(VGC) VGC Team For Worlds Need Advice!!!

[JaeSun]

Introduction
Hello everyone, I have recently gotten into competitive battling again and have been actively playing and practicing as often as possible. I have been looking forward to the upcoming events along with the World Championship in Hawaii (since I live on a neighbor island.) So here I am putting together a team for the upcoming tournaments and events that I would be entering and needed some event and helpful criticism. The main idea behind my team was to have as few common weaknesses as possible. At the current moment, Gallade and Chandelure share a Ghost weakness and Rotom-W and Gastrodon share a Grass weakness. I am open to suggestions but I refuse to change out Gallade, Scizor and Chandelure. Their moves and EV's are up for suggestions and change though. The main Pokemon I would like help with is Garchomp, Rotom-W and Gastrodon. Also this is my First RMT.

The Team


Team Building

I started off wanting a lead that would be able to take down many common leads seen in VGC. So after using Weavile for a while, I opted out for something a little more bulky and avoided the squishiness. Gallade's typing and moveset has proven to be quite useful in my battles.


Scizor is one of my all time favorite Pokemon and has never failed me yet. I wanted a good steel type for my time with good coverage and Scizor came to mind almost instantly. I did originally use Metagross quite a bit but in the end his coverage didn't help as much as his bulk did.


I wanted a Dragon Pokemon on my team and initially I wanted to use Hydreigon. Unfortunately Hydreigon's weaknesses were quite vast and I wanted to make my team with as few common weaknesses as possible. Garchomp's speed and power is what made me (almost unwillingly) choose to use him. I may swap Garchomp out for Hydreigon but I am still unsure how useful it would be compared to Garchomp.


I have been swapping out my electric type constantly as of late. I started with Thundurus, tried out Jolteon, Elektross, and now Rotom-W. I personally would like help on the decision of who to use here. Zapdos is seeming like my best bet.


I needed an anti weather Pokemon on the team and Gastrodon was my only real option that I could come up with. It works in Sandstorm, Rain and has Storm Drain. I really don't like to use Gastrodon but unless someone can help me find a better option that synergizes well with my team than I am stuck with this son of a slug.


Ended up changing out Gastrodon for Ludicolo for a bit more move coverage. Last but not least, my option for an anti trick room pokemon. Chandelure was among the few options I had looked at. Unfortunately he shares a Ghost type weakness like Gallade but his typing and speed has saved me many times and just isn't that much of an issue.



Got rid of Ludicolo for Abomasnow to give some ice moves plus anti weather to my team, also tossed in Gliscor to test out and see how he does. Used Mamoswine and Zapdos for a bit but Mamoswine wasn't doing very much good.



Swapped out Gliscor for Salamence, the Intimidate got me interested and Gliscor just wasn't cutting it for me. Let alone I don't have Tyranitar on my team I felt even less compelled to using Garchomp or Gliscor.



Salamence is out and Dragonite has been added to help add bulk and a powerful dragon to the team.

The Technical Stuff

Excelsior (Gallade) (M) @ Psychic Gem
Trait: Steadfast
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Safeguard
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect

Gallade's EV spread was to ensure that he can survive a few hits plus with Drain Punch it almost guarantees his survivability. Since I use him as my main lead, I ended up taking out Shadow Sneak for Safeguard in case I run into an Amoonguss or anything that throws status effects my way. I went for Psycho Cut due to the slightly higher accuracy and the critical chance over Zen Headbutt. With the Psychic Gem, I usually get some good hits or even OHKO's when it is super effective. I do however switch between Steadfast and Justified, as most people do not hit Gallade with Fake Out unless he is paired up with Chandelure. He seems to attract a lot of Crunches though. I am not going to even explain his nickname. If you know what it's from then *high five* lol. Changed Psycho Cut to Zen Headbutt, works much better for KO'ing IntimiTops.


Kusari (Scizor) (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Technician
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bug Bite
- Acrobatics
- Bullet Punch
- Protect

I personally mess around with Scizor's EV's at random to see if his defenses still help him last and if his Attacks will still be strong enough. This spread has proven quite effective lately. I took off Superpower for Aerial Ace to add to his coverage and since he tends to be paired up with Gallade as my leads. I have considered using U-Turn instead of Bug Bite though, I am open for suggestions on this one. Nicknamed after a Kusari-Gama. However the full name sounded odd to me on a Scizor so I used the Kusari part even if it makes no sense. Took off Aerial Ace for Acrobatics, did damage calculations wrong and realized Acrobatics does more damage without Technician and item than with Aerial Ace with Technician.



