Battle Spot Teambuilding Discussion & Help Thread (read post #453, page 19)

[Mooglegamer]

Well I've been trying singles and doubles for the most part. The whole mixed attacker thing is just a habit of mine. I'll usually have two or three physical attacks and one special attack in case I run up on a poke with lower special defense. This is the first time I've even given status and weather effects any time of day, since I usually focus more on killing my opponents.

For Dragonite I chose him mostly since I get a Dragonite in every region. I gave him thunder to take advantage of the rain and earthquake to deal with electric types. As far as giving him inner focus I've always had it when I got one, so I wasn't going to change now, but a bulkier Dragonite sounds better.
Blastoise was there to setup rain and if needed deal with any fire, rock, etc types that may show up.
Fortress, Ludicolo, and Sableye are my annoyers or so I had hoped. Half of the time they just dieing before I can set anything up.
Talonflame was there since I kept seeing it's name so often so I figured lemme try using him too.
I might end up replacing Fortress with Mawile since i just got one in y and I'm liking it more.

 

[freekhoorn]

Most people just switch out to a physical attacker if the opponent is a special tank and to a special attacker if the opponent has a higher defense. That one turn you lose with switching can be won back if you self force the opponent to switch or just by ko-ing the opponent with a kind of move (physical or special) that uses the higher base stat -and ev's- of your pokemon.

Talonflame his moves has to be altered, you wont need quick attack if you change the ability to gale wings cause all flying moves then have priority already, you wont need aerial ace cause you already have brave bird, and i would get rid of substitute too, especially if you dont have recovery, plus you dont have a fire stab move on it, so i should go for flare blitz.

I suggest the strategydex for you http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/. The best analyses and sets for pokemon in the xy metagame are in here, altough it is from pokemon showdown, but most things are the same tough.

 

[EnGarde]

Well I've been trying singles and doubles for the most part. The whole mixed attacker thing is just a habit of mine. I'll usually have two or three physical attacks and one special attack in case I run up on a poke with lower special defense. This is the first time I've even given status and weather effects any time of day, since I usually focus more on killing my opponents.

For Dragonite I chose him mostly since I get a Dragonite in every region. I gave him thunder to take advantage of the rain and earthquake to deal with electric types. As far as giving him inner focus I've always had it when I got one, so I wasn't going to change now, but a bulkier Dragonite sounds better.
Blastoise was there to setup rain and if needed deal with any fire, rock, etc types that may show up.
Fortress, Ludicolo, and Sableye are my annoyers or so I had hoped. Half of the time they just dieing before I can set anything up.
Talonflame was there since I kept seeing it's name so often so I figured lemme try using him too.
I might end up replacing Fortress with Mawile since i just got one in y and I'm liking it more.

If you want to set up rain, use politoed. Its HA (that's hidden ability, you'd need to catch one in a friend safari or trade for one to get it) is drizzle, which sets up the rain as soon as the pokemon is switched in. Makes it MUCH easier to set up.

Competitive dragonite needs multiscale. Pretty much mandatory to be good. Special attacking dragonite is viable, especially on a rain team. I'd recommend thunder, hurricane (100% accurate in the rain, and gets STAB, the Same Type Attack Bonus), draco meteor/dragon pulse, and some coverage move (singles) / protect (doubles). And change nature to modest.

Mega mawile is a MUCH better option over forretress. Make sure you only use physical attacking moves on it, like play rough, iron head, and most important, sucker punch. Sucker punch has priority, though it requires a bit of prediction, since it won't work if your opponent uses a status move (like will-o-wisp).

Give ludicolo scald or hydro pump over double-edge. It gets STAB and is boosted by the rain. Nature should be modest or timid.

Looking over your team, I just realized your talonflame had choice scarf and substitute. -.- Choice items (choice scarf, choice band, and choice specs) give one of your stats a boost (scarf = speed, band = attack, specs = special attack), but in exchange, it locks you into picking a single move. If you lock yourself into substitute, you can't use anything else, so you essentially cripple your talonflame. If you want to use a choice item (choice band on a gale wings talonflame is a good option), make sure the pokemon has 4 good moves to use with it.

