Worm Food (Doubles): Platinum Update

Now that Platinum has been released with new move tutors, I've decided to update my favorite Doubles team. For those of you who've seen it before, here are the changes that I need the most input about:

1. Bellossom has replaced Leafeon. Its moveset is not set in stone.
2. Politoed's moveset needs to be revamped because Hypnosis's new accuracy (72% with Zoom Lens) is too low.
3. I hate Focus Blast's accuracy. Alakazam needs a new move.

Since this is a Wi-Fi team, I will be listing final stats and only approximate EVs. These stats are for Level 50 play in accordance with the PBR random Wi-Fi play. If you want Level 100 stats, just multiply by 2 and you'll be in the general ballpark.

The members of the team are posted in the order they are listed when you are choosing your leads in PBR. The Slaking is at the top purely to mislead my opponent, and I virtually never begin a match with it.

So, without further adieu (sic) (sic)...


Slaking (Nanabijou)
Ability: Truant
Item: Lum Berry
Nature: Adamant
Approximate EVs: 6 Attack, 252 SpDef, 252 Speed
Actual Stats: 225, 200, 120, 97, 110, 150
- Body Slam
- Brick Break
- Rock Slide
- Shadow Claw

Far and away the most powerful Pokémon on the team, my Slaking specializes in dishing out damage, taking hits, and being an all-around monster. It goes without saying that the sleeping giant here relies heavily on his Shuckle partner for the purpose of suppressing Truant with Gastro Acid. Once this has been taken care of, Shuckle generally uses Helping Hand to boost Slaking's attacks into the OHKO range.

At one time I had Slack Off instead of Shadow Claw. I found, however, that I could not deal any appreciable amount of damage to Dusknoir, Bronzong, and their ilk. Shadow Claw has served me much better.


Shuckle (Decay)
Ability: Sturdy
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Relaxed
Approximate EVs: 252 HP, 252 SpDef
Actual Stats: 126, 30, 276, 19, 275, 9
- Wrap
- Gastro Acid
- Helping Hand
- Encore

After having used this Shuckle for about a year (it's the first member of this team I trained), I can say with all confidence that it is an excellent support Pokémon for Double Battles. Gastro Acid is necessary for removing Truant from Slaking, but it's useful in a variety of other situations as well, from removing Swift Swim from Ludicolo to bringing Bronzong to the ground. Helping Hand boosts the attacks of all my fast hard-hitters and so I opted for it over Knock Off and Acupressure. Wrap is un-Taunt-able support that allows Shuckle to kill off Focus Sash holders and prevent Taunted and Encored opponents from leaving the field.

Finally, we have Encore. There's a reason that Encore only has 8 PP. In Doubles, Encore is power. Not only does it lock the opponent into a single move; it also forces the opponent to choose a random target for its attacks. This is not to mention the marvelous utility of Encoring Fake Out or a weather-summoning move.


Politoed (King Kero)
Ability: Damp
Item: Zoom Lens
Nature: Calm
Approximate EVs: 252 HP, 52 Def, 200 SpAtk, 6 Speed
Actual Stats: 186, 84, 100, 135, 135, 91
- Hydro Pump
- Blizzard
- Focus Blast (considering Icy Wind, Hyper Voice, Psychic)
- Haze

I opted for Politoed over other Water-types because of its Damp ability. I don't come across many Explosion users these days, but Politoed is my insurance against them. She carries the usual Water-type arsenal of Water and Ice moves. Blizzard has 84% accuracy against faster opponents and 90 power against each target.

Now that Hypnosis's accuracy has fallen to 60 (72% with Zoom Lens), it's out. I'm considering Icy Wind; many of my team members fall into the Speed range that could really benefit from the Speed reduction. Hyper Voice is also an option, though it's unSTABbed and only has 67.5 base power against each opponent. It does hit Water Absorb Pokémon for at least a little damage. Suggestions here are welcome.

