Battle Maison Discussion & Records

I've been silently following this for a long time, but I've started becoming more active in the Maison and have had some success. Got the Super Singles trophy for one, although my team was the incredibly cheap trio of Dragonite, Aegislash, and Mega Kangaskhan.

Out of the five styles, rotation seems to be the least commented on (well, that and Multi but that's for good reason) and I could use some help setting up a team for it. Unlike singles or doubles, smogon doesn't have a big rotation battle league to draw inspiration on (no triples either, but at least triples has a lot of parallels with doubles).

From what I've gathered on the hall of fame teams, the most consistent strategy is to have a dual screen lead and two set-up sweepers (and a back-up to cover holes). Any other advice or alternative styles? Rotation is just really daunting because it changes almost everything about switching since it can be done on the fly without losing a turn.
 
I've been silently following this for a long time, but I've started becoming more active in the Maison and have had some success. Got the Super Singles trophy for one, although my team was the incredibly cheap trio of Dragonite, Aegislash, and Mega Kangaskhan.

Out of the five styles, rotation seems to be the least commented on (well, that and Multi but that's for good reason) and I could use some help setting up a team for it. Unlike singles or doubles, smogon doesn't have a big rotation battle league to draw inspiration on (no triples either, but at least triples has a lot of parallels with doubles).

From what I've gathered on the hall of fame teams, the most consistent strategy is to have a dual screen lead and two set-up sweepers (and a back-up to cover holes). Any other advice or alternative styles? Rotation is just really daunting because it changes almost everything about switching since it can be done on the fly without losing a turn.
Alternative strategy: Use Chansey, because it's bulky as fuck and can rotate into almost everything. Come up with other stuff that can capitalize on Chansey rotating in and healing off status with Aromatherapy. Make sure your other Pokemon are able to handle most set-up sweepers (Volcarona and Garchomp in particular are dangerous, though Chansey can mess up Volcarona with Toxic stalling; you'll always want stuff that can beat Curse+Rest users, who Chansey can't beat) and Fighting-types.
 
Hmm. Well it's worth a shot. Thank you. It looks like you ran a semi-stall team with a Cloyster set-up/sweep partner.

From experience, how does the AI handle in rotations? Does it throw caution to the wind and automatically rotate in a counter even if you probably did the same (like switching an electric-type into your Gyarados when you can switch to Excadrill at the same time for an earthquake) or is it smarter about it? Or just random about it? My current streak isn't long enough to see any pattern.
 
There might be a pattern, but if there is, it's not reliable enough to count on it. I had very few immunities on my team (just Electric + Ground for Gliscor and Ghost for Chansey), so it's possible the AI plays more cautiously for immunities than I experienced...but I doubt it. My impression was that a rotation to ANY Pokemon and use of ANY move was possible, as long as that move would hit at least ONE of your three Pokemon harder than any of that AI Pokemon's other moves. I generally just made the rotation that had the lowest harm potential unless the opponent had a big threat (e.g. Dragon Dance Haxorus) that I needed to watch out for, which is why it helped to have Pokemon who are really hard to OHKO. But maybe someone who had Pokemon who were easier to KO would have more insight. My team was designed to minimize the need for prediction, because the AI just never seemed all that predictable.
 

atsync

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Re rotations:

I always just assumed that the AI considers the best move in all possible scenarios (your first Pokemon vs. their first Pokemon, your first Pokemon vs. their second Pokemon, etc.), and then just picks randomly. I definitely saw a lot of Fighting moves thrown at my Sylveon when Kangaskhan and Sharpedo were in the back-up positions, so I assumed that having 2 fighting-weak increased the number of scenarios where using a Fighting move was the best option. This helped a bit against things like Cobalion, which has the potential to wreck my team otherwise.

But then the AI will make seemingly non-sensical moves and rotations, just like in the other modes.....

However it works, I pretty much agree with VaporeonIce about the lowest harm thing. Basically my approach was to try and use "safe" moves where I could make a decent impact on my opponent regardless of what they did. Pixilate Hyper Voice was handy for this purpose because it has good coverage and deals acceptable damage (often more than opponents could deal back to Sylveon). Unfortunately this won't always be possible since you can end up in terrible match-ups where there are no 100% safe moves, in which case you just have to pick a Pokemon and move and cross your fingers that the AI doesn't rotate to the wrong thing.
 
I seek help from the Maison experts on something, as I have been beating my head against the wall for a couple of weeks now trying to make something work, and I don't think it's going to.