I'd recommend brave bird, flare blitz, u-turn (this lets you hit the opponent and switch talonflame out in the same turn, what we call switch initiative, and is very useful to scout what your opponent is going to do), and will-o-wisp. The last move isn't an attack, which might seem strange at first, but talonflame doesn't have many good attacking options, and if you really have talonflame in against a bad match-up, at least you can burn it and get residual damage. You could also use life orb as well.

Lastly, your sableye should have recover over pain split. Recover is much more reliable, especially with prankster priority, and you'll be quickly lowering your opponent's HP stat with swagger and foul play (often abbreviated swagplay).

Hope this helps, and good luck! :)

 

[Mooglegamer]

Most people just switch out to a physical attacker if the opponent is a special tank and to a special attacker if the opponent has a higher defense. That one turn you lose with switching can be won back if you self force the opponent to switch or just by ko-ing the opponent with a kind of move (physical or special) that uses the higher base stat -and ev's- of your pokemon.

Talonflame his moves has to be altered, you wont need quick attack if you change the ability to gale wings cause all flying moves then have priority already, you wont need aerial ace cause you already have brave bird, and i would get rid of substitute too, especially if you dont have recovery, plus you dont have a fire stab move on it, so i should go for flare blitz.

I suggest the strategydex for you http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/. The best analyses and sets for pokemon in the xy metagame are in here, altough it is from pokemon showdown, but most things are the same tough.

If you want to set up rain, use politoed. Its HA (that's hidden ability, you'd need to catch one in a friend safari or trade for one to get it) is drizzle, which sets up the rain as soon as the pokemon is switched in. Makes it MUCH easier to set up.

Competitive dragonite needs multiscale. Pretty much mandatory to be good. Special attacking dragonite is viable, especially on a rain team. I'd recommend thunder, hurricane (100% accurate in the rain, and gets STAB, the Same Type Attack Bonus), draco meteor/dragon pulse, and some coverage move (singles) / protect (doubles). And change nature to modest.

Mega mawile is a MUCH better option over forretress. Make sure you only use physical attacking moves on it, like play rough, iron head, and most important, sucker punch. Sucker punch has priority, though it requires a bit of prediction, since it won't work if your opponent uses a status move (like will-o-wisp).

Give ludicolo scald or hydro pump over double-edge. It gets STAB and is boosted by the rain. Nature should be modest or timid.

Looking over your team, I just realized your talonflame had choice scarf and substitute. -.- Choice items (choice scarf, choice band, and choice specs) give one of your stats a boost (scarf = speed, band = attack, specs = special attack), but in exchange, it locks you into picking a single move. If you lock yourself into substitute, you can't use anything else, so you essentially cripple your talonflame. If you want to use a choice item (choice band on a gale wings talonflame is a good option), make sure the pokemon has 4 good moves to use with it.

I'd recommend brave bird, flare blitz, u-turn (this lets you hit the opponent and switch talonflame out in the same turn, what we call switch initiative, and is very useful to scout what your opponent is going to do), and will-o-wisp. The last move isn't an attack, which might seem strange at first, but talonflame doesn't have many good attacking options, and if you really have talonflame in against a bad match-up, at least you can burn it and get residual damage. You could also use life orb as well.

Lastly, your sableye should have recover over pain split. Recover is much more reliable, especially with prankster priority, and you'll be quickly lowering your opponent's HP stat with swagger and foul play (often abbreviated swagplay).

Hope this helps, and good luck! :)

Thanks for the help, I'll put that dex to use. I was actually locked into substitute in my last battle so I find it hilarious that it was just mentioned here. Since I'm using PS as a testing ground, how do I make the jump onto X/Y? I have access to most of the pokes on that team, and a basic understanding of how to EV train them (still making my runs through the battle Maison right now) but everything after that is weird. I should probably ask this in a different section of the forum so I'll just repost the question part in the appropriate area.