Assuming that I can get myself to retrain Politoed, I'm going to put Haze in the last slot. None of my team members have stat-raising moves and Infernape and Bellossom have attacks that lower their own stats. In addition, I'm sick of Intimidate ruining my Slaking's fun. Finally, I've been seeing a high number of opponents using stat-up moves recently on PBR.


Infernape (Cynddaredd)
Ability: Blaze
Item: White Herb
Nature: Hasty
Approximate EVs: 252 HP, 252 Speed
Actual Stats: 165, 125, 90, 125, 90, 173
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- ThunderPunch
- Fake Out

My team's obligatory Fake Out user. I gave him practically no EVs in Attack or SpAttack, so I compensated by teaching him very powerful, stat-reducing moves. I then gave him a White Herb to compensate for that.


Alakazam (Wonder)
Ability: Inner Focus
Item: Focus Sash
Nature: Timid
Approximate EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Speed
Actual Stats: 131, 59, 63, 180, 106, 189
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast (considering Signal Beam, Encore)
- Taunt

Alakazam is the team's Taunt user as well as being a generally effective special attacker. I often lead with her and either Shuckle or Infernape, depending on the composition of my opponent's team. Inner Focus is a wonderful ability in Doubles, preventing my opponent from using Fake Out to make my Alakazam flinch. It's very rare that my Alakazam does not take down at least one opponent before she bites the dust.

Alakazam used to know Grass Knot instead of Shadow Ball, but I find that when a Pokémon is partnered with Shuckle, it helps to have very good type coverage. I'm strongly considering replacing Focus Blast with Signal Beam. It's much less powerful and has poorer type coverage, but I'm sick and tired of Focus Blast missing. Slaking and Infernape have Fighting-type attacks pretty well covered and Politoed might pick up Focus Blast as well (with a much more respectable 84% accuracy).


Bellossom (Corolla)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Item: Yache Berry
Nature: Modest
Approximate EVs: 190 HP, 76 SpAtk, 244 Speed
Actual Stats: Not yet trained
- Leaf Storm (considering SolarBeam)
- Sleep Powder (considering Synthesis, Safeguard, Uproar, Charm, Tickle, Sludge Bomb)
- Gastro Acid
- Sunny Day

Bellossom takes the spot formerly held by my Leafeon. After many months of testing, it was clear that Leafeon wasn't doing enough to offset my general Rain Dance team weakness. The problem with my team was this: Shuckle and Infernape can't stand up to rain-boosted Water attacks and Slaking can't function without Shuckle's Gastro Acid. That left me with only three good choices against a rain team, one of which (Politoed) can't effectively damage Water-types.

Enter Bellossom. Thanks to Platinum's move tutors, Bellossom can now learn Gastro Acid, giving me an alternative to Shuckle against Rain Dance teams. Sunny Day will clear out offensive weather and let Bellossom outspeed things like Crobat, Aerodactyl, and Jolteon. I'm not completely sold on this moveset, so I'm very open to suggestions.

Currently I have Leaf Storm in the main attack slot. Since Bellossom only has one attack, I want it to hit hard. I'm a bit concerned about the SpAtk drop, but I'll see how often it comes back to bite me.

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When making your suggestions, please keep in mind that I always adhere to the Item Clause. I find that doing so generally results in more effective teams, at least in Doubles. Thank you for reading and I appreciate your suggestions and criticisms.

I generally like it. Wrap on Shuckle is an interesting choice, I never thought of using that in doubles. How often does it come up? Encore is definitely something I need to think about setting up on my team...I think you've given me some real inspiration. Thanks.

Kittymew said:

Wrap on Shuckle is an interesting choice, I never thought of using that in doubles. How often does it come up?

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Oh man, you wouldn't believe. I use it all the time. In fact, I considered replacing it with Knock Off now that Helping Hand can be tutored and the two aren't mutually exclusive. It would finish off Focus Sash Gengar, which Wrap cannot do. It's just not worth it, though. Not only can Wrap keep opponents from switching out (keeping them Taunted, Encored, etc.), but it has actually killed off my last opponent at the end of some close matches. For instance, my opponent in a recent game had a Choice Scarf Slaking locked into Giga Impact. Both the Slaking and Shuckle had full health and were the last two Pokémon. Shuckle won.

