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Also, I'm the kind of nut that likes to experiment with bright powder + sand veil + double team trollchomp, so I'm right there with you on the crazy sets.
You're talking to the guy who uses Growl Dewgong. xP Most times his set ideas are actually somewhat sane, though.. ^__^; if Skill Swap Latias were a thing, that is... *pets ProjectTitan313*
Anyway... I guess I might as well throw out a team I was kind of planning on using for XY. I've tested it a bit in Battle Maison to get the feel of it, but didn't really get much chance to bring it to Battle Spot.
This team is for Doubles. ;)
Wild Child (Mawile) (F) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
My Mega and go-to attacker. Can soften things up with Intimidate as well.
Can tank some hits from things Salamence/Mawile don't like and will-o-wisp things.
Rosa (Latias) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 6 SpA
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- Helping Hand
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
Not a floaty (Aegislash) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 6 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- King's Shield
- Substitute
Cadbury (Azumarill) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SpD
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
Not perfect, but I think it's a good start? ^__^;
Comments:
Not really sure what to say about most of the members... xD
Not sure if Latias is really doing much. I kind of don't need two Tailwinding special dragons and I've pretty much only used Salamence so far because she already does pretty well at what I need her to do.
Yes, I know Hydro Pump is probably a bad idea. But honestly I haven't gotten any losses due to it missing, surprisingly. I need to rebreed Azumarill to be female. He's interrupting the taco buffet. xP
I've been kind of considering something like this, maybe, but idk. I just like Arcanine and think that a fire type might be able to fit on here as long at the ground weakness doesn't stack up too much to become a problem:
MastiffButch (Arcanine) (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Snarl
- Morning Sun
- Extreme Speed
With Air Balloon, can take SE attacks coming at Mawile (Fire and Ground). Priority for picking things off.
So yeah, like I said, I know it's not perfect, but it's a start. ^__^;
Wild Child (Mawile) (F) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
You're talking to the guy who uses Growl Dewgong. xP Most times his set ideas are actually somewhat sane, though.. ^__^; if Skill Swap Latias were a thing, that is... *pets ProjectTitan313*
Anyway... I guess I might as well throw out a team I was kind of planning on using for XY. I've tested it a bit in Battle Maison to get the feel of it, but didn't really get much chance to bring it to Battle Spot.
This team is for Doubles. ;)
Wild Child (Mawile) (F) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
My Mega and go-to attacker. Can soften things up with Intimidate as well.
Can tank some hits from things Salamence/Mawile don't like and will-o-wisp things.
Rosa (Latias) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 6 SpA
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- Helping Hand
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
Not a floaty (Aegislash) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 6 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- King's Shield
- Substitute
Cadbury (Azumarill) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SpD
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
Not perfect, but I think it's a good start? ^__^;
Comments:
Not really sure what to say about most of the members... xD
Not sure if Latias is really doing much. I kind of don't need two Tailwinding special dragons and I've pretty much only used Salamence so far because she already does pretty well at what I need her to do.
Yes, I know Hydro Pump is probably a bad idea. But honestly I haven't gotten any losses due to it missing, surprisingly. I need to rebreed Azumarill to be female. He's interrupting the taco buffet. xP
I've been kind of considering something like this, maybe, but idk. I just like Arcanine and think that a fire type might be able to fit on here as long at the ground weakness doesn't stack up too much to become a problem:
MastiffButch (Arcanine) (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Snarl
- Morning Sun
- Extreme Speed
With Air Balloon, can take SE attacks coming at Mawile (Fire and Ground). Priority for picking things off.