EDIT: link to the question
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/have-a-question-ask-it-here-read-the-first-post.3473806/

 

[shady6121]

I have a Charizard question.

I was dicking around breeding some offbeat natured charizards last night... and ended up breeding a 6IV Mild Charizard. Kiiiiinda wish that was Modest. Does anyone have any opinions on what I could do with him? Just pretend like he's modest, ignore the defense drop (Char-Y's defense isn't so great anyway), and use him as a special wallbreaker with EQ for coverage? Or try a mixed physical Char-Y build? It also has Outrage and Dragon Dance bred onto it, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

You'd probably be better off running Mega Charizard X for Mild nature with the following Moveset imo:

Earthquake/Dragon Claw/Outrage
Fire Blast/Flamethrower
Substitute
Dragon Dance

 

[EnGarde]

Thanks for the help, I'll put that dex to use. I was actually locked into substitute in my last battle so I find it hilarious that it was just mentioned here. Since I'm using PS as a testing ground, how do I make the jump onto X/Y? I have access to most of the pokes on that team, and a basic understanding of how to EV train them (still making my runs through the battle Maison right now) but everything after that is weird. I should probably ask this in a different section of the forum so I'll just repost the question part in the appropriate area.

Generally, if you have a random question about battle spot, the best place to ask is in the battle spot SQ/SA thread. You can find it stickied at the top of the forum, or you can follow the link here.

If you need help getting battle ready versions of your team, I have many--but not all--of the pokemon you were using in my battle spot distribution. I'll give you a clone of the pokemon you need for free. I just ask that you use it for battling, and not as trade fodder. Using it for breeding is also okay, too. :) You can follow the link in my sig to the first page, where the pokemon are listed on the first post. Don't worry about the post count rule, I'm inviting you to ask for pokemon, so feel free to ask for ones you think will work well on your team.

To get the others, you first need to make sure you can get the pokemon with the correct ability. This is especially important for the HA (hidden ability) pokemon, like dragonite. If you don't have a friend safari with it, ask for help getting the pokemon in the Wifi SQ/SR thread here. Most likely, people will trade you a spitback: a pokemon with a good nature and some egg moves, but imperfect stats. You'll need to breed it up from there. The easiest way to breed it up is using an everstone and destiny knot, with a 6IV ditto. Need a 6IV ditto? Ask mostthe3rd. He's doing a giveaway of them. Make sure you follow the rules listed here.

Lastly, to actually battle online, you need to make sure you have an account on this website. This is the official pokemon global link (PGL) website, and having an account here will allow you to compete in rated battles on battle spot, as well as online competitions, such as the upcoming Fairy Face Off.

After that, you just connect to the internet in-game, click on the blue folder icon on the PSS screen, then click on battle spot. To play a normal rated battle, click on the top icon, "Random Matchup". Then click on "Rating Battle". You will be asked a few questions. Just follow the dialogues until you get to the point where you can choose which format to compete in. Choose which format you want (i.e. "Single" or "Double"), and, if you have pokemon in your battle box, choose which (battle box or in party) you want to battle with.

After that, the in-game matchmaker will match you with a player from around the world, and you are locked in. DON'T DISCONNECT. From this point until the next battle spot dialogue, you're locked into the match, and it is VERY bad etiquette to disconnect at any time during this point. If you need to end a match early, click the "run" button to forfeit the match. If you disconnect early--rage quit--the match will still count as a loss for you.

Good luck!

 

[Mooglegamer]

Gotta go catch some bunnelby and I'll send message when done.

 

[EnGarde]

Gotta go catch some bunnelby and I'll send message when done.

Hey, if you need more than 1 pokemon, list them all please so I can batch clone any I might need to. Since I'm around right now, we can do a direct trade (GTS trades are best for when I'm not around). I'm guessing talonflame for sure; any others? :)

EDIT: Also, make sure to request pokemon in the distribution thread (link in sig), and not here. We don't want to fill this thread up with off-topic discussion. (Took me a second to realize where we were, lol).

