6-2 and 7-1 huh? I went to the Kansas City regionals, and got a fucking miserable 3-5, largely due to hax. Enough to make me seriously consider Lucky Chant Togekiss. I love the FWG + DSF though.So lucariojr thought it'd be cool to post the teams we used at regionals here. I ended up going 6-2 in swiss and bubbling out of top cut at #20. lucariojr ended up going 7-1 in swiss and made it to top 8. Here's my team, hopes you guys find it enjoyable!
TEAM HEAVY METAL HORSES
I'm pretty satisfied with the team! It struggles against a few things (fire types with sub) but it put in work vs near everything else. A big thanks to Harrison Sayler who got me interested in the Clefairy / Metagross / Breloom core this team was originally centered around and lucariojr and Jio for helping me refine the team into this.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 60 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Follow Me
- Helping Hand
- Moonblast
- Protect
I've wanted to use a Friend Guard user since back in 2012. It's nice there's finally a viable user out there. Clefairy's EVs are the same ones on site and let it live Adamant Mega Kangaskhan's Double Edge at full health among other things like Adamant Bisharp's Iron Head. It worked nicely to protect the frailer, more offensively inclined members of the team like Virizion and Hydreigon. Metagross also liked using it for subs.
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Ice Punch
- Substitute
- Protect
Mega Metagross with a sub is pretty intimidating and Clefairy makes it pretty easy to get one. I changed Zen Headbutt to Ice Punch really late into play testing since I was running into a whole lot of Landorus-T and Salamence. It was an iffy choice since it leaves Metagross open vs Fire and Water-types and I'm not sure it was the best choice for the regional in the end. I had gotten really fond of Substitute and Ice Punch and got risky and really meta specific picking both. Still, Metagross came in for 7/8 games and was a really valuable asset with Iron Head and Sub alone.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Virizion was probably the star of the show that day. There were a whole lot of sand teams in Georgia and Virizon did terrifically vs them. I found myself very often setting things up for Virizion to do work with Clefairy to defend him. It's also probably the most uncommon Pokemon on the team (which is weird given there's a NFE) but it's nothing super weird.
This team originally revolved around a core of Metagross, Clefairy, and Breloom, Clefairy and Breloom working together on the premise of Breloom being able to spore saftely. I talked the team over with lucariojr and jio and they weren't the biggest fan based on how frail, slow, and rng dependant breloom was and suggested this as a similar alternative. I was hooked after a few games. Virizion's a really cool anti meta Pokemon. It deals with Kangaskhan, Rotom-W, Suicune, and helps with rain and sun (Virizion can't be slept by Venusaur and can outspeed and OHKO Charizard with Stone Edge).
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Suicune works really well with Metagross and Virizion, giving them a speed boost and taking out Fire-types and Landorus. The EVs are the same as on site and allow Suicune to outspeed Landorus-T under Tailwind and OHKO it with Ice Beam. The rest was dumped into defense. Suicune was a pretty rad Pokemon for this team, opening up and closing out games on Tailwind.
Rotom-H @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 108 HP / 252 SpA / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power
- Protect
Rotom-H kicks off the "techs" section; the above four were kind of the main core and these two filled in for certain match ups. The team wasn't too comfortable vs Amoonguss or Steel-types that resist Fighting and could use some levitating Pokemon. Rotom-H did that and gave me a load of really synergetic resistances to switch into. The EVs here let it outspeed max speed neutral natured base 70s (namely politoed and bisharp). Special Attack's maxed and the rest is dumped into HP
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
Hydreigon rounded out the team. I needed ways to dent Cresselia, Aegislash, and Gengar and wanted to complete the Fairy - Dragon - Steel core. Hydreigon filled in both rolls. It put in work when it got out, but it felt awkward dancing around being Choice locked, even with Clefairy. This was probably my least used member, I think only accompanying me for two games.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 60 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Follow Me
- Helping Hand
- Moonblast
- Protect
Rotom-Heat @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
Level: 56
EVs: 108 HP / 252 SpA / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 54
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Substitute
- Protect
Putting aside things like 3 consecutive Dark Pulse flinches and a basically impossible 2HKO from 2 crits in the same turn, I'd say my team did really well, surpised a lot of people, and even had one guy fuming and calling me an asshole during the entire 10 minute game. Nothing says "wtf" like OHKOing a Suicune with a Water move, in the Sun. I did flub up and lock my battle box with the wrong Pokémon in it though xD
Charizard @ Charizardite-Y
Modest, 228 HP, 28 Def, 212 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 36 Speed.