I was playing through the game with a bunch of mono-type teams, and this gave me the idea to try and do Maison Singles with a mono-Bug team. I had a few ideas that I think work well on paper, but not so much in practice given my best streak is a pathetic, horrible 36. This is what I'm using now:

Galvantula [ Compound Eyes, Modest, 252 SA/Speed, 4 HP, 31/x/31/31/31/31 ] @ Focus Sash
~ Sticky Web
~ Thunder
~ Bug Buzz
~ Energy Ball
Sets down Sticky Web turn 1, then fires away with the special moves until dead to help the other two out (using the Sash to guarantee a second turn barring weather interference).

Heracross [ Moxie -> Skill Link, Jolly, 252 Atk/Speed, 4 HP, 31/31/31/x/31/31 ] @ Heracrossinite
~ Close Combat
~ Pin Missile
~ Bullet Seed
~ Rock Blast
Maxed Speed lets it get a KO with Close Combat, trigger the Moxie for a +1, then theoretically sweep with the three Skill Link attacks. I wasn't sure whether to use Arm Thrust/Megahorn or Pin Missile/Close Combat, because the idea of missing with Megahorn frightened me more than CC's stat drops.

Crustle [ Sturdy, Adamant, 252 Atk/Speed, 4 HP, 31/31/31/x/31/31 ] @ Weakness Policy
~ Shell Smash
~ X-Scissor
~ Rock Slide
~ Earthquake
The theory behind this one is get in, Sturdy-Smash, and clean up. Usually comes out second (after Galvantula). Weakness Policy means a potential +4/+2, but that hasn't come up that often.

The biggest problems so far: Aerodactyl (1 being the worst offender, because the only way Galvantula outruns it is with a fluke paralysis), Jynx3, and of all things, Starmie1 (it's swept me twice, though this is mostly due to my reluctance to swap Crustle in against it). I've thought about bringing in a Volcarona (I have a five-max IV one available) but I'm suffering the issue of being married to this combo. Can someone talk me off the edge?
 
I've finally made it past the Chatelaines for Super Doubles ( 63 Wins ) and Super Triples ( 89 Wins ), with my Hail team. Not everyone has perfect 31 IVs, but most of them are in the "outstanding" category when IV checked.

Abomasnow ( Snow Warning , Adamant, 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Speed, 31 IVs in Hp Atk and Speed ) @ Abomasite
1. Ice Shard
2. Wood Hammer
3. Protect
4. Leech Seed
This was the abomasnow I was using for doubles in black2 and white2. EV Spread was from Smogon's b/w dex. The Abomasite is really helpful when slower weather starters come in ( Politoed, Tar and Hippowdon ) I get hail back and usually deal with them with wood hammer. Protect has been crucial, not only from enemy attacks, but also from my team mates' other moves ( Surf, Discharge, Earthquake ) Leech Seed to stall when necessary.

Rotom F ( Levitate, Modest, 252 SpA / 252 Speed / 4 Hp, 31 IVs in Hp, SpA and Speed ) Choice Scarf
1. Blizzard
2. Discharge
3. Volt Switch
4. Trick
Scarf Rotom Blizzards/ Discharge, is the main source of damage. Levitate is key as I set Rotom in the middle position for Blizzard to hit all 3 member of the enemy team, with Mamoswine on the right dishing out earthquakes. Good Synergy with Mamo as well as discharge doesnt hit him. Trick was rarely used but did work wonders on slow set up mons. Outspeeds Aerodactyl ( OHKO ) Jolteon ( Blizz + Ice Shard) and Espeon ( Blizz + Ice shard )

Mamoswine ( Thick Fat, Jolly, 252 Atk / 252 Speed / 4 Hp, 31 Ivs in Hp, Atk and Speed ) @ Focus Sash
1. Ice Shard
2. Icicle Spear
3. Stone Edge
4. Earthquake
The last of my 3 starting mons for triple battles. Focus sash has saved my life so many times, as he is immune to both hail and sandstorm damage. His Earthquake + Blizz or Discharge + Ice shard from Abomasnow is usually enough to clear or heavily damage the enemy team. Earthquake and Blizz have very good synergy as most of the mons who resist one is hit hard by the other.

Starmie ( Natural Cure, Timid 252 SpA / 252 Speed / 4 HP, 31 IVs in SpA and Speed ) Life Orb
1. Blizzard
2. Surf
3. Psychic
4. Rapid Spin <--- meaning to change this to Protect or another attacking move
My other mass attacker, usually takes the place of Rotom F if he faints. Careful use of Surf required as Mamoswine is hit hard by it if placed on the wrong side of the team. STAB Psychic allows me to push through some of the tougher Fighting types which give my Ice mons a lot of trouble.