 

[daisuki.]

i ended up getting my togetic to evolve to togekiss. since it's a careful nature and it had serene grace i don't know what do with it's attack spread. I was also considering to use a life orb or end up keeping it with leftovers.

togekiss @ leftovers
ability: serene grace
EVS: yeah. i need to learn how to this. D:
careful nature

- aura sphere
- aerial ace
- dazzling gleam
- flamethrower

and my in a whole team for the fairy competition is a work in progress while i work on evolving a bunch of them pokemon and breeding/leveling them up
god. please don't mind my noob questions. first time asking about good attack spreads.

 

[Campaign]

i ended up getting my togetic to evolve to togekiss. since it's a careful nature and it had serene grace i don't know what do with it's attack spread. I was also considering to use a life orb or end up keeping it with leftovers.

togekiss @ leftovers
ability: serene grace
EVS: yeah. i need to learn how to this. D:
careful nature
- aura sphere
- aerial ace
- dazzling gleam
- flamethrower

Since it's careful natured, you probably don't want to be running it as a Sp. Attacker (+sp def, -sp atk). Though you could, it just wouldn't be as efficient as if you were to re-breed a modest one. Careful nature itself isn't too bad for Togekiss as he is usually run as more of a utility pokemon and can be a pretty sweet special tank, benefiting from the nature.

For singles you'll want 248 HP / 8 SpA and then either 252 SpD or Def, depending on how you plan to use him. As for skills, it's generally all about control and coverage. For singles, drop Arerial Ace and FlameThrower and pick up T-Wave and Air Slash because it's OP as hell. Alternatively, although less common, you can give him Weakness Policy and eat a Thunderbolt or Stone edge (depending on what type of tank you make it) and then have plenty of damage to return.

For doubles and triples, Togekiss does an amazing job of playing support. 192 EV points into Def will allow you to survive life orb Iron Head from Bisharp, who is basically everywhere due to defiance, the rest of the points into HP followed by SpD. Safety Goggles are good as there's often a spore user in the opening 3 and weather effects are common. For moveset, Follow Me will allow your damage dealers to wreak havoc, Air slash / TWave are useful as always to flinch/para-hax your opponents and you then have the choice between Tailwind / Helping Hand / Protect or Roost and which you take really depends on the rest of your team. If you choose to go more aggressive, dazzling gleam will hit multiple targets.

 

[OrbitingDeath]

Not sure if it should go here or in the questions thread, but as someone who wants to try out Battle Spot soon, it seemed fun to not immediatly grab all the 'usual' stuff (also probably because my current amount of properly breed pokemon is still low) I was thinking of using a Friend Guard Wigglytuff for the triples (or maybe even doubles) format.

I currently have a modest lvl 1 igglybuff though, so I could still mold it in terms of builds. But I'm not sure on how to use it and what nice teammates would be. Kinda oblivious to where I should start. What moveset would you go for it and should I be looking for any specific partners for her?

 

[ethan06]

I just looked it up on Bulbapedia and apparently, when Jigglypuff evolves into Wigglytuff, Friend Guard changes into Frisk... not ideal :/ tbh, I'd try to get one with Competitive, as it punishes Intimidators and can really put the boost to good use with it's wide special movepool and convenient STABs. Here's Ray Rizzo's Wigglytuff set that he used at the VGC Regionals in Massachusetts:

Wigglytuff @ Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 4 HP / 188 Def / 236 SAtk / 12 SDef / 68 Spd
Modest Nature
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hyper Beam

The Speed EVs let it outspeed my Virginia Mawile, and the Special Attack EVs let it OHKO my Virginia Ferrothorn (252 HP/52 Sp. Def) with Fire Blast at +0, my Virginia Mawile (252 HP/180+ Sp. Def) with Fire Blast at +2, and Salamence/Garchomp with Dazzling Gleam at +2.