Ability: Blaze (Drought)
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Fire Pledge
- Ancientpower
Drought is life. Drought is love. Drought is all.
This is an odd set for Megazard, I know, but it's a team specific thing. Solarbeam was, by far, my least useful and most unclicked button, and since I was running 3 starters with my Fire/Water/Grass core, I decided to try the Pledge trio - and bo oh boy was I glad I did. This specific trio packs good Speed control and an incredibly useful, and utterly devastating, nuclear bomb with almost no repurcussion, but Pledges will be covered later.
Ancientpower is very underused and underrated, but it does make Charizard highly adept at removing other Char-Y and Talonflame; and Char-Y was very common at KC. Also helps against Mence and Gyarados, pushing Rock Slide 3HKOs into 2HKOs. Outruns max Speed Adamant Bisharp by a few points in order to creep bulky Zapdos/Mega Kanga that float just above Bisharp. Bulk survives Rocky Helmet Garchomp's Rock Slide, and has amazingly useful Special bulk. I was very happy with the power and bulk, though I may make / suggest more Speed for Smeargle and Breloom...
Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Modest, 156 HP, 4 Def, 244 Sp. Atk, 12 Sp. Def, 92 Speed
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
- Grass Pledge
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
I'm a bit torn on Venusaur, as it honestly rarely attacks, and is most often used as a "speed boost" for Charizard, a distraction, and occasionally death fodder. The Mega, however...
Chlorophyll makes Venusaur faster than Scarf Modest Hydreigon / baiscally everything, and with Chloro+Tailwind it's still probably faster than you even when Paralyzed. Why no Sleep Powder? It misses. If it hits, you get a one turn, usually useless, sleep. Can't count how many games I lost to Sleep Powder. Leech Seed, however, hits, and is great for tackling Aegislash, Cresselia, Garchomp, and basically eveything.
Evs, hits as hard as possible, Speed already explained, rest in HP for bulk. In Mega form, hits very hard (2HKOs most non-resists), it's still pretty tough with Leech Seed + Protect stall, and Tailwind achieves Chlorophyll level Speed for sweeping.
May run a Bold spread, Chlorosaur kills very little and I lose a lot of potential bulk.
Swampert @ Life Orb
Modest, 188 HP, 4 Def, 236 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Ability: Torrent
- Water Pledge
- Wide Guard
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
The only mon I brought to every game. Swampert supports every single member of the team, primarily Charizard, in a way nothing else really accomplishes. Highly anti-meta, it crushes Landog, Heatran, Mega Mence, Aegislash, Thundurus, Zapdos, Terrakion, Garchomp, Talonflame (out of Sun, that is), Mega Metagross, and slew of others with its amazing coverage, and stops Rock Slide panicspamming dead in its tracks. Scald and Muddy Water were a bit faulty, but Water pledge accomplished everything I needed - and my jaw pretty much fell off on my 2nd match thanks to Water Pledge. All in all, Swampy was magnificent. And really proved the superiority of my set when it KO'd a slower, Expert Belt Swampert.
LO buffs neutral hits for much needed extra damage, and also 2HKO's bulky Thundurus (which saved my ass). Also helps squeak you down to Torrent range (66 HP or less) for horrifying STAB damage.
Speed outruns max Speed Thundurus-I in Tailwind, near max Sp. Atk for the Thundy 2HKO / Talonflame OHKO, rest in bulk. Absolutely no disappointment.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Jolly, 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
Ability: Justified
- Close Combat
- Quick Guard
- Protect
- Rock Slide
At least twice, I said "Son of a bitch why did I say 'yes lock the box', I need Mienshao so bad right now". Terrakion does 93% of what Mienshao does, but that 7% in Fake Out and nuclear HJK's cost me dearly in 2 matches.
Basic point: he's here to kill Mega Kangaskhan (which just laughs at pretty much any FWG core), Heatran (Swampy gets double targeted and worn down fast), Char-Y (for Mega Venusaur, and to make Ancientpower much more unexpected), Talonflame (in Sun, poops on my entire team), and to have SOMETHING faster than Jolly Breloom. Quick Guard because fuck Prankster, Talonflame, and Mega Khan.
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Modest, 252 HP, 4 Def, 172 Sp. Atk, 4 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Ability: Stance Change
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
I love the guy that said "Really? There are two things I hate in this world - Mega Venusaur, and Aegislash. And you're the guy with a Mega Venusaur and a SUBSTITUTE Aegislash, side by side?"
