A few days ago, I got curious to try out doubles so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone could offer any suggestions as to how to better improve my team.
SPLAART!!! (Raichu) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Brick Break
- Volt Tackle
- Fake Out
- Volt Switch
When I was looking into doubles at first, I thought it was a good idea to find any abilities that might give me an edge, and thus I ended up going with Raichu with Lightningrod. Since he gets Volt Tackle and it seems like his physical movepool is much better, I thought I'd make it a physical Raichu. Fake Out to come into my opponent and stall their turn while my other guy tries to do the job, Volt Switch just in case there's anything I can't handle so I can go out with some damage, and Brick Break for coverage. I've been considering switching the moveset around a bit, but I can't quite figure to what. I was thinking maybe take off Volt Switch for Knock Off, since there isn't much on my team that can handle threats like Chandelure or Dusknoir without brute forcing my way through their defenses. I was also considering of switching perhaps to just a special setup period. That way I could pair off with my Mega Aggron better, using T-Wave to boost up my special and also to compliment his physical moveset better with a special set for more coverage, as well as possibly using Thunder spam to death alongside Politoed. The Balloon is there in order to pair off better with Gastrodon and Mega Aggron. I noticed I kept wanting to use Earthquake in a lot of situations, but I wasn't able to because Raichu just wasn't going to be able to take the hit without going down. Ever since, I've been finding a lot more success as long as I can outspeed the opponent and more or less OHKO them, or bring out a more important threat that'll distract them long enough that I can get that Earthquake off without popping my balloon. Either way, Raichu has been my favorite on the team so far. I've found he's vastly underrated and out of everyone, he's the one I'd like to do the most possible to keep around on my team.
SureWynaut? (Tornadus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Grass Knot
- Tailwind
- Sludge Wave
When picking a second pokemon, I tried thinking of another one that could benefit me in doubles. Eventually after some thought, I found that Tornadus got Tailwind. Looking further into it, I saw it has Prankster, so it seemed like a natural choice to include. Using Tailwind, I can make sure that nothing ever outspeeds Raichu ever, and I could give the rest of my somewhat slow team a bit more of an edge. Sludge Wave lets me pair off with Mega Aggron better and it helps me hit fairies for super effective damage and finish anything that my Aggron couldn't off. Grass Knot for water types, and Air Slash for a STAB move. I've been thinking of replacing Air Slash with something else, but I'm still working on that. Preferably something that won't miss on me all the damned time.
Uhhhhhh... (Aggron) @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Slide
- Heavy Slam
Mega Aggron seemed like a natural choice to put in this slot. With access to Rock Slide and Earthquake, and being part Steel to play off Tornadus's Sludge Wave, he seemed like a good choice. With an attacker and a special attacker out of the way, having someone also with some damn ass defenses seemed like it'd also be a good idea. Heavy Slam is for coverage as well as some nasty STAB and overall, he's a good pokemon on this team. It specifically works pretty well with Raichu where I like to start off with this pair a lot when first starting the battle.
MoreLikeOopsy (Uxie) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
When coming up with this choice, I just don't think I knew what I was going for. I thought having dual screens on my team was a pretty great idea, but aside from that, Uxie just doesn't do much for it. I'm still not exactly sure what I could be running on this spot, but the screens have been pretty useful to me in the past, albeit really situational for me to pull it off. I can't really KO much with it since it has a bleh special attack, and Thunder Wave doesn't do as much as I thought it would on this team. The levitate does help out when choosing what to pair up with, but I just don't really know what to do with it. If anything on my team would need some fixing, it'd be Uxie. It just doesn't do much honestly. I was thinking of replacing T-Wave with Toxic or WoW, given that I could at least stall out my opponent to death with it, but then again, I don't think Uxie gets a recovery move, so I can't just wait for it to take effect unless I'm doing stuff with my other members as well to back it up.
NotSwampert (Gastrodon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Recover
When looking at other abilities that might be of use, I saw that Storm Drain was one of them. I looked at a list of pokemon with Storm Drain, and Gastrodon seemed the most capable of the bunch to pull it off. With Politoed, I just spam Surf to boost up its special, and then scald, or Ice Beam depending on the pokemon, to finish it off with a heightened special attack. With Recover, I do a decent job of walling out the opponent as well. After Aggron and Raichu, Politoed and Gastrodon seem to be the next pair that do the best in regards to finishing other pokemon off.
NotBrokenAnymore (Politoed) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Icy Wind
- Helping Hand
- Protect
Finally, Politoed got put on the team after thinking of something decent I could use that would pair up well with Gastrodon. The Drizzle is just there, mostly underutilized honestly. I feel like I could shuffle my team a bit to benefit from it some more, mostly Raichu, but I don't know. Icy Wind helps me slow down threats that are much faster than me and Helping Hand is there in case I just need that extra oomph in taking down the enemy. Protect is protect and shit.
Please help me out. I'm afraid any other changes I make to my team might fuck it up and such and I'd love the assistance.