(link)

Give this a shot with some physical attackers in tow that don't appreciate Intimidate and you're golden. Pairing a Fairy-type like this with a Steel-type and a Dragon-type makes for some powerful offensive and defensive synergy (the so-called Dragon-Fairy-Steel "Fantasy" core), so putting this Wigglytuff in a team with Garchomp/Salamence/Hydreigon and Aegislash/Heatran/Mawile/other Steel will most likely yield good results. In any case, experiment and find what works well for you. Hope I helped out a bit ^_^

 

[OrbitingDeath]

Definitely, it's a shame the ability will change indeed, but can always give it a shot to rebreed it later. Already working on a mixed set Aegislash as well, so just a good Dragon to go with it, sounds like fun to try.

 

[EnGarde]

Definitely, it's a shame the ability will change indeed, but can always give it a shot to rebreed it later. Already working on a mixed set Aegislash as well, so just a good Dragon to go with it, sounds like fun to try.

Which format are you going for? Singles? Doubles? Garchomp is a great dragon that appreciates something to scare intimidators away, and can punish physical attackers with rough skin. Salamence is great because it can pack intimidate as well, bringing added utility to your team. Salamence prefers being fully special in doubles, as it gets fantastic coverage options, and draco meteor is preferred over outrage. Outrage is a very risky proposition in doubles, as it strikes the opponent's pokemon at random.

However, I hesitate to recommend pursuing wigglytuff. When Ray Rizzo won with it, it was an unknown, and the surprise factor helped it pull its weight. Now that it is no longer unknown, I think you'll find it much less effective. A couple of good options to keep in reserve are azumarill, mega mawile, togekiss, or gardevoir.

 

[OrbitingDeath]

Not sure yet about which format I will enjoy most, in past generations I have only fought singles (but not very succesfull), I tend to overpredict a lot; I just never knew when to stop. Usually it went like this:

- He will probably think I'm retreating for a counter, so he will put up a counter for that counter (and that until infinity). Needless to say that never worked out well for me. So I'm just giving this a casual try first.


Might have to skip out on Wigglytuff then, even though I like to play with unusual suspects. I loved leading with my Jumpluff in D/P, even though it was against less experienced battlers. They usually declared me insane for going for such a weak pokemon. As for the second part of your suggestion. Azumarill is definitely one my favourites, so thinking of running one with Aqua Jet, Knock Off, Play Rough and probably Waterfall, but currently still have Ice Punch packed on it. Also have the parent's to go for a Belly Drumming one for variation, but never too sure how to pull that off safely.

It's going to be interesting to see what will work for me, I'm just glad I already start getting some decently breed and trained Pokémon to get started with battles soon. Probably won't get a really high rating, but it's for fun anyway right :)

 

[The Chaotician]

Hi everyone. I've never done anything like this before (post an RMT) but I've really gotten into this metagame and my team needs a couple of tweaks and removal of slashitis. I was really trying to force both M Kangaskhan and M Gengar on the same team to be really lame but couldn't get them to gel. In the end this is what I came up with, I tried to focus on resistances across combinations of any three pokemon - team designed for singles. Just going to throw out there that yakkun.com/xy/theory/ is a fantastic resource and I drew influence from it as much as possible. So here we go:

Gengar @ Gengarite
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Levitate (Shadow Tag)
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Def
Ability: Huge Power
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Ability: Trace
Bold Nature
- Ice Beam
- Foul Play
- Recover
- Thunder Wave/Toxic/Thunderbolt

Scizor @ Scizorite
236 HP / 52 Atk / 52 Def / 76 SpD / 92 Spe
Ability: Technician
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn/Knock Off/Superpower
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Thundurus-Incarnate @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Prankster
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

Garchomp @ Focus Sash/Choice Band/Choice Scarf
?? HP / ?? Atk / ?? Spe
Ability: Rough Skin
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb/Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Fire Fang/Poison Jab/Dual Chop

 

[EnGarde]

Not sure yet about which format I will enjoy most, in past generations I have only fought singles (but not very succesfull), I tend to overpredict a lot; I just never knew when to stop. Usually it went like this:

- He will probably think I'm retreating for a counter, so he will put up a counter for that counter (and that until infinity). Needless to say that never worked out well for me. So I'm just giving this a casual try first.