Wani (Dragonite) (F) @ Haban Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 204 HP / 240 Atk / 64 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Rock Slide
- ExtremeSpeed
- Protect


Trying out Dragonite and so far it has yet to even be used. Trying to find a viable move that could replace Rock Slide but not sure what to use yet.


Washer-Sama (Rotom-W) @ Electric Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 116 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 132 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

Rotom-W is the 4th electric pokemon to go through this team. His EV spread is quite nice and has proven to keep him alive and still faster than Hitmontop. I was considering changing Thunder Wave for Volt Switch but I like the Paralysis more. I am considering using a Zapdos but I am trying to avoid having common weaknesses in my team. Unfortunately Rotom-W and Gastrodon are both weak to grass and has proven to be an issue recently if for some reason they end up in the 4 I decide to choose. Added an Electric Gem instead of a Sitrus Berry because he wasn't able to KO anything it seemed. Still testing this out.


Frosty (Abomasnow) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Water Pulse

Abomasnow is my anti weather pokemon and so far he has proven to be pretty reliable. The Scarf helps get those quick hits in when other pokemon outspeed him. He has proven to be quite useful!


Calcifer (Chandelure) (M) @ Fire Gem
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick Room
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Protect

Chandelure is amazing with Fire Gem. I have been able to outspeed and use Heat Wave to OHKO most opposing pokemon that do not resist Fire. I would prefer not to change him at all costs and do not wish to do so. His EV's could use some work though if anyone has a suggestions. I named him after the Fire spirit thing from Howl's Moving Castle. Returned to my previous EV spread and Timid Nature Chandelure since EVERYTHING that I would use him to kill was now outspeeding him and OHKO'ing him.

[pokemaster649]

I know you said not to change scizor, all I want is to put one little suggestion that might be helpful, the suggestion is night slash (replacing aerial ace). Because there will be a lot of chandelure (since they are weak to dark as well, night slash would be a good counter) in the vgc. If you don't really like garchomp, how about trying latios (this one has an amazing speed and sp. attack). If you are interested in this pokemon, try this set:

Latios item: dragon gem
trait: levitate
nature: timid
evs: 4 hp, 252 sp. atk, 252 spd
moves:
draco meteor
psychic
substitute
protect

Sub is good move because it helps protect from being sucker punched. draco meteor + dragon gem, that move is really powerful. Psychic is just another attack other than draco meteor, but it is consider helpful on several occasions. It's timid nature lets it outspeed most pokemon in the metagame.

As for gastrodon, muddy water is consider a little more helpful than scald in my opinion (having scald is fine).

[voodoo pimp]

On Gallade, I'd consider Close Combat instead of Drain Punch. Fighting STAB is great, and the stronger it is the better.

Agreed that you should stick with Muddy Water, spread moves are awesome and also potential accuracy hax.

[JaeSun]

Night Slash on Scizor actually sounds like a pretty good idea, however since it is at 70 base power Technician won't kick in but I will try it out. Latios might be a good idea, I was hesitant due to his Ghost type weakness since I already have Chandelure and Gallade.

Gallade with Close Combat is cool and all but I just didn't like the stat drops and found Drain Punch a bit useful personally.

[Ignitrua]

Night Slash is a bit useless on Scizor, as it won't take down Chandelure that well and you lose an efficient check to Hitmontop. If you're that desperate about Chandelure, you could replace Gastrodon with Heatran or Ludicolo. Heatran is a great sun check whereas Ludicolo is a great rain counter as well as Fake Outer - you would probably benefit from Ludicolo most, as your best rain counter bar Gastrodon is Rotom-W, who doesn't like taking +1 Giga Drains. Gastrodon and Rotom-W have very poor synergy, and nothing on your team truly appreciates Storm Drain support anyway (except possibly Chandelure, but against a rain team Chandelure still seems an unlikely choice).