So yeah, like I said, I know it's not perfect, but it's a start. ^__^;
Haha, I don't think it's that good. Like I said, I haven't really gotten much of a chance to battle with it even/am at the bottom of the ladder. Maybe if it/another team I use actually does well (haha...), but I think posting it there now would be very pre-mature at this point. ;)
Really just wanted to post it to throw it out there and see if anyone had any suggestions on how to improve it/see if people thought it was even a good idea for a team at all. xD
Hi everyone! Although I've been playing Battlespot since the format's conception I never put in the effort to try and create a solid team that I enjoyed playing until now. The release of ORAS has shaken up the metagame introducing powerful threats which show that there is more than just Kangaskhan. After XY's weather nerf, what excited me most is the return of rain teams in the raw power of Mega Swampert. Although rain turns are still limited, this guy can really hurt with the right support and a Politoed to keep up rain. Furthermore, 3v3s mean that it doesn't need as many turns of rain in order to sweep a team compared to 6v6 Smogon Formats. After playing both on Showdown and on cartridge to find my way around the meta this is what I came up with.
As I write this I have peaked at 1430 elo on Showdown and (hopefully) increasing so I'd like to share the team which brought me here! At this point the reason why I haven't been able to hit the elusive 1500 is both a need to practice more and weaknesses in the team. I'd appreciate all and any feedback or ideas :)
The introduction of Mega Swampert is what inspired me to create this team. Once it's raining then he becomes difficult to stop.
Of course, that meant that rain is necessary in the first place. Although I have seen Rain Dance Mega Swamperts, it is not a reliable way of getting it up and it seems like a waste of great natural bulk to have to take a free hit just to set up. Also, using Politoed means that Damp Rock can be used for 3 additional turns of rain.
Since my core has similar typing, they share common weaknesses, namely Grass which isn't all too uncommon. Ferrothorn not only shrugs off Grass attacks but also benefits from the fire nerf in rain, often being able to live an additional turn. It also creates a Def-SpD synergy with Politoed. Something like a cheap version of SkarmBliss.
A tier with bans decided solely by Game Freak is pretty much what you would imagine. Imbalanced. Be thankful for Smogon tiers because in Battle Spot Mega Salamence is everywhere! Porygon2 is my obligatory counter and was chosen over alternatives such as Cresselia and Zapdos because of it's proven effectiveness and the ability to Intimidate opposing Salamence on the switch in.
Battle Spot's bring 6 pick 3 format allows the use of multiple megas in a team. Although Swampert is a beast in his own right, there are still some that hard counter it. That's where Salamence comes in as an alternative win condition.
I have gone through 719 candidates for this last spot and so I'll include a section at the bottom listing some of these which I've tested. Some were effective, some not so effective, and some were pretty fun to play! Many of these revolved me trying to find an answer to incoming status, especially WoW which cripples Swampert badly.
However in the end I settled on Conkeldurr. I was so focused on being able to bounce back or be immune to statuses that it hadn't crossed my mind to just find a Guts user until later. Not only does it help my status paranoia, but Conkeldurr has also filled in some blanks that my team was missing such as an answer to fairies Porygon2 which is on the rise as the premier Mega Salamence counter.
Without further ado I introduce the prototype work-in-progress Lonely Storm!
The staple for rain teams. Being the only legal Pokemon with Drizzle, Politoed is the essential rain setter being able to bring in 8 turns of rain without any risk of being Rain Dance taunted. I have specifically chosen to go with defensive Politoed as it gives me the longevity it needs to make me feel less pressured to switch in my sweepers at poor times and taking unnecessary hits. For the longest time I had used Toxic over Ice Beam but found it a bit silly for two reasons. Firstly, steel types are common and when they switch in to block a Toxic, Politoed can't do much back. Magnezone scares me off with Thunderbolt, Ferrothorn Power Whips, etc. Also Toxic stall simply doesn't work on a Politoed-Swampert core. Swampert so badly needs as many turns of rain as possible and Toxic takes up those turns. Encore prevents both stall and opponents setting up, forcing opponents to switch which works to bring in Swampert safely without sacking Politoed. Sleep Talk could be considered over Encore but the utility of Encore is one of the few answers to stall that I have.