Machamp ( No Guard, Adamant 252 Hp/ 252 Atk / 4 Speed, 31 Ivs in Hp and Speed, Attack IV is close to 31 ) @ Lum Berry
1. Dynamic Punch
2. Payback
3. Stone Edge
4. Bullet Punch
Physical brute and provides me with a rock resist, and a fighting STAB attack. I'm thinking of changing the berry to an assault vest, as he was rarely burned through the entire run.

Chandelure ( Flash Fire, Modest 252 SpA/ 252 Speed, 31 IVs in SpA and Speed ) @ Air Balloon
1. Shadow Ball
2. Flamethrower
3. Psychic
4. Energy Ball
Perfect switch in for the snowman if he just used protect during the prior turn. Balloon was used so that he can stay beside Mamoswine during earthquakes. Packs a punch, but still debating if I should change Flamethrower for Heat Wave

The first 4 mons are the ones I used for doubles. Main strategy would be to set up hail and hit hard with Blizz and Quake. Priority attacks to pick up stragglers from those 2 attacks. I chose the other Starmie Machamp and Chandelure as they all have good typing synergies with the ice types.

I'll be posting pictures for proof later.







Pics posted. Any advice or recommendations are most welcome
 
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Hey, guys. Just wanted to share a little unorthodox team for Super Triples. (Actually, it's all very much orthodox, except for the Slacking). Got up to 128 on Triples, and could have gone a lot longer, had I
paid attention and not sent out the Talonflame when I shouldn't have. Your basic user error, that. Code to view the last battle is WKYW-WWWW-WWW8-EBH4.

I made it after reading about Slacking on Serebii's Pokemon of the week, and was amazed to find out that 've stumbled onto a useful strategy with
this Pokemon. The key to this is Mega Gardevoir. If she Skill Swaps out Skacking's Truant, then Mega Evolves, she loses the Truant with no downside, other than the lost turn. The strategy after that is pretty much "Hit them hard until they die". Protects are liberally used to avoid hitting team mates, Talonflame and Aegislash get priority moves, and if Garchomp can squeeze in a Sword Dance, all the better. I've had some problem with Trick room teams, but, surprisingly, no problem whatsoever with Veteran trainers.

Comments/suggestions for improvement of the team are always welcome~


Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
Nature: Timid
EVs- SpAtk & Spd
IVs: 31/?/31/31/31/31
- Grass Knot
- Mat Block
- Ice Beam
- Surf

Standard Greninja. Mat block first turn/wreck havoc thereafter. In case of Jolteon, switch out for Garchomp.


Slacking @ Lum Berry
Ability: Truant
Nature: Jolly
EVs- Atk & Spd
IVs: ?/31/31/31/31/31
- Protect
- Body Slam
- Brick Break
- Night Slash

Gem in the rough, but needs Skill Swap to make him viable. Need to breed one with max HP at some point. Body slam hits surprisingly hard, Protect is there in case of Surf and Earthquake from team mates, and everything else is for coverage. Lum Berry is a necessity, and by the end of my streak, every other team had a Pokemon with Unnerve in it.

Gardevoir @ Mega Stone
Ability: Trace
Nature: Modest
EVs- SpAtk & Spd
IVs: 31/?/31/31/31/31
- Protect
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Skill Swap

First turn- Skill swap traced ability onto Slacking, while protected by Greninja. Second turn- mega evolve and lose truant. On the second turn, in
case of strong steel/fire opponent, switch out for Aegislash or Talonflame.


Talonflame @ Shell Bell
Ability: Gale Wings
Nature: Adamant
EVs- Atk & Spd
IVs: 31/31/31/?/31/31
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Steel Wing
- Flare Blitz

Standard Talonflame. Thinking about losing Steel Wing for Protect, since I've used the former maybe once.

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Jolly
EVs- Atk & Spd
IVs: 31/31/31/?/31/31
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sword Dance
- Protect

Fairly standard Garchomp, though I do need to have Rough Skin on it, and probably do not need Protect, since by the time this guy comes out, Greninja
with his Surf is usually KO'd.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Brave
EVs- Atk & HP
IVs: 31/31/31/?/31/31
- Iron Head
- King's Shield
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Standard Aegislash. Balances well with everything else on the team, occasionally even KO's things. In retrospect, he'd be better off with Jolly
nature.
 