Ludicolo set

---

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish (lasts forever vs. Rain teams)
Modest: 224 HP/252 SpA/28 Spe (to speed creep common Hitmontops)
-Fake Out
-Scald/Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam

GL in Hawaii!

[JaeSun]

thanks Ignitrua! Ludicolo is doing much better than Gastrodon was. Also dumb question but is it alright to not run Protect on Ludicolo? Part of me says to swap FO for Protect but at the same time FO is pretty nice to have.

[Ignitrua]

Well, I prefer Fake Out, though most notable users of Ludicolo run Protect, so I guess it's a matter of preferance.

[JakESA]

Having a Scarf and trick on Rotom can be useful. You out speed your opponent, then lock them into a move and then volt switch out. Pretty useful on Walls, making them switch out giving one of your Pokes a free turn to bulk or swords dance or something.

[Ignitrua]

Originally Posted by Fat JakESA

Having a Scarf and trick on Rotom can be useful. You out speed your opponent, then lock them into a move and then volt switch out. Pretty useful on Walls, making them switch out giving one of your Pokes a free turn to bulk or swords dance or something.

Bulky Rotom-W is perfectly plausible - it's just down to preference. I think Bulky Rotom is better on this team courtesy of the team's bulky offensive nature.

[JaeSun]

Updated 4/19. Changes in Bold. Added Ludicolo over Gastrodon, changed up Scizor's EVs for speed and threw CC on Gallade.

For Rotom-W what are the general EVs for a bulky Rotom-W? I am willing to try it out.

[pokemaster649]

I would say for rotom-w's evs are 252 hp, 252 sp. atk, 4 spd.

[Ravix]

Hi Jaesun, I've played against you a few times on the VGC server and thought I'd drop by to give you a few suggestions.

My first suggestion would be switching Garchomp with Mamoswine.

Access to a priority ice attack, Ice shard. Arguably better typing vs your match ups, plus guaranteed checks with focus sash. As well as keeping ground + stab earthquake. Not to mention it's incredible attack stat and access to icicle crush.

Mamoswine (F) @ Focus Sash Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Protect


IMO, you shouldn't run someone specifically for getting rid of trick room. Rather embrace trick room, use the knowledge of what your opponent is going to do against them.

By changing to Mamoswine this also opens up the opportunity for you to use Zapdos. Which pairs up very nicely with Mamoswine, getting really good coverage.

Zapdos @ Yache Berry Trait: Pressure
EVs: 140 HP / 248 SAtk / 120 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Detect

You can switch out the berry to whatever you feel like you might be seeing more directed at your team, but from experience ice attacks are usually what Zapdos see's the most. Hp flying is there to counter hitmontop/infernape/other fighting popkemon.

[Cassie]

Trick Room can definitely be a problem if they taunt your Chandelure, just a warning.

If you're going with Close Combat over Drain Punch you should probably re-evaluate your spread to see if it even still lives anything after the drop with your current spread. I honestly prefer Drain Punch over Close Combat because of Gallade's decent Special Defense. I'd say Justified is better just because Gallade's typing attracts Dark-type moves. If you're not huge on keeping Safeguard, I'd suggest Helping Hand seeing as boosted gemmed moves give you plenty of nice KOs.

I definitely think you should consider replacing the Garchomp, seeing as you don't even like it yourself. I'm not sure what you're looking for in Garchomp seeing as you said you like STAB EQ and yet you want to use Hydreigon. Rotom-W seems fine with the current team.

I support the switch to Abomasnow, Scarf HP Fire would probably be a good idea if you're using it to beat rain, just so you're outspeeding the Zapdos and Thundurus that are common and hitting the Ferrothorn too. It really depends on what you think your team needs though.

Lastly, Chandelure definitely needs to be looked at Nature and EV spread wise. Decide what you want Chandelure to actually outspeed and then go from there. I think a bulkier Modest Chandelure would be better, that way you're living STAB Rock Slides etc.

I like the look of your team, I think you just need to clean it up a bit for what you're doing.

[JaeSun]

UPDATED 4/21! Changes in Bold.

Thanks Ravix, I tried out Mamoswine and Zapdos for the last few days and unfortunately, Mamoswine just dies and doesn't do me much good. Part of it might be my bad predicting but even when things go my way Mamoswine has yet to KO anything. Zapdos did fine though, but for the moment I am going to stick with Rotom-W and test him out a bit more. I ended up trying out Gliscor instead for my EQ user.