SPLAART!!! (Raichu) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Brick Break
- Volt Tackle
- Fake Out
- Volt Switch
When I was looking into doubles at first, I thought it was a good idea to find any abilities that might give me an edge, and thus I ended up going with Raichu with Lightningrod. Since he gets Volt Tackle and it seems like his physical movepool is much better, I thought I'd make it a physical Raichu. Fake Out to come into my opponent and stall their turn while my other guy tries to do the job, Volt Switch just in case there's anything I can't handle so I can go out with some damage, and Brick Break for coverage. I've been considering switching the moveset around a bit, but I can't quite figure to what. I was thinking maybe take off Volt Switch for Knock Off, since there isn't much on my team that can handle threats like Chandelure or Dusknoir without brute forcing my way through their defenses. I was also considering of switching perhaps to just a special setup period. That way I could pair off with my Mega Aggron better, using T-Wave to boost up my special and also to compliment his physical moveset better with a special set for more coverage, as well as possibly using Thunder spam to death alongside Politoed. The Balloon is there in order to pair off better with Gastrodon and Mega Aggron. I noticed I kept wanting to use Earthquake in a lot of situations, but I wasn't able to because Raichu just wasn't going to be able to take the hit without going down. Ever since, I've been finding a lot more success as long as I can outspeed the opponent and more or less OHKO them, or bring out a more important threat that'll distract them long enough that I can get that Earthquake off without popping my balloon. Either way, Raichu has been my favorite on the team so far. I've found he's vastly underrated and out of everyone, he's the one I'd like to do the most possible to keep around on my team.
SureWynaut? (Tornadus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Grass Knot
- Tailwind
- Sludge Wave
When picking a second pokemon, I tried thinking of another one that could benefit me in doubles. Eventually after some thought, I found that Tornadus got Tailwind. Looking further into it, I saw it has Prankster, so it seemed like a natural choice to include. Using Tailwind, I can make sure that nothing ever outspeeds Raichu ever, and I could give the rest of my somewhat slow team a bit more of an edge. Sludge Wave lets me pair off with Mega Aggron better and it helps me hit fairies for super effective damage and finish anything that my Aggron couldn't off. Grass Knot for water types, and Air Slash for a STAB move. I've been thinking of replacing Air Slash with something else, but I'm still working on that. Preferably something that won't miss on me all the damned time.
Uhhhhhh... (Aggron) @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Slide
- Heavy Slam
Mega Aggron seemed like a natural choice to put in this slot. With access to Rock Slide and Earthquake, and being part Steel to play off Tornadus's Sludge Wave, he seemed like a good choice. With an attacker and a special attacker out of the way, having someone also with some damn ass defenses seemed like it'd also be a good idea. Heavy Slam is for coverage as well as some nasty STAB and overall, he's a good pokemon on this team. It specifically works pretty well with Raichu where I like to start off with this pair a lot when first starting the battle.
MoreLikeOopsy (Uxie) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
When coming up with this choice, I just don't think I knew what I was going for. I thought having dual screens on my team was a pretty great idea, but aside from that, Uxie just doesn't do much for it. I'm still not exactly sure what I could be running on this spot, but the screens have been pretty useful to me in the past, albeit really situational for me to pull it off. I can't really KO much with it since it has a bleh special attack, and Thunder Wave doesn't do as much as I thought it would on this team. The levitate does help out when choosing what to pair up with, but I just don't really know what to do with it. If anything on my team would need some fixing, it'd be Uxie. It just doesn't do much honestly. I was thinking of replacing T-Wave with Toxic or WoW, given that I could at least stall out my opponent to death with it, but then again, I don't think Uxie gets a recovery move, so I can't just wait for it to take effect unless I'm doing stuff with my other members as well to back it up.
NotSwampert (Gastrodon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Recover
When looking at other abilities that might be of use, I saw that Storm Drain was one of them. I looked at a list of pokemon with Storm Drain, and Gastrodon seemed the most capable of the bunch to pull it off. With Politoed, I just spam Surf to boost up its special, and then scald, or Ice Beam depending on the pokemon, to finish it off with a heightened special attack. With Recover, I do a decent job of walling out the opponent as well. After Aggron and Raichu, Politoed and Gastrodon seem to be the next pair that do the best in regards to finishing other pokemon off.
NotBrokenAnymore (Politoed) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Icy Wind
- Helping Hand
- Protect
Finally, Politoed got put on the team after thinking of something decent I could use that would pair up well with Gastrodon. The Drizzle is just there, mostly underutilized honestly. I feel like I could shuffle my team a bit to benefit from it some more, mostly Raichu, but I don't know. Icy Wind helps me slow down threats that are much faster than me and Helping Hand is there in case I just need that extra oomph in taking down the enemy. Protect is protect and shit.
Please help me out. I'm afraid any other changes I make to my team might fuck it up and such and I'd love the assistance.