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cant say

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Myuu767 I like this combo! I wanted to try it in doubles but with M-Alakazam so Slaking would have Magic Guard instead (no life orb recoil lfgi), I just needed to figure out a way to get past Aerodactyl/Archeops as they outspeed and can flinch Zam on turn one, disrupting the skill swap, then score the 2hko. I figured I would Skill Swap and evolve turn 1 hoping not to flinch, then switch out on the Truant turn.. Did you run into any of them in your streak? I suppose you have Chomp and Aegi which can switch in on them.

Anyway congrats! I'd love to see if you could take the team further. If anything I'd maybe swap Body Slam for Return for the power but I suppose random paralysis could be cool
 
I've tried Alakazam, Beheeyem and Reuniclus in that role before settling on Gardevoir.. Alakazam's just too fragile, the other two are too slow to do much of anything in the long run. That extra turn spent swapping them out just isn't worth it, methinks... And yup, gone against both Aerodactyl and Archeops-- they haven't disrupted the team too much/haven't lived more than a turn and a half. Crobat was more of a problem, if I recall correctly.

Return would be lovely, but the paralysis is invaluable against bulkier water types (*Cough* Suicune and Milotic *Cough*), for whom 've got no counter outside of the Greninja.

Thanks for looking at the team, Can't say! Will do some breeding for the next few days to recover from the epic lose, and after that -- 200 wins or bust.
 

Lumari

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I've tried Alakazam, Beheeyem and Reuniclus in that role before settling on Gardevoir.. Alakazam's just too fragile, the other two are too slow to do much of anything in the long run. That extra turn spent swapping them out just isn't worth it, methinks... And yup, gone against both Aerodactyl and Archeops-- they haven't disrupted the team too much/haven't lived more than a turn and a half. Crobat was more of a problem, if I recall correctly.

Return would be lovely, but the paralysis is invaluable against bulkier water types (*Cough* Suicune and Milotic *Cough*), for whom 've got no counter outside of the Greninja.

Thanks for looking at the team, Can't say! Will do some breeding for the next few days to recover from the epic lose, and after that -- 200 wins or bust.
Hey man, like the team :) cool somebody actually did try to make Slaking work instead of just talking about it (which happens a lot). Too bad Medicham doesn't get Skill Swap lol. That said, I think some movesets could use some tweaking.

-You're totally right about swapping out Steel Wing for Protect on Talonflame. Steel Wing is mostly redundant coverage - Brave Bird and Flare Blitz achieve excellent neutral coverage together, only missing out on Rock-types, and you've got enough teammates that can deal with those. Protect is just a great move in general, so it'd definitely be an improvement. As for Roost, I find doubles/triples is usually too fast-paced for using recovery moves, so you could switch that one out for Taunt (to stop Trick Room users) or Tailwind (because Tailwind). Nevertheless, if you found it worked, I'd definitely keep it :)
Also, is there any reason you're running full speed on him? I find that you're usually clicking priority Brave Bird anyway, and Talon really likes some extra HP to take some more recoil, so if I were you I'd use enough speed to outpace Flare Blitz's fastest target (don't really know which one that is, but I haven't used Talon that much yet in the maison) and shove the rest into HP. As for the item, imo Shell Bell is mostly a wasted option on Talon because of his reliance on recoil moves. I prefer Sharp Beak for a little extra power, he appreciates that more than cutting down a little on the recoil.
-On Garchomp, I'd keep Protect. Even if you don't have to protect him from your own spread moves, he still attracts Ice-type moves like a magnet, so it's very good for drawing in those and finishing off your opponents with one of Garchomp's teammates. Every single pokemon in doubles appreciates Protect, if it's got room for it, which Garchomp absolutely does. You also might wanna consider Rock Slide over Swords Dance; I've used Garchomp a lot on my doubles run, and I never found I would've had time to set up an SD (for this reason setup moves are discouraged in general in doubles/triples btw). Rock Slide on the other hand was very useful for finishing off multiple opponents without having to use Earthquake and use Protect on my partner. Also, why do you run Outrage on him? In my experience, this is a rather horrible move in doubles, as you can't choose your target; I'd prefer Dragon Claw, it's much more reliable.
-On Greninja, I'd switch out Surf for Hydro Pump (or Scald if you prefer the accuracy), because it hits harder (well, one opponent, but Greninja doesn't hit /that/ hard and needs all the power it can get) and doesn't hit your teammates. I'd also make a list of dangerous Pokemon that outspeed Greninja; I've watched your replay, and your mistake was not to switch in Talonflame, it was to keep in Greninja. Accelgor always outspeeds and OHKOes Greninja, so if you had switched in Aegislash, you wouldn't have lost Greninja for no reason. Good call on always switching in Garchomp for Jolteon, but there are more dangerous opponents, such as Accelgor.
-If you didn't spend all your BP already ( :p ), you might wanna consider giving an Ability Capsule to Gardevoir. Your purpose with Skill Swap is just to get rid of Truant, not to give Slaking a specific good ability, (at least, that's how I read it), and Synchronise is way more reliable for this. (Plus, Synchronise allows Slaking to pull off the trollish Synchronise+Lum combo. Telepathy would have been the best option, but that would require a new Gardevoir). With Trace, you can pick up awful abilities such as Truant (as happened in your video) or Slow Start, and imo it's more important to prevent this than to hope for tracing Pure Power or so.