The sole gift to rain teams from ORAS and the reason for me to make this team! 156 Spe allows MSwampert to outspeed max Spe MSceptiles which can be OHKO'd no sweat. Most teams can be swept by the combination of these three moves, although Waterfall will do the most damage in the rain I find myself using Earthquake and Ice Punch just as much. Protect allows me to Mega Evolve in the rain and not take unnecessary damage while my speed is unboosted. It allows me to block a hit from MSceptile as well as other threats which would otherwise OHKO me. Superpower, Hammer Arm or Power Up Punch can be considered over Protect as it gives Swampert amazing coverage but at the same time it gives you less opportune times to Mega Evolve safely. Protect also scouts for moves and makes Lopunny and Blaziken's High Jump Kicks recoil.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def -SpA)
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Ferrothorn benefits from the rain through nerfs to fire attacks. Just look at this tank!
252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 300-352 (165.7 - 194.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn in Rain: 144-172 (79.5 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Of course Ferrothorn wouldn't be able to OHKO back, but this allows for an additional turn to Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, or Leech Seed. Also the Rocky Helmet + Iron Barbs residual damage really does a number against contact damage which can be switched into. Namely incoming Fake Outs, Power Whips, Close Combats, and any priority move which threaten Ferrothorn's teammates. If I see the opportunity to lead with Ferrothorn as well as see potentially Focus Sashed enemies, Stealth Rock allows them to be broken giving Swampert an easier time to sweep. It's rare that I get to use all of Ferrothorn's moves in the one game but they are all situationally useful! The percentage damage of Leech Seed prevents setting up and stall to some extent and Protect can scout for moves, give additional turns of Leech Seed, and make Lopunny and Blaziken miss High Jump Kicks so that they take massive recoil damage. The only problem that I have with Protect is that it could potentially take up turns of rain. Knock Off gets rid of Eviolites and other key items.
I posted my opinion of Porygon2 here and this is the spread that I came up with! Most of my explanation for Porgyon2 are in those two posts so I won't go into detail here but 92 SpA specifically OHKO's 4HP Salamence which Porygon2 has no trouble switching into. Trace was chosen for the utility of switching in and out of Arena Trap/Shadow Tag, Intimidate Salamences, as well as many other situational uses.
92 SpA Porygon2 Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 172-204 (100.5 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Aerilate Salamence Return vs. 252 HP / 164 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 84-99 (43.7 - 51.5%) -- 8.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 81-96 (42.1 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 73-87 (38 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Ice Beaming Salamences for the OHKO feels so satisfying. Thunder was chosen over Thunderbolt and Tri Attack for it's BoltBeam coverage and perfect accuracy in the rain. Recover allows Porygon2 to keep up it's phenomenal bulk and force switches. Toxic is a solution to defensive/stall teams such as Mega Slowbro without Rest. Knock Off hurts P2's bulk by removing Eviolite but Ferrothorn can punish them if switched into.
If you can't beat them, join them. I'm almost ashamed to use MSalamence but it's power and ridiculous BST is something to be feared. Although teams are often prepared (and even over-prepared) for the beast at this point of time, Salamence still finds the occasional enemy team with no sufficient counter. Just the sight of Salamence in team preview turns the game around in my favour. I expect opponents to bring their own checks/counters and can plan my teams accordingly, often not even bringing Salamence. This was the primary reason for it's inclusion for my team and was in fact originally Choice Scarf Salamence which can revenge kill opposing Salamences not behind a substitute. One DD boost and MKangaskhan 2.0 goes to town. Max Speed outspeeds key threats such as Raikou and speedties opposing Max Spe Salamence. Dragon Claw is chosen over Outrage so that I don't get locked into outraging meddlesome fairies, while still being able to do big damage against Dragon-Types.
