemon to take damage from Earthquake. You may also want to consider Protect over Earthquake to ease prediction against scarfed Pokemon and opposing Conkeldurr.

Whimsicott has little to no time to make use of Brightpowder. Mental Herb is the better option, to get off 2 Fake Tears or Tickles. Grass Knot is a much better option than Energy Ball, hitting the heavier Pokemon (Terrakion, Golurk, etc) for far more damage. Whimsicott neeeeeeds Protect instead of Shadow Ball (I can't stress this enough). Tornadus is just too common for Whimsicott to not have Protect.

Moving on to Conkeldurr, I do think the Wide Guard benefits this team much more than a Drain Punch set would(@Lucien). Accelgor is weak to Rock Slide and Heat Wave, Thundurus is weak to Rock Slide, and Whimsicott does not enjoy Heat Waves. Flame Orb is the way to go on Conkeldurr:

life orb = 1.3x, 10% hp loss
flame orb = 1.5x, 12% hp loss, prevents Spore from working

Hammer Arm should replace Earthquake simply because it is an incredible 100 base power (Drain Punch is weak sauce) and you don't have the right support for it.

Here is my suggestion for Chandelure.

[box]Chandelure (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
[/box]
At the moment, your team is incredibly Tornadus weak (other than Thundurus). Scarf Overheat will OHKO Tornadus and Thundurus. Scarf Chandelure is a much better teammate for Fake Tears Whimsicott, especially when timid. This ensures enemy Scarf Jellicents do not destroy your team. Heat Wave with Fake Tears support will net incredible damage on pretty much everything. Hidden Power Ice grants coverage on Hydreigon.

Finally, I think that your Accelgor's moveset needs to be changed. Me First will grab Rock Slides, Acrobatics[es], and Heat Waves aimed at Accelgor. However, if you look at which Pokemon will be using those moves, Me First will not be effective. You can't hit Chandelure with its own Heat Wave, Terrakion with its own Rock Slide, or do any significant damage to a Tornadus with a -atk natured Pokemon with a measly 70 base attack (while holding an item). You absolutely need Protect on Accelgor to Encore Fake Outs while keeping your Sash intact. Unfortunately, I do not have quite enough experience messing around with Accelgor's EV spread to know how much Special Attack it needs to grab 2HKOes on Trick Room users, but I feel like 4 is definitely not enough. Accelgor's low base HP makes Final Gambit very risky, even with 252 EVs.

I know this seem like a ton of changes, but just try them out for a week or so, and see if you like them or not.
 
Originally Posted by Fat risenreturn

Thundurus (M) @ Charti Berry
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
Chande and Terrakion are owned by Conkeldurr. HP ice beats things that water doesn't. Protect is vital in VGC. Charti Berry is allows you to beat Terrakion.


Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Rock Slide

Drain Punch is to heal, Flame Orb activates it's ability guts. I'm not too sure what the 60 Spe EVs do.

Terrakion @ Chople Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 8 Def / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Chople Berry allows it to beat opposing Terrakions.


Whimsicott (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Encore
- Tailwind
- Protect
- Energy Ball

With Encore, you can cripple a pokemon that used protect the last turn. Tailwind neutralizes the opposing teams tailwind.


Chandelure (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Energy Ball

Choice Scarf brings out Chandes best. He outspeeds all pokemon and OHKO's so many before they can do anything.

Now everything Accelgor does can be done better by something else on your team. I suggest replacing him. But with what, I do not know.

Hope I helped.
This mostly doesn't work. not because The sets aren't good, but there just the standard. as the title says, this is supposed to be the opposite of standard, meant to counter standard teams.
 
bump for my noticeable change7

And please more comments, because while I've been losing a lot, I think it's mostly because I suck.
 

gec

pharos
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Mienshao (M) @ Salac Berry/Normal Gem
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Endure
- Reversal
- Feint
- Stone Edge
Salac Berry is not legal in VGC, let alone Gen 5 (yet).

I think you should change your set to the more standard Fake Out support Mienshao. VGC being such a fast paced metagame means that you will pretty much never be able to set up your Endure/Reversal strategy, and if somehow managed to, you would be swiftly killed from your 1HP by a Fake Out or a priority move (VGC is littered with these). Using Fake Out on Mienshao ensures that you get a turn to disable a threat and benefit your partner to either take it out, or support you (for example, using Tailwind on Whimsicott which I think is another change you should consider too). The set goes something like this:

Mienshao @ Focus Sash
Jolly - 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Fake Out/Drain Punch/Rock Slide/Wide Guard

I feel this could benefit your team a lot better.

Speaking of Whimscott above, since you are holding a Mental Herb Whimsicott really appreciates having some form of bulk due to the lack of Focus Sash. I would simply transfer your 252 Sp.Attack EVs to 252 HP, which lets it survive a surprisingly good amount of neutral (and even super effective) hits. I also think you should consider Tailwind somewhere on your set, seeing as how currently you are a little weak to opposing Tailwind teams. Also, a smart Trick Room player may also get the best of you. Possibly change your Whimsicott set to:

Whimsicott @ Mental Herb
Timid - 252 HP/4 Sp.Attack/252 Speed
Tailwind/Grass Knot/Encore/Taunt or Safeguard

This will not only support your team with Tailwind but you can also Encore a Trick Room used by the opponent to reverse it, or just Taunt them to prevent them in the first place. The last slot is up to you, Safeguard can be used solely for Amoonguss but it looks as if between Chandelure and Thundurus you have it covered, however having some extra insurance against it in the form of Safeguard means it becomes a lot less of a threat - especially to your Fighting-types.

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
HP Water isn't very useful at all on Thundurus, unless you're worried about Excadrill for some reason. (70 x 2) < (95 x 1.5), so HP Water hits about nothing else harder than STAB Thunderbolt in VGC2011. If you're using it exclusively for its novelty value, sure, that's fine, but then you don't need a RMT to judge it because novelty value is subjective. I'd personally go for HP Flying, since you don't have Acrobatics equipped on anyone.
 

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

Top