Hey, if you want some friendly critique to help you get better at battling, post some matches in the vid discussion thread. I watch every match posted there, and I'll leave some comments if you do. :)

---

Ghost_V2 I don't have time for a full post right now, but your team looks pretty solid. For Garchomp, the standard set really is the best:

Garchomp @ Focus Sash/Choice Scarf/Lum Berry
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Ability: Rough Skin
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Swords Dance/Poison Jab/Dual Chop/Iron Head

That speed investment is crucial, since garchomp really enjoys being able to naturally outspeed all the base 100's. Even if you choose a choice scarf, garchomp is #1 in singles PGL usage ranking, so being able to speed-tie mirror garchomp is also useful. Lum berry is also useful to temporarily stop shenanigans, including sleep, burn, and confusion.

Another great resource is http://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/battle which is the live usage statistics of battle spot. The top 12 of each format is listed, but if you want a more in-depth look on another pokemon, click the "choose a pokemon" button.

Also, 12% of garchomp are carrying stealth rock on battle spot. O.O

 

[The Chaotician]

Thanks for the quick critique EnGarde. If you get a chance I'd really appreciate a full rate.

Your comments are along the same lines as my thought process in putting this team together. I really wanted to avoid (potentially) three set up pokemon - hence my decision to avoid belly drum on Azumarill and look at viable alternatives on Garchomp. I particularly liked your reasoning regarding speed. I've often seen Adamant as the advocated nature for scarf sets.

Thanks again for your time :)

 

[EnGarde]

Thanks for the quick critique EnGarde. If you get a chance I'd really appreciate a full rate.

Your comments are along the same lines as my thought process in putting this team together. I really wanted to avoid (potentially) three set up pokemon - hence my decision to avoid belly drum on Azumarill and look at viable alternatives on Garchomp. I particularly liked your reasoning regarding speed. I've often seen Adamant as the advocated nature for scarf sets.

Thanks again for your time :)

*blush* :D

I'm less skilled at singles than I am at other formats, so I'll also tag MythTrainerInfinity and Erebyssial, who might be able to give you better advice.

 

[Pyritie]

I've often seen Adamant as the advocated nature for scarf sets.

One big advantage jolly scarfchomp has over adamant is to still be able to outspeed +1 base 100s. The most notable of these is dragon dance mega charizard X. If dealing with that isn't an issue for your team, adamant still lets you outspeed a ton of things and gives you some extra power too.

 

[ethan06]

Okay, here's my finalised Season 6 team. I'm tearing my hair out over the singles ladder again but at least this time my team isn't so bad that I'm immediately tanking.

Rotom-H @ Sitrus Berry
Calm
Levitate
252 HP/252 Sp. Atk/4 Sp. Def
-Volt Switch
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Will-o-Wisp

I have missed about five separate Will-o-Wisps in seven matches. Other than that, this is my Talonflame/Manectric check. I rely on this thing to take Fire moves and random Will-o-Wisps, which is probably bad...

Landorus-T @ Assault Vest
Jolly
Intimidate
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-U-Turn
-Superpower

A magnificent glue Pokémon, Landorus can soak up some impressive hits and retaliate hard. Jolly nature and Superpower are very subpar however (although 4+ Speed gets the jump on Adamant base 70s iirc), and I find that against certain things it can't always hit hard enough. Also a massive burn magnet.

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Jolly
Hyper Cutter -> Aerilate
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 Def
-Return
-Quick Attack
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake

Classic cookie-cutter Mega Pinsir. I needed a mega evolution that could beat Mega Venusaur with relative ease, and this is what I came up with. It's not as great as I'd hoped so far, as it leaves me very open to Porygon2 (unlike my previous experiment in this slot, Mega Medicham - I may swap it back in as a test). It hits incredibly hard even unboosted on practically everything else though.