Anyway, unlike me you have used this team, so you know better than I do which of these suggestions are worth it and which are garbage :) Use whichever you like (I know some are rather subjective), and good luck on your second run!
 
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Hey guys, I need some advice on my Rotations team, I need a last member for a classic Screen+Sweepers team. This is the team:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Def / 212 HP / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Moonlight

Klefki (F) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Bold Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Safeguard
- Flash Cannon

Gyarados (M) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 HP / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Return

I'm thinking about using Dragonite, or maybe a support/pivot pokemon... I'm not sure
I'm reposting this from the last page, and I think I'm going to use Gliscor with Earthquake/Toxic/Taunt or Protect/Substitute, as it has great synergy with the other members of the team. Opinions?
 

Lumari

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I'm reposting this from the last page, and I think I'm going to use Gliscor with Earthquake/Toxic/Taunt or Protect/Substitute, as it has great synergy with the other members of the team. Opinions?
Sounds good, but in the last two slots, I'd put either Sub and Protect or Taunt and Roost. If you just wanna stall as much as possible, use Sub and Protect; if you're more worried about setup sweepers/status users and want to protect your entire team, use Taunt, and then you're gonna need Roost for more reliable recovery as you're gonna have a harder time stalling for healing.
 
Sounds good, but in the last two slots, I'd put either Sub and Protect or Taunt and Roost. If you just wanna stall as much as possible, use Sub and Protect; if you're more worried about setup sweepers/status users and want to protect your entire team, use Taunt, and then you're gonna need Roost for more reliable recovery as you're gonna have a harder time stalling for healing.
Yeah, I'm not worried about set-up sweepers because Clefable has Unaware, so I'm going with Sub/Protect I guess. Thanks!
 
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Yeah, I'm not worried about set-up sweepers because Clefable has Unaware, so I'm going with Sub/Protect I guess. Thanks!
Sub/Protect/Toxic/EQ Gliscor beats entire teams by itself. Seriously, you would be shocked at how many legendary Pokemon are just helpless against it. Switching in on Clefable's Poison weakness and MegaDos's Fighting, Electric, and Bug weaknesses is also amazing. The fact that neither of them lure in types that Gliscor hates (Water, Ice, special Fire moves) also helps.

I'd be a little worried about burns, because I don't think the odds of you successfully getting up a Safeguard AND a Light Screen (or Reflect, if it's Flare Blitz) against a team with powerful Fire-types are all that high (though I could be wrong; it depends on the moves the AI uses). Also, Infiltrator Chandelure completely ignores Safeguard (I learned that the hard way) while Flame Body Chandelure can burn Gyarados, so be careful around Chandelure. Gliscor stalls Chandelure to death (seriously, it's really easy to get up a Sub and use EQ against it), but you need to actually get Gliscor in first (and I NEVER switched in Gliscor if it might get hit by a secondary status effect or an Ice-move). You should be able to manage it, just be careful.

Watch out for Walrein 4 also; your sweepers take a while to beat it and even Gliscor isn't too good against it (Toxic just lets it Rest a few turns later, letting it use Sleep Talk to attack with OHKO moves even after it runs out of Sheer Cold/Fissure PP). Most rotation teams aren't exactly amazing against it (my strategy against it was "rotate to Mega Venusaur and use Giga Drain WAY more often than I would otherwise," though having Cloyster able to rotate in and survive a OHKO move with its Sash was also a useful back-up, and I could risk a Rock Blast if it was essential to do so), but just know how you'll plan to respond to it.

Good luck! I found Rotation battles really fun and exciting, so I hope you'll have the same experience.
 