The still tentative Slot 6 of my team. This has been the most contested place in any of my teams so far and in these weeks I have been testing out countless ideas to put the team together, both offensive and defensive. My team lacked something to do considerable damage to fairies, a status absorber and a strong fighting move since I opted out of one for Swampert. Cokeldurr has filled that spot quite nicely without being too reliant on rain which was a problem I faced in previous iterations for this slot. A solid mix of power and bulk, Conkeldurr doesn't mind Toxics or Will-O-Wisps coming his way and can often retaliate with force. Mach Punch gives Conkeldurr the only priority in the team which felt needed for those priority users that Ferrothorn can't stay around forever for, and Poison Jab knocks out fairies which was something else this team lacked. Knock Off hurts Aegislash and Latias both of which are common on the Showdown ladder. 20 Spe EVs outspeed Hippowdon which likes to switch in when rain is up to change the weather. The ever increasing Porygon2 is often brought versus this team since opponents see Salamence in the team preview and Conkeldurr lols at it as Toxic only activates guts and Drain Punch out-damages Recover.
Espeon sits at the most uneasy spot in my team, being the most likely to be replaced. The utlity of Magic Bounce as well as Dual Screens is cool but I don't often bring Espeon to games other than specific match-ups due to it's lack of viability otherwise.
Perfect accuracy Thunder! Perfect accuracy Hurricane! Rain-boosted Surf! Dragonite makes perfect sense on a rain team right!? Well yes and no. Even with as much speed as possible to give is sweeping capabilities, Dragonite's 80 Spe feels so pitiful and leaves it an open target for the multitude of fast and powerful checks, especially since Ice-Type attacks are almost always in teams. Even switching up to a 252 HP / 252 SpA spread didn't help because it didn't do as much damage as I'd hoped. Dragonite also limited the use of rain, making him too situational. I have 8 turns of rain so why use him over Swampert if I wanted a sweeper? It was hard for me to find a reason to keep him.
Gorebyss @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
Smash-Pass Gorebyss to Salamence is fun. Not effective or reliable, but fun.
And so there it is, my interpretation of a Battle Spot rain team! I don't claim for this team to be the best as there are still some glaring faults and weaknesses but it's been a fun run with this team. So for this I'd like to ask for feedback from anyone and everyone! The team definitely could use some improvement so yeah.
Special thanks to everyone who tested the team with me, gave me feedback as it was in building process, or even just chatted to me as I theorycrafted and laddered. Especially everyone who is on the Battle Spot Forum/PS Lobby/IRC. Won't name people because I know I'll forget someone. I doubt that you read the whole RMT. No one reads the whole RMT. I know that you just scrolled straight down here. 100th post yay.
I know exactly how it feels lmao, I'm pretty impressed with this team mhykah, I like it; about Espeon, why not use something like Dragonite, hits hard, it can learn Light Screen if that's what you want lol, thing is Dragonite gets both Thunder and Hurricane, which are damn good in Rain Teams, also Ice Beam for other Salamence, pretty good coverage, just a small suggestion.
I know exactly how it feels lmao, I'm pretty impressed with this team mhykah, I like it; about Espeon, why not use something like Dragonite, hits hard, it can learn Light Screen if that's what you want lol, thing is Dragonite gets both Thunder and Hurricane, which are damn good in Rain Teams, also Ice Beam for other Salamence, pretty good coverage, just a small suggestion.
Thanks for the idea! I actually tried using Dragonite in an XY Rain Team but it's speed felt too low and I didn't find good opportunities to get an Agility up safely. I will definitely be giving him a second chance though, I might have gotten better to find those times to Agility and sweep! This is the set if anyone is interested:
Battle Spot's bring 6 pick 3 format allows the use of multiple megas in a team. Although Swampert is a beast in his own right, there are still some that hard counter it. That's where Salamence comes in as an alternative win condition.
Is this for singles? At first glance this looked like a doubles team because weather. Who are the 3 you find yourself bringing to most battles? Tbh I didn't think this would be all that successful since Politoed seems to just set up rain and that's it, and Ferrothorn seems to be purely there for support. In the hyper-offensive environment of 3v3 singles I figured this team would struggle to keep up.. I would love to see some replays of the team in action!