Greninja @ Focus Sash
Timid
Protean
252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Extrasensory
-U-Turn

Such an incredibly clutch Pokémon. Greninja has saved me from many endgame situations just by virtue of it's Focus Sash. It has coverage issues (I'm thinking of dropping U-Turn for something like Dark Pulse) and it can't be switched in on anything thanks to the massive importance of preserving the Sash. When it works, it shines.

Aegislash @ Air Balloon
Quiet
Stance Change
252 HP/252 Sp. Atk/4 Def
-King's Shield
-Substitute
-Shadow Ball
-Flash Cannon

The least broken Pokémon in the game makes an appearance on my team as my first Mega Kang check. With Air Balloon, it can completely wall EQ Kangaskhan and stall it out of Sucker Punches with Substitute and King's Shield. It also beats Fairies and oddball Psychics like Gardevoir. However, it's difficult to use - whether I play predictably or unpredictably, my opponents always seem to come out on top no matter what I do, and I often find myself in a disadvantageous position after attempting to use King's Shield or an attacking move at the wrong time. I also become very vulnerable to Garchomp and friends once my Air Balloon is gone, which makes me leery of switching it in on even weaker attacks and using it to it's full defensive potential.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Brave
Iron Barbs
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Gyro Ball
-Protect

Another very useful Pokémon and my secondary answer to Mega Kangaskhan. It's an excellent multi-purpose offensive tank that gets used in almost every game, however it's stopped cold by several common Pokémon and makes my team very Fire weak.

Threats to my team overall include:

Gyarados - Rotom would be fantastic against this if not for the Water weakness (I refuse to use Wash form because I dislike it a lot c: ). Usually I have to rely on Ferrothorn or Aegislash to deal chip damage to it as everything else either fears it's attacks or just can't scratch it.

Rotom-W - The original aidsmon itself poses a big threat to my team as well. Pretty much everything fears it's STABs except for Ferrothorn which is crippled by a burn.

Heatran - Far less common on the cartridge ladder than on Showdown but it still tears chunks out of my team. It can easily set up some lethal mindgames when put against Ferrothorn and Aegislash or just outright kill them, thereby knocking out a defensive pillar in my team that is keeping something else from sweeping me. It's a massive nuisance and one that I would very much like to fix...

Porygon2 - I hate this Pokémon with a passion that burns like lava. My best bet is normally to get a burn off on it with Rotom and attempt to whittle it down, but may god save my soul if I decided to bring Greninja that match. Landorus' Superpower is disappointingly weak, failing to 2HKO a majority of the time, and really fears the Ice Beam. A true nightmare, and I need to run either a strong Fighting-type or a Toxic user (or both) to have any chance of breaking it.

 

[BWong]

Hi everyone. I've never done anything like this before (post an RMT) but I've really gotten into this metagame and my team needs a couple of tweaks and removal of slashitis. I was really trying to force both M Kangaskhan and M Gengar on the same team to be really lame but couldn't get them to gel. In the end this is what I came up with, I tried to focus on resistances across combinations of any three pokemon - team designed for singles. Just going to throw out there that yakkun.com/xy/theory/ is a fantastic resource and I drew influence from it as much as possible. So here we go:

Gengar @ Gengarite
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Levitate (Shadow Tag)
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Def
Ability: Huge Power
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
244 HP / 12 Def / 252 Spe
Ability: Trace
Bold Nature
- Ice Beam
- Foul Play
- Recover
- Thunder Wave/Toxic/Thunderbolt

Scizor @ Scizorite
236 HP / 52 Atk / 52 Def / 76 SpD / 92 Spe
Ability: Technician
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn/Knock Off/Superpower
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Thundurus-Incarnate @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Prankster
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

Garchomp @ Focus Sash/Choice Band/Choice Scarf
?? HP / ?? Atk / ?? Spe
Ability: Rough Skin
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb/Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Swords Dance/Fire Fang/Poison Jab/Dual Chop

Trying to type this on my phone while on vacation so please ignore the formatting and typos. Your Gengar set looks good, that's a pretty common set. Why are you running impish over an attack boosting nature on Azumarill? Also what is that defensive EV spread meant to counter? Your Porygon2 has a bold nature but so few defense EVs? I suggest use thunder wave ovee the other options as your team benefits more from slowing down the opponent than from stalling with toxic. Care to explain that crazy Scizor EV spread? I use the same Thunderus and I have a lot more success with life orb than with focus sash. Garchomp absolutely has to be jolly and use 252 speed unless you are making a defensive Garchomp. I'm a fan of outrage, rock tomb, earthquake, and poison jab with a scarf, but that's all up to you.