Sub/Protect/Toxic/EQ Gliscor beats entire teams by itself. Seriously, you would be shocked at how many legendary Pokemon are just helpless against it. Switching in on Clefable's Poison weakness and MegaDos's Fighting, Electric, and Bug weaknesses is also amazing. The fact that neither of them lure in types that Gliscor hates (Water, Ice, special Fire moves) also helps.
Don't forget Klefki's Ground-type weakness!:D

I'd be a little worried about burns, because I don't think the odds of you successfully getting up a Safeguard AND a Light Screen (or Reflect, if it's Flare Blitz) against a team with powerful Fire-types are all that high (though I could be wrong; it depends on the moves the AI uses). Also, Infiltrator Chandelure completely ignores Safeguard (I learned that the hard way) while Flame Body Chandelure can burn Gyarados, so be careful around Chandelure. Gliscor stalls Chandelure to death (seriously, it's really easy to get up a Sub and use EQ against it), but you need to actually get Gliscor in first (and I NEVER switched in Gliscor if it might get hit by a secondary status effect or an Ice-move). You should be able to manage it, just be careful.
Yeah, when I think about Infiltrator, the first thing that comes to my mind is "bypasses subs!" and that's it, lol. But yeah, I'll (try to) be careful.

Watch out for Walrein 4 also; your sweepers take a while to beat it and even Gliscor isn't too good against it (Toxic just lets it Rest a few turns later, letting it use Sleep Talk to attack with OHKO moves even after it runs out of Sheer Cold/Fissure PP). Most rotation teams aren't exactly amazing against it (my strategy against it was "rotate to Mega Venusaur and use Giga Drain WAY more often than I would otherwise," though having Cloyster able to rotate in and survive a OHKO move with its Sash was also a useful back-up, and I could risk a Rock Blast if it was essential to do so), but just know how you'll plan to respond to it.
I could try to stall Walrein's OHKO moves by using substitute, and once it starts trying to Rest, I can start setting up with Clef/Gyara, but it's unreliable, specially in Rotations.

Good luck! I found Rotation battles really fun and exciting, so I hope you'll have the same experience.
I will!:D
Replies in bold. Thanks for the advice!:D
 
Hey man, like the team :) cool somebody actually did try to make Slaking work instead of just talking about it (which happens a lot). Too bad Medicham doesn't get Skill Swap lol. That said, I think some movesets could use some tweaking.

-You're totally right about swapping out Steel Wing for Protect on Talonflame. Steel Wing is mostly redundant coverage - Brave Bird and Flare Blitz achieve excellent neutral coverage together, only missing out on Rock-types, and you've got enough teammates that can deal with those. Protect is just a great move in general, so it'd definitely be an improvement. As for Roost, I find doubles/triples is usually too fast-paced for using recovery moves, so you could switch that one out for Taunt (to stop Trick Room users) or Tailwind (because Tailwind). Nevertheless, if you found it worked, I'd definitely keep it :)
Also, is there any reason you're running full speed on him? I find that you're usually clicking priority Brave Bird anyway, and Talon really likes some extra HP to take some more recoil, so if I were you I'd use enough speed to outpace Flare Blitz's fastest target (don't really know which one that is, but I haven't used Talon that much yet in the maison) and shove the rest into HP. As for the item, imo Shell Bell is mostly a wasted option on Talon because of his reliance on recoil moves. I prefer Sharp Beak for a little extra power, he appreciates that more than cutting down a little on the recoil.
-On Garchomp, I'd keep Protect. Even if you don't have to protect him from your own spread moves, he still attracts Ice-type moves like a magnet, so it's very good for drawing in those and finishing off your opponents with one of Garchomp's teammates. Every single pokemon in doubles appreciates Protect, if it's got room for it, which Garchomp absolutely does. You also might wanna consider Rock Slide over Swords Dance; I've used Garchomp a lot on my doubles run, and I never found I would've had time to set up an SD (for this reason setup moves are discouraged in general in doubles/triples btw). Rock Slide on the other hand was very useful for finishing off multiple opponents without having to use Earthquake and use Protect on my partner. Also, why do you run Outrage on him? In my experience, this is a rather horrible move in doubles, as you can't choose your target; I'd prefer Dragon Claw, it's much more reliable.
-On Greninja, I'd switch out Surf for Hydro Pump (or Scald if you prefer the accuracy), because it hits harder (well, one opponent, but Greninja doesn't hit /that/ hard and needs all the power it can get) and doesn't hit your teammates. I'd also make a list of dangerous Pokemon that outspeed Greninja; I've watched your replay, and your mistake was not to switch in Talonflame, it was to keep in Greninja. Accelgor always outspeeds and OHKOes Greninja, so if you had switched in Aegislash, you wouldn't have lost Greninja for no reason. Good call on always switching in Garchomp for Jolteon, but there are more dangerous opponents, such as Accelgor.
-If you didn't spend all your BP already ( :p ), you might wanna consider giving an Ability Capsule to Gardevoir. Your purpose with Skill Swap is just to get rid of Truant, not to give Slaking a specific good ability, (at least, that's how I read it), and Synchronise is way more reliable for this. (Plus, Synchronise allows Slaking to pull off the trollish Synchronise+Lum combo. Telepathy would have been the best option, but that would require a new Gardevoir). With Trace, you can pick up awful abilities such as Truant (as happened in your video) or Slow Start, and imo it's more important to prevent this than to hope for tracing Pure Power or so.