On a side note I just wanted to say I really liked your format, with the Pokemon you were writing about having the full sprite with the box sprites on either side. Might have to steal that one day ^_^ I don't read a lot of RMTs so for all I know you came up with it rather than you borrowing it from someone else lol
Sorry for not making it clear but yes this team is for Singles :) I will have to update the RMT later.
As Salamence is prepared for more often than not, I usually use Politoed+Swampert+Something that is more specific to the matchup. That doesn't mean that I don't ever get to use Mence though- just not as often.
Politoed definitely does more than just switch in and out for rain. A specially defensive set makes him a pivot for quite a few moves and Encore has won several games by locking opponents into boosting moves or forcing switches. That allows me to move freely to my offensive mons and clean house. I can't say much about Ferrothorn being anymore than for support though because that's exactly what it is.
I haven't saved any replays yet but will start doing so to make a section for that! Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to have at least one replay for each member that highlights their importance.
I definitely stole that format but can't remember from whom...
If you can't beat them, join them. I'm almost ashamed to use MSalamence but it's power and ridiculous BST is something to be feared. Although teams are often prepared (and even over-prepared) for the beast at this point of time, Salamence still finds the occasional enemy team with no sufficient counter. Just the sight of Salamence in team preview turns the game around in my favour. I expect opponents to bring their own counters and can plan my teams accordingly, often not even bringing Salamence. This was the primary reason for it's inclusion for my team and was in fact originality Choice Scarf Salamence which can revenge kill opposing Salamences not behind a substitute. I have chosen to run Sub+DD to block statuses and Swagger which is another way around them other than Conkeldurr, Swampert blocking Thunder Wave, and Ferrothorn preventing Spore. One DD boost and MKangaskhan 2.0 goes to town. Of course, I am unable to use both MSwampert and MSalamence in the same game so the choice depends on the matchup. 248 HP gives an odd number to reduce damage taken by Substitute and 220 Spe outspeeds maximum base 100s but this EV spread is debatable as I am still trying to adjust the sweet spot for enough Spe for key threats and the bulk to hide behind a Sub.
Why not changing the nature to Jolly? Mine is Jolly and the small decrease in raw power doesn't hinder it, but the increase in Speed allows me to put EVs in bulk.
I'll try that out! Yesterday I learned the hard way that I'd need to by Jolly to outspeed Raikou, and the increased Spe investment also lets me outspeed Garchomps not wearing a Scarf. I'll be testing increased Spe on SubDD as well as a DD+3 Attacks set.
Need some help completing my Double Sand-Room team :)
Mainly, I need someone to look over if they can find some mayor problem with my team.
And what the last pokemon should be
Carbink @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def -SpA)
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sandstorm
- Trick Room
- Protect
This is my love, the whole team is made just so he can be in it! Here to set up the conditions and look fabulous
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Atk
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Curse
- Crunch
This is like the main sweeper after a perfect setup, curse the first turn then killing everything. Least that is the plan
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earthpower
- Protect
- ???
I love how cool Heatran looks, used him with Eruption before ORAS, want to still use him
Scizor @ ???
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
My main Pokemon for revenge killing and maybe coming in later after Trickroom has run it's cause
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Protect
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
My secondary Pokemon for setting up Trickroom, mainly a stand-in for Carbink if the opponent got seems to be able to 1 turn kill it. It still got some power for fighting after the setup
Need some help completing my Double Sand-Room team :)
Mainly, I need someone to look over if they can find some mayor problem with my team.
And what the last pokemon should be
Carbink @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def -SpA)
- Dazzling Gleam
- Sandstorm
- Trick Room
- Protect
This is my love, the whole team is made just so he can be in it! Here to set up the conditions and look fabulous
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Atk
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Curse
- Crunch
This is like the main sweeper after a perfect setup, curse the first turn then killing everything. Least that is the plan
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earthpower
- Protect
- ???
I love how cool Heatran looks, used him with Eruption before ORAS, want to still use him
Scizor @ ???