 

[EnGarde]

Trying to type this on my phone while on vacation so please ignore the formatting and typos. Your Gengar set looks good, that's a pretty common set. Why are you running impish over an attack boosting nature on Azumarill? Also what is that defensive EV spread meant to counter? Your Porygon2 has a bold nature but so few defense EVs? I suggest use thunder wave ovee the other options as your team benefits more from slowing down the opponent than from stalling with toxic. Care to explain that crazy Scizor EV spread? I use the same Thunderus and I have a lot more success with life orb than with focus sash. Garchomp absolutely has to be jolly and use 252 speed unless you are making a defensive Garchomp. I'm a fan of outrage, rock tomb, earthquake, and poison jab with a scarf, but that's all up to you.

I've talked with Ghost_V2 about the scizor before, so I can answer on this. It comes from Yakkun. Can't find the page, but I still have the screenshots I took earlier.

Hide

Not sure what it's supposed to live, though. If someone more adept at navigating the site is willing to post, I'd appreciate it.

 

[The Chaotician]

Trying to type this on my phone while on vacation so please ignore the formatting and typos. Your Gengar set looks good, that's a pretty common set. Why are you running impish over an attack boosting nature on Azumarill? Also what is that defensive EV spread meant to counter? Your Porygon2 has a bold nature but so few defense EVs? I suggest use thunder wave ovee the other options as your team benefits more from slowing down the opponent than from stalling with toxic. Care to explain that crazy Scizor EV spread? I use the same Thunderus and I have a lot more success with life orb than with focus sash. Garchomp absolutely has to be jolly and use 252 speed unless you are making a defensive Garchomp. I'm a fan of outrage, rock tomb, earthquake, and poison jab with a scarf, but that's all up to you.

That's pretty much where I arrived after comments from EnGarde. The Scizor, Azumarill and Porygon2 spreads are all from Yakkun. I spend an evening making sense of what all the EVs are designed to do but will need to sift through it all again to relay it back to you. Another point regarding Azumarill was that I was trying to avoid belly drum as I already had a set up mon in Scizor and hence the reason to also give Garchomp a scarf instead of sash or Lum berry and opt for swords dance.

Was also thinking of putting Volt Switch over taunt on Thundurus for VoltTurning. But not sure of its effectiveness in 3v3.

Hope that all makes sense. If I get a chance to look through Yakkun again I'll explain it best I can. It's late here right now :/

Thanks for the rate man :)

edit: Oh and for reference the site is http://yakkun.com/xy/theory

 

[BWong]

That's pretty much where I arrived after comments from EnGarde. The Scizor, Azumarill and Porygon2 spreads are all from Yakkun. I spend an evening making sense of what all the EVs are designed to do but will need to sift through it all again to relay it back to you. Another point regarding Azumarill was that I was trying to avoid belly drum as I already had a set up mon in Scizor and hence the reason to also give Garchomp a scarf instead of sash or Lum berry and opt for swords dance.

Hope that all makes sense. If I get a chance to look through Yakkun again I'll explain it best I can. It's late here right now :/

Thanks for the rate man :)

It's just weird to me to blindly copy EV spreads without knowing what they were designed for. Like I know I run enough speed on my Uxie to outspeed Jolly Tyranitar, so I know what I can and can't outrun. I run just enough defense to not get KOed by fake out/return by mega Kangaskhan. THat Porygon spread is especially weird to me, as you use a +def nature and then don't invest in defense.