Anyway, unlike me you have used this team, so you know better than I do which of these suggestions are worth it and which are garbage :) Use whichever you like (I know some are rather subjective), and good luck on your second run!


Replies to the listing--
Will switch the Steel Wing on Talonflame for Protect. Still on the border with Roost, as 've used it more than a few times with good results. Shell bell's got to stay as well, since multiple KOs with recoil damage really add up. You're right, there's probably no need for uber-speed. Except for fast recovery/fire move...

-Love the idea of Rock Slide on Garchomp. Outrage is there as a desperation move, pretty much. Unless there are electric/steel opponents on the field, Garchomp rarely sees the light of day.

-Greninja's Suft compliments Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam.. When two of them overlap, whatever the opponent has in the center tends to end up dead. Good point about making a list of dangerous pokemon that outspeed him, though... Will have to start doing that.

-Telepathy's bloody brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? XD For what it's worth, Trace failed 2 times in 128 battles.. it's useful more times than not.

Thanks for the review, Mr. Dutch!


...
Urge to post the Maison Triples Super Froggie Team (TM) for review, rising. Rarely got over 40 in a row with that one, but it was fun as heck to use. (Greninja/Mantine /w water absorb/Politoed /w drizzle. Surf spam galore.)
 
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I'm not exactly good at Doubles (actually, I'm not good at Doubles at all), so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I would probably give Beartic Brick Break or Superpower for a stronger/more reliable hit against Tyranitar and Abomasnow. I'm concerned that your power move for your first two Pokemon is a 90% accuracy move, which comes out to a rather pathetic 81% accuracy against opponents with Lax Incense or Bright Powder. I'd also be worried about the fact that Tyranitar holds Focus Sash, meaning that, if you switch out Politoed so you can win the weather war, Tyranitar will survive Beartic's attack with 1 HP. Crit Rock Slide also OHKOs Gyarados, and Worker (Rock/Steel/Ground) teams are more likely to have Pokemon who have Rock Slide and are faster than Beartic under sand (Krookodile, Archeops, Aerodactyl, Sand Rush Excadrill, Marowak), which can lead to annoying flinches. Trick Room can also cause some problems, particularly from Slowbro, who easily survives double-targeting from your two leads.

Good luck!
In cases where Beartic is going to get flattened which in this case you mention weather, I usually have to decide whether to hard switch or sacrifice it to bring in Politoed once again as I would probably switch the frog for Gyarados to get off Intimidate which sometimes saves Beartic.

I will probably switch Aqua Jet for Brick Break as Superpower's stat drops I find a bit problematic. Shadow Claw has served me well against Pokes that want to set up Trick Room. Most of the time it's an OHKO.

Thanks for the tips. :)
 
The Mega Gardevoir-Slaking-Greninja lead setup looks fun enough to try myself, with some tweaks.

While putting Telepathy on Slaking is handy, one benefit Alakazam has in spite of its frailty is Inner Focus, which prevents lead Fake Out BS from preventing you from building momentum.

Unfortunately there are some pokes like Scarf Braviary that can come in and easily OHKO the Skill Swapper or Greninja before Mat Block can be thrown up. There are no magnets for Brave Bird within the leads, which also makes it quite difficult to guess which poke it'll target.

That's the main thing that makes the AI hard to predict at times: Choice Band/Specs users or especially hard-hitters target much more freely because they're often able to OHKO without targeting a weakness. Tyrantrum four in particular, as anyone who's encountered that behemoth regularly will tell you, will throw Head Smash at most things within range in triples, and will target a neutral opponent even while a 4x rock weakness is present, simply because the end result is the same for both. The list of pokes that withstand it is not a long one.

If Clawitzer was bulkier, it'd also be pretty nasty. Set 4 shrimpy holds Specs, and from using a LO variant on my Trick Room teams, it annihilates even bulky pokes with its excellent coverage and pseudo-STAB. I've had some difficulty predicting which move it'll choose; it doesn't help that Mega Launcher attacks can hit anywhere on the field.
 