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
My main Pokemon for revenge killing and maybe coming in later after Trickroom has run it's cause
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Protect
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
My secondary Pokemon for setting up Trickroom, mainly a stand-in for Carbink if the opponent got seems to be able to 1 turn kill it. It still got some power for fighting after the setup
I definitely think that the last Pokémon on your team should be something that beats Water-types, especially Azumarill as it outright beats all of Carbink, Tyranitar and Heatran and can also do some significant damage to your Reuniclus. Tyranitar and Carbink can take a few hits from most special Waters thanks to the sandstorm but they're really not reliable, and a lot of Water-types carry either Will-o-Wisp (Rotom-W, Jellicent I guess) or Scald (pretty much every other Water-type) so Scizor carries a significant risk of getting burned, as does Tyranitar. For this reason, I'd suggest Mega Venusaur in the last slot - I notice that your mega slot is still open, and Venusaur fits right into the defensive synergy of your team, walling Water-types like Rotom-W and Azumarill while also taking little from attacks like Earthquake that also trouble your team. On the subject of Earthquake, even with Mega Venusaur (and Heatran's Air Balloon) you still have a lot of trouble with Ground-type attacks - Carbink, Tyranitar and Heatran actually synergise very poorly together due to the stacking of weaknesses to Ground, Water and Fighting. Normally, I'd suggest replacing Carbink but seeing as you're building the team around it, I'd pull Tyranitar out for a Hippowdon - While you still have trouble with Water attacks, you take Fighting and Ground attacks a lot better due to Hippowdon's superior physical bulk and neutrality to said attack types, and Venusaur can soak up Water-types while also tanking Earthquakes.
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earthpower
- Protect
- Ancient Power
(Ancient Power allows you to beat Talonflame and Charizard Y)
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
(While it's slightly less effective in Doubles, Choice Band fits this set well and allows you to revenge kill and holepunch more efficiently)
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD Quiet Nature
- Psychic
- Protect
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
(Best to put -Speed natures on your setters so you underspeed/tie with stuff like Slowbro and Amoonguss)
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Atk
Quiet Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed / Sleep Powder
- Protect
(very lazy EV spread. Basically, check Fairies and Waters hard while hitting for a good amount of damage in return. A better spread can be found here but it's optimised for Triples so idk ^_^)
----
Anyway, I have half a team that I'd like to put up as well. I'm playing around with Mega Sableye at the moment as it's my favourite new mega, and it occurred to me that it would be quite powerful in Rotations, a format where status and stat-dropping moves run rampant. Mega Sableye is a fantastic Kang check with it's priority burn as well, and Calm Mind makes it into a formidable mixed wall that could easily roll through a team.
This is the central Pokémon in my preliminary Rotations team. The premise here is to spread burns and acquire boosts in the early game before Mega Evolving a little later and threatening the opponent with Magic Bounce as I boost up to frightening levels. I picked Snarl over Dark Pulse or Shadow Ball thanks to it's added utility in Rotations: a 100% Sp. Atk drop chance is a lot more useful when the opponent cannot switch after losing one Pokémon. It's also a sound-based move so Substitutes are bypassed (eat your heart out Aegislash). It's not very luck-resistant and it's also very afraid of Scald and Fairy-types so those are things I need to take into consideration while teambuilding. (pkparaiso says that it will have OR/AS mega gifs very soon c: )
This set is a standard in Rotations and for good reason. Aegislash serves as a Fairy-type switch-in for Sableye and puts in work of it's own with Substitute and King's Shield mindgames. Having two Ghosts isn't that much of an issue what with Sableye's Dark typing, however I do feel like some added assurance against Ghost- and Dark-type moves would be useful.
This two-man core is all I really have at present, but I'm toying around with faster attackers such as Thundurus and Hydreigon to complement the stallbreaking core above. Conkeldurr is also a strong option for it's access to Knock Off and Mach Punch and it's resistance to Dark attacks. I feel the need for a solid answer to Azumarill is a fairly pressing consideration, as it's a big threat if I have to Mega Evolve Sableye before I can get a burn on it, or if it gets a Belly Drum off. Ferrothorn or Tentacruel would be useful here. There isn't a lot of information available on the net as far as Rotation teambuilding goes so I could do with some advice... what do you guys think, about the core and about prospective teammates?