Aegislash stomps The Big 3 in Mega Kanga, Mega Metagross, and Mega Salamence, along with Terrakion, Cresselia, and pretty much every Fairy. It's also an unusually fast Sub variant, based on Swampert's EVs, that outruns max Speed Thundy and torments the living fuck out of anything unlucky enough to be slower than it. Also works fantastically with Togekiss' redirects as a Sub'd Aegislash is very pressuring. This one slaughters opposing Aegislash as well. Needed something to crush Cresselia and cover Rock / Flying / Ice / Psychic / etc. Sun hurts him a bit, but all in all works great. Forms a horrifying defense with Mega Venusaur, though Char-Y / Talonflame / heatran are problematic. Hence Terrakion.
Swampy does Wide Guard better, and SubSlash is going out of style, which really surprised people and came in very useful against an obvious Protect.
Togekiss @ Sitrus Berry
Calm, 252 HP, 52 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 116 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Ability: Serene Grace
- Air Slash
- Tailwind
- Follow Me
- Dazzling Gleam
The final slot, focused on filling in a few gaping holes. My team is slow. So slow, an Adamant Gyarados runs circles around it - without a DD. It NEEDS tailwind. Team is bulky, my matches often last 8+ turns, so it needs to be bulky to set 2 or more Tailwinds. Aside from Aegislash, all hope is lost when you see Salamence and Clefairy in team preview. So I ended up with this.
Fairy + Flying + Follow Me completely solved the "Hydreigon wrecks everything" problem, and Dazzling Gleam 2HKO's 4/0 MegaMence (This and Tailwind are why Clefable flunked) and ignores Follow Me Clefable. EVs?
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Togekiss: 162-190 (84.3 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Togekiss: 76-90 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 79-94 (41.1 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 148-174 (77 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 122-146 (63.5 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Togekiss: 159-190 (82.8 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Togekiss: 76-90 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 79-94 (41.1 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 148-174 (77 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 122-146 (63.5 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Togekiss: 159-190 (82.8 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Outruns +1 Jolly Gyarados, and Scarf Landog in Tailwind. Follow Me lets Aegislash dick over everything, and keeps big hits off of Char-Y and Swampy while they wreak havok. Sitrus is preffered, as it's meant to take Special hits just as much as it wants to take Khan and MegaGross Zen headbutts. Air Slash is because I'm sick of losing matches to 3-4 flinches straight and decided to return fire. Why Calm over Bold? I had a Calm Kiss ready to go, but needed to breed a Bold one and was simply too lazy. See Pyrite's post for a Bold Togekiss.
Team lacks Status of any sort, cringes against well supported Heatran, and has no hope against the uncounterable PerishTrap since nothing has U-Turn. Speed is bad, and once your foe uses Tailwind you really have no hope of outspeeding anything without Tailwind Chlorosaur or Swamp effects.
Slower user uses the Combined pledge, using its Sp. Atk + typing. With my team, Chlorosaur is the fastest, then Char-Y, then Mega Venusaur, then Swampy. Meaning, Char-Y and Swampy do the attacking. New ORAS mechanic makes the second use move immediately after the first, ignoring Speed / priority/etc much like After You, which astronimically increased the viability of these moves.
Fire + Grass: becomes Fire Pledge (Combined), Sea of Fire effect for 4 turns.
This is really the prominent feature of the team. VenuZard is an almost brainless combo, but has no shortage of faults: Scarf Landog, Mega Kangaskhan, Cresselia, opposing Char-Y, Virizion, they really don't care. However, thanks to Pledges... Scarf Landog and every variant of Khan and cresselia, are utterly obliterated before they even get to move. Venusaur simply outruns after a double Protect, clicks Grass Pledge, and then Char-Y instantly fires off the most horrifying Special attack you'll ever see, Landog, bulky Mega Khan, and even Cresselia eat a swift OHKO. They never see it coming, and once they see it, it's too late - if you aren't a Garchomp, Chansey, or 4x resist, you're dead. The Sea of Fire roasts the opposing team for 1/8th max HP per turn, eliminating Sash/Sturdy and picking off the few things that survive (like 252/252+ Cress and Clefairy). Because the attack uses Char-Y's Sp. Atk + STAB, it always poses a massive threat at any given moment and makes the duo far more dangerous than a Solarbeam + Sleep Powder Char-Y and Venusaur. Math:
Mega Venusaur misses Giga Drain a bit, but Leech Seed helps allieviate that.