The Mega Gardevoir-Slaking-Greninja lead setup looks fun enough to try myself, with some tweaks.

While putting Telepathy on Slaking is handy, one benefit Alakazam has in spite of its frailty is Inner Focus, which prevents lead Fake Out BS from preventing you from building momentum.

Unfortunately there are some pokes like Scarf Braviary that can come in and easily OHKO the Skill Swapper or Greninja before Mat Block can be thrown up. There are no magnets for Brave Bird within the leads, which also makes it quite difficult to guess which poke it'll target.
Good point, about Alakazam.. 'd still rather have Gardevoir for its typing, but to each their own!

As far as pokemon that outspeed Skill Swapper/Greninja, Slacking can usually take a physical hit or two, while the pokemon on either side of him are switched out for their more appropriate counterparts.
 
Hey guys, I need some advice on my Rotations team, I need a last member for a classic Screen+Sweepers team. This is the team:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Def / 212 HP / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Moonlight

Klefki (F) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Bold Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Safeguard
- Flash Cannon

Gyarados (M) @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 HP / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Return

I'm thinking about using Dragonite, or maybe a support/pivot pokemon... I'm not sure
Ok, so I started my Rotation Streak with the pokemon above and the following Gliscor:
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpD / 68 Spe(enough speed to make a sub before tyrantrum4 head smashes, then rest in special bulk)
Careful Nature
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Toxic
Fun fact: Gliscor's fully invested special defense with a boosting nature is lower than its uninvested defense.
 
I got hazed out of SuperMulti with ArtificialIntelligence on my second try after 72 successful battles.
But how exactly do I prove that? If I ask the girl it does show either the records or the category, never both...

Only missing SuperSingles to get all trophies... so much work.

Btw I will reserve a Moody Octillery (sub/protect/entrainment/scald) streak on singles for the lols whenever I have too much time :)
 
I just hit win 50 for the 2nd time and feel set for a deep run in Super Doubles. And I'm cleaning house, have only been threatened once. Maybe I can crack the list. Here's what I'm wielding:

Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SpA
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Perish Song
-Protect

Beartic @ Choice Band
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Def
-Icicle Crash
-Brick Break
-Rock Slide
-Shadow Claw

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate (Mold Breaker)
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 SpD
-Waterfall
-Ice Fang
-Earthquake
-Dragon Dance

Raikou @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Rash
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spd, 4 HP
-Thunder
-Weather Ball
-Aura Sphere
-Extremespeed

Basically, get the rain going and exploit it to win. Beartic bashes through many with a STAB Icicle Crash with a Choice Band plus can net KOs on other Pokes with her other moves. Just about everything she faces is either OHKOed or 2HKOed. With rain and Swift Swim, 9 times out of 10 she is the fastest Poke on the field.

Gyarados is usually my final win condition and I decide whether to Mega-Evolve or not depending on what's on the field. The Intimidate works nicely against physical threats.

Raikou is from a HG/SS event and is practically designed to function in the rain, let alone any weather with its Weather Ball move. Ground types can't beat Raikou unless they outrun it.

Edit: Took out Beartic's Aqua Jet and replaced with Brick Break upon advice from another person.
Run is still going and using the above team. At 74 wins now. Shit this is getting intense.
 
I haven't posted in a while as I've been focusing on VGC lately, but I've been playing the maison on and off (mostly while watching melee tournaments lol) and I managed to get a streak of 991 in Super Singles with the same Dragonite/Suicune/Kangaskhan team as before: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-maison-discussion-records.3492706/page-60#post-5358889



Pretty annoying to come so close to 1000, especially since I didn't play optimally in the battle I lost, but oh well.

Video: 4GJW-WWWW-WWW8-G3WE (Battle 992)

Veteran Jake (sets 1/2) leads Tornadus which demands an immediate Outrage because set 2 can be a huge asshole with Hurricane and Prankster Double Team/Substitute. After it goes down, Zapdos 1 comes out and I leave Nite in to get KO'd. At this point, I bring in Kangaskhan and make a slight misplay by using Fake Out instead of Return, forgetting about Static. Naturally I get full paralysis next turn and eat a Thunderbolt before getting off a Sucker Punch which falls just short of the KO, essentially sealing the loss.

As I implied, I should've just used Return immediately which is a OHKO on that Zapdos 75% of the time, but that still wouldn't have secured the win. I could still have "easily" lost by failing to OHKO and getting full paralysis the following turn. And even if I did get the OHKO, there are plenty of mon he could send out third that can kill a paralysed 50% HP Kang + fresh Suicune (such as Virizion), so I guess the streak was always going to end sometime.
 

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