EDIT: pkparaiso released the gifs for the OR/AS megas ^.^ Also, could I get some feedback on this core? I've decided that I'm probably going to go with Conkeldurr but I'm having some issues with type coverage so I would still appreciate some help.
Ops, my Carbink does have Relaxed, copypasted the formula and forgot to edit nature for him :)
Thanks so much, I will make a Venusaur and try it out, never played with Mega-Venusaur before.
I had mega-garchomp in the team before, but he was so out of sync of the group that I never ever used him, which is why I didn't even list him ^^
So there's going to be a meeting on 27/12 and I was looking forward to go. I came here because I wanted help to build a Doubles Team (There's going to be a tournament. I don't know if I'm going to participate, but I'm definitely going to battle there).
The only thing I want my team to have is any of the banned Mega Stones, preferrably Mawilite but barring Gengarite. I don't care what goes in that Team as long as I have one of those Megas.
So there's going to be a meeting on 27/12 and I was looking forward to go. I came here because I wanted help to build a Doubles Team (There's going to be a tournament. I don't know if I'm going to participate, but I'm definitely going to battle there).
The only thing I want my team to have is any of the banned Mega Stones, preferrably Mawilite but barring Gengarite. I don't care what goes in that Team as long as I have one of those Megas.
Hi Lukethehedgehog! Is your team for singles or doubles? Would be helpful to know :) If you're going to Choice Salamence, I suggest Choice Scarf instead of Specs because it has the ability to revenge kill Mega Salamence who is very common right now. (Unless someone can show me a calc where Specs gets important OHKOs Scarf doesn't?)
Hi Lukethehedgehog! Is your team for singles or doubles? Would be helpful to know :) If you're going to Choice Salamence, I suggest Choice Scarf instead of Specs because it has the ability to revenge kill Mega Salamence who is very common right now. (Unless someone can show me a calc where Specs gets important OHKOs Scarf doesn't?)
Looking at your team, I think the best fix for this is to take the Scarf off Rotom-W and transfer it over to Salamence, then put a Sitrus Berry onto Rotom-W and give it a standard defensive set. Here's a link to Eggy Emporium's VGC article on Rotom-W. (I stole the EV spread from here)
I don't really like overloading a team with Choiced attackers - in the same vein as Mega Pokémon, I find it can restrict your Pokémon choices at the Team Preview. Also, defensive TrickScarf Pokémon aren't as reliable in Doubles as they are in triples due to the danger of mispredicting and Tricking into a Protect, which alerts the opponent to your strategy and potentially locks you into a useless move. Better to swap one kind of disruption for another and tack on Will-o-Wisp and Protect, which is standard as hell but at least it's reliable and helps you against Mega Kangaskhan and other significant physical attackers. According to the Eggy Emporium link, the EVs are designed to survive Modest Charizard-Y Solarbeam and Mega Mawile Play Rough, and OHKO 4/0 Talonflame with Thunderbolt.
Yes. Replace Earthquake with Ice Punch, you have a lot of type redundancy between T-Tar and Landorus so changing up Tar's one non-STAB move for more useful coverage will never be a bad thing. n_n
Yes. Replace Earthquake with Ice Punch, you have a lot of type redundancy between T-Tar and Landorus so changing up Tar's one non-STAB move for more useful coverage will never be a bad thing. n_n
What about Salamence? I found myself not taking it to most of my battles.
EDIT: Also, Landorus, Tyranitar and Mawile are on the EnGarde distribution, but they have vastly different EVs. Is it OK if I use the given EVs or should I reset them with the Bag?
Yes. Replace Earthquake with Ice Punch, you have a lot of type redundancy between T-Tar and Landorus so changing up Tar's one non-STAB move for more useful coverage will never be a bad thing. n_n