Took your advice Cassie and changed CC back to Drain Punch and Gallade can't have Justified with Drain Punch unfortunately. His sustainability is much better. Also changed Chandelure to survive a bit and it's a lot better. Swapped out Ludicolo to Scarf Abomasnow as well which is doing well.

Thanks for the advice!

[Cassie]

That's great to hear! I'm just wondering why you still use Timid nature Chandelure? Since it's on the bulkier side you're better off using Modest so you can hit harder.

[JaeSun]

Originally Posted by Fat Cassie

That's great to hear! I'm just wondering why you still use Timid nature Chandelure? Since it's on the bulkier side you're better off using Modest so you can hit harder.

Oops, forgot to change that. It is Modest now actually. Thanks for pointing that out.

Also how difficult is it to RNG Pokemon? It looks way complicated but I have a feeling it would be better than trying to spend weeks IV breeding Pokemon for Worlds...

[voodoo pimp]

Originally Posted by Fat JaeSun

Also how difficult is it to RNG Pokemon? It looks way complicated but I have a feeling it would be better than trying to spend weeks IV breeding Pokemon for Worlds...

It takes a while to learn, but it's easy once you get the hang of it. And if it doesn't work out for you, there's always this thread.

[JaeSun]

Originally Posted by Fat voodoo pimp

It takes a while to learn, but it's easy once you get the hang of it. And if it doesn't work out for you, there's always this thread.

Cool thanks so much!

[JaeSun]

Updated 4/26! changes in Bold!

I am not doing as good with Salamence as I expected, I do want a Dragon type pokemon on my team with good coverage but preferably a physical attacker (doesn't have to be just preference) I like to keep my team to 3 physical 3 special attackers although I may change that a bit later. All advice and critique is highly appreciated!

[Ignitrua]

Salamence is the only Dragon with Intimidate sadly. If you want to replace him, Garchomp is always readily available, or for the more unexpected approach, you could try Dragonite or even Haxorus!

[Saboros]

Keep in mind the fact that after intimidate Psychic Gem Psycho Cut doesn't always KO IntimiTop while Zen Headbutt always does. Keep that in mind, since having something that can OHKO Hitmontop is very good.

[Cassie]

What are you looking for in the Dragon-type, other than being a Physical attacker?

[JaeSun]

Originally Posted by Fat Ignitrua

Salamence is the only Dragon with Intimidate sadly. If you want to replace him, Garchomp is always readily available, or for the more unexpected approach, you could try Dragonite or even Haxorus!

Dragonite sounds like something i should try out especially with the Multiscale ability. I actually forgot about Haxorus, thanks for the tips!

Originally Posted by Fat Saboros

Keep in mind the fact that after intimidate Psychic Gem Psycho Cut doesn't always KO IntimiTop while Zen Headbutt always does. Keep that in mind, since having something that can OHKO Hitmontop is very good.

That's good to know thank you, originally i chose Psycho Cut for the accuracy and crit chance. I will try out Zen instead though thanks!

Originally Posted by Fat Cassie

What are you looking for in the Dragon-type, other than being a Physical attacker?

Well for the most part I would prefer it to be a physical attacker but I can always change it. Besides that I want something with good coverage, I like using Pokemon like Zapdos that can have its own STAB move and then other moves like Heat Wave and HP Grass/Ice to help cover more pokemon. My Scarf Hydreigon had Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, Dark Pulse and Focus Blast for example. I just like having more coverage and variety in moves if possible.

[Cassie]

Dragonite definitely fits the "variety" bill. It can work as both Physical and Special, and seeing as you want Physical I'd suggest just making sure you have Dragon Claw. I like using Multiscale Haban Berry, as you take the Dragon Gem Draco Meteor and then OHKO back with Dragon Claw. That's only if you have problems with other Dragon types of course. The set looks something like this. With ExtremeSpeed and move #4 being exchangeable for whatever you're looking for.

Dragonite (M) @ Haban Berry Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
- ExtremeSpeed

[pokemaster649]

Uh, cassie, I think you forgot one move in dragonite's set.