Now, with the raw power and Speedhax of Fire Pledge out of the way, let's focus on the secondary combo: Water + Grass.
Water + Grass: Becomes Grass Pledge (Combined). Swamp effect for 4 turns.
I don't often use this, as Swampy + Venusaur aren't often paired together, despite decent synergy. In Sun, it's nice to fire off in order to have surprise Speed control, and with Mega Venusaur + Swampert it's an effective attack that again counteracts Tailwind or just grants a Speed advantage. Despite the lack of STAB, Swampert actually hits harder with a combined Grass Pledge than Mega Venusaur does with an uncombined one. This combo did create an amazing victory for me in the KC regionals by KOing a Suicune that was well out of Venusaur's grasp and creating a Swamp as soon as my Tailwind ran out - securing absolute Speed control plus a key KO.
Maths:
Water + Fire: Should never be used on this team, ever. Complete waste of 2 turns, and the rainbow is useless to a team almost entirely devoid of secondary effects. Does not stack with Serene Grace.
Perfect for a really humilating finish, or just ineffectively spreading gay support.
Fire + Grass: becomes Fire Pledge (Combined), Sea of Fire effect for 4 turns.
This is really the prominent feature of the team. VenuZard is an almost brainless combo, but has no shortage of faults: Scarf Landog, Mega Kangaskhan, Cresselia, opposing Char-Y, Virizion, they really don't care. However, thanks to Pledges... Scarf Landog and every variant of Khan and cresselia, are utterly obliterated before they even get to move. Venusaur simply outruns after a double Protect, clicks Grass Pledge, and then Char-Y instantly fires off the most horrifying Special attack you'll ever see, Landog, bulky Mega Khan, and even Cresselia eat a swift OHKO. They never see it coming, and once they see it, it's too late - if you aren't a Garchomp, Chansey, or 4x resist, you're dead. The Sea of Fire roasts the opposing team for 1/8th max HP per turn, eliminating Sash/Sturdy and picking off the few things that survive (like 252/252+ Cress and Clefairy). Because the attack uses Char-Y's Sp. Atk + STAB, it always poses a massive threat at any given moment and makes the duo far more dangerous than a Solarbeam + Sleep Powder Char-Y and Venusaur. Math:
Pledge * Combo Bonus * Sun * STAB
(((80*2)*1.5)*1.5) = 360
Yes. 360 power. Coming off of 159 base Sp. Atk. Good luck tanking that one.
Note: do not aim at densely populated cities. Aim for pink instead.
212+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Pledge (Combined) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cresselia in Sun: 204-240 (89.8 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO (Guarenteed after Sea of Fire, unless Sitrus)
(((80*2)*1.5)*1.5) = 360
Yes. 360 power. Coming off of 159 base Sp. Atk. Good luck tanking that one.
Note: do not aim at densely populated cities. Aim for pink instead.
212+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Pledge (Combined) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cresselia in Sun: 204-240 (89.8 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO (Guarenteed after Sea of Fire, unless Sitrus)
Mega Venusaur misses Giga Drain a bit, but Leech Seed helps allieviate that.
Now, with the raw power and Speedhax of Fire Pledge out of the way, let's focus on the secondary combo: Water + Grass.
Water + Grass: Becomes Grass Pledge (Combined). Swamp effect for 4 turns.
I don't often use this, as Swampy + Venusaur aren't often paired together, despite decent synergy. In Sun, it's nice to fire off in order to have surprise Speed control, and with Mega Venusaur + Swampert it's an effective attack that again counteracts Tailwind or just grants a Speed advantage. Despite the lack of STAB, Swampert actually hits harder with a combined Grass Pledge than Mega Venusaur does with an uncombined one. This combo did create an amazing victory for me in the KC regionals by KOing a Suicune that was well out of Venusaur's grasp and creating a Swamp as soon as my Tailwind ran out - securing absolute Speed control plus a key KO.
Maths:
244+ SpA Mega Venusaur Grass Pledge vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 128-152 (61.8 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ SpA Life Orb Swampert Grass Pledge (Combined) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 172-203 (83 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ SpA Life Orb Swampert Grass Pledge (Combined) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 172-203 (83 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Water + Fire: Should never be used on this team, ever. Complete waste of 2 turns, and the rainbow is useless to a team almost entirely devoid of secondary effects. Does not stack with Serene Grace.
Perfect for a really humilating finish, or just ineffectively spreading gay support.
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