I would actually go with Encore > Grass knot on Infernape instead of an offensive move. Encore would give more opportunities to set up the various moves your team must use to win (such as sunny day/gastro acid). While Shuckle may already fulfil the role here, a fast encore user can be beneficial especially if you switch Infernape in after the opponent used a move you would like to Encore.

In regards to Bellosom, I would go with Solarbeam or Grass knot in the last slot. Grass knot gives consistant damage incase you don't set up your sun but Solarbeam has its obvious merits. I'm slightly leaning more toward Grass knot here but you can go with either. I choose Grass knot as Bellosom needs a reliable move that doesn't depend on its success in setting up. As its item, consider Heat Rock to prolong the Sun by 3 turns.

-GEC.

Thanks for the feedback, GEC. I hadn't considered Encore on Infernape. If anything, I was thinking about putting it on Alakazam. Either way I'd have to retrain the Pokémon, but so it goes. The more I think about it, however, the more I realize I need ThunderPunch on Infernape. My team currently has no really good way to take down Gyarados and Infernape already has the White Herb to cancel out Intimidate. ThunderPunch won't KO Gyarados in one hit, but it should bring it down into the range where Alakazam or Slaking can finish it off easily.

As for Bellossom, it would be nice to have a move that didn't require the sun. However, bear in mind that this is a PBR team and I'll only be choosing four Pokémon per battle. Bellossom is designed specifically to fight Rain Dance teams, so if the sun isn't shining, Sunny Day is always the priority anyway. For this reason, I'll probably go with SolarBeam, at least at first. Thanks for suggesting Grass Knot, though. I admit I hadn't considered it. Its base power is a bit unreliable for my taste, but I'll add it to the 'considering' bit because it's a good option. It's definitely something I'll try if SolarBeam doesn't work out.

The Heat Rock is also a good suggestion, but again, Bellossom fights Rain Dance teams, so it needs Yache Berry to stave off the Ice Beams that will nearly always be fired at it. If it can't live to use Sunny Day, it doesn't do me any good.

Huh, well I guess I had internet access this weekend after all.

This team looks really good, like the last time I checked it out. There's not much I can say, to be honest. On Politoed, Psychic sounds cool to kill opposing Toxicroak and Poliwrath on RD teams, but I think you'll get more out of Icy Wind; if not, then Psychic. Also, I think Helping Hand would be better than Swagger since it supports the whole team without confusing anyone and because Swagger may not be that much help against RD pokemon you plan to use it on such as Kabutops, Toxicroak, Poliwrath, and perhaps Gyarados. Besides, you said that you'd use it after using Hypnosis, and you've no Hypnosis! You could also consider using Water Absorb to piss off Rain teams, but then, as you said, you lose your Explosion insurance.

I suppose, if you could be bothered to try to rebreed, Alakazam could run HP Fighting in Focus Blast's place so you get the same coverage, although with admittedly less power. If that doesn't work out, there's always Signal Beam or, perhaps, Charge Beam if you're feeling daring to put the hurt on Gyarados and gain a Sp. Atk boost, although HP Electric would probably be best for that.

For some reason, I don't like the idea of using Bellosom as your RD answer. I mean, Sunny Day doesn't help anything else besides Infernape, anyway. Truth be told, though, I can't quite think of a suitable replacement that can use Sleep Powder and Gastro Acid. The closest thing I can think of would be perhaps Celebi, which also helps you deal with Gyarados, although it wouldn't be too much help against Signal Beam Kingdra or X-Scissor Kabutops. I dunno.

StarmanXL said:

On Politoed, Psychic sounds cool to kill opposing Toxicroak and Poliwrath on RD teams, but I think you'll get more out of Icy Wind; if not, then Psychic. Also, I think Helping Hand would be better than Swagger since it supports the whole team without confusing anyone and because Swagger may not be that much help against RD pokemon you plan to use it on such as Kabutops, Toxicroak, Poliwrath, and perhaps Gyarados. Besides, you said that you'd use it after using Hypnosis, and you've no Hypnosis! You could also consider using Water Absorb to piss off Rain teams, but then, as you said, you lose your Explosion insurance.

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Hmm... most Rain Dance teams I face are more of the Ludicolo, Kingdra, Vaporeon, Lapras variety, so I hadn't really considered the physical attackers when thinking about Swagger. Honestly, Swagger is going to go regardless. I'll probably put Icy Wind or Helping Hand in that slot and Focus Blast in the third slot for now. Thanks for catching the Hypnosis thing. That's leftover text and I edited it out.

I suppose, if you could be bothered to try to rebreed, Alakazam could run HP Fighting in Focus Blast's place so you get the same coverage, although with admittedly less power. If that doesn't work out, there's always Signal Beam or, perhaps, Charge Beam if you're feeling daring to put the hurt on Gyarados and gain a Sp. Atk boost, although HP Electric would probably be best for that.

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These are really good suggestions, but I hate Hidden Power with a fiery passion. Also, I wouldn't be willing to breed that long. I think I'll try Signal Beam. I can always go back to Focus Blast if need be.

For some reason, I don't like the idea of using Bellosom as your RD answer. I mean, Sunny Day doesn't help anything else besides Infernape, anyway. Truth be told, though, I can't quite think of a suitable replacement that can use Sleep Powder and Gastro Acid. The closest thing I can think of would be perhaps Celebi, which also helps you deal with Gyarados, although it wouldn't be too much help against Signal Beam Kingdra or X-Scissor Kabutops. I dunno.

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Yeah, Bellossom is a weird choice. I really needed two things from the Pokémon, though: Gastro Acid and a way to fight Rain Dance (so a Water resist and a Grass or Electric attack). My options were Vileplume, Bellossom, Victreebel, and Carnivine. I preferred to have a Ground resist, so that left Carnivine and Bellossom. I decided that in order to best counter Rain Dance, Sunny Day was necessary, and Bellossom has Chlorophyll. It's true that my team doesn't benefit much from Sunny Day; it's not a Sunny Day team. However, Rain Dance/Surf/Water Absorb is so ridiculously powerful that I need some way to counter it. We'll see if Bellossom actually does the trick. If not I'll swap it out for something else.

I love doubles teams and it seems like you have your bases covered here. I have a few suggestions/questions, though:

Why the HP EV investment on Infernape? I still don't think Infernape is bulky enough to take strong hits, whereas you could give it a little more in the offense department (since it relies on solely offensive moves).

I love the concept of Alakazam and Shuckle as a starting pair. However, I think it would be even more deadly if you give Alakazam Encore. Recently I fought against a fast Encore user and it completely ruined my strategy because it was so unexpected. This way, Shuckle could Wrap the first turn and Alakazam could Encore the setup pokemon on the following turn.

If you are concerned with someone using Fake Out on Shuckle and messing up your opening strategy, try running a Choice Scarf Alakazam with a Yache Berry Dragonite. Both have Inner Focus (an amazing ability for double battling) and Dragonite can Wrap after Alakazam Tricks the scarf to the setup pokemon. This way, one of your opponent's pokemon will be completely useless for several turns. Given, you will lose your Gastro Acid and Encore with Shuckle, but this is just an idea...it doesn't have to be a replacement.

The rest of your team looks great...Bellossom can be a decent Rain Dance counter with the Yache Berry and it is probably your best choice if you are looking for Gastro Acid. Another suggestion for the move slots that you aren't sure about could be Sweet Scent (yes it does sound lame). It reduces both pokemon's evasiveness and allows you to keep Hypnosis on Poliwrath and have a better chance of Alakazam's Focus Blast hitting. It's very gimmicky, but could work in hand with less accurate moves that are giving you trouble.

The best thing about your team is that it can deal with basically any type of opposing strategy that you face in doubles - Trick Room, Explosion, weather, etc... I hope I have helped/provided some ideas to consider.