[OVERVIEW]
Amoonguss is one of the best supporting Pokemon in Doubles, with the ability to control momentum through redirection and immobilization tactics. Access to Rage Powder lets Amoonguss redirect dangerous attacks away from its partner, and with the help of Regenerator and its great defenses, Amoonguss can afford to take lots of hits. In addition to this, Amoonguss has great defensive typing, resisting common attacking types like Water, Fighting, Electric, and Fairy, which allows it to check big threats like Keldeo, Azumarill, Rotom-W, and Terrakion. Amoonguss is especially valuable because it works during any period of the match and is rarely dead weight. Even in the rare situation where Amoonguss isn't useful, it regains health by switching out. Thanks to Spore and its low Speed, Amoonguss works especially well both as a check to Trick Room teams and as a member of Trick Room teams, usually moving first and putting foes to sleep without the threat of Sleep Clause. Although Amoonguss has a lot going for it, it has very little offensive presence, so it needs to be partnered with an offensive Pokemon in order to do its job. Amoonguss also struggles against opposing Grass-types.
[SET]
name: Rage Powder
move 1: Rage Powder
move 2: Spore
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Protect
item: Rocky Helmet / Sitrus Berry
ability: Regenerator
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rage Powder removes offensive pressure from Amoonguss's partner, allowing it to attack an opposing threat or set up without worry of taking damage. Spore puts a foe to sleep, immobilizing it and gaining momentum by reducing the 2v2 two-on-two scenario to 2v1 two-on-one. Giga Drain allows Amoonguss to not entirely be Taunt bait and allows it to check Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Keldeo, and Terrakion. It also restores some health, which is great for such a defensively oriented Pokemon. Protect allows Amoonguss to scout for attacks or protect itself when you predict a double target.
Set Details
========
Rocky Helmet is used in order to punish physical attackers, dealing damage with every hit. This is especially nice against Mega Kangaskhan, against which it deals twice as much damage due to Parental Bond, and Focus Sash users that make contact like Breloom, Bisharp, and Terrakion, as it breaks their Focus Sashes. A Sitrus Berry can be a useful alternative on Amoonguss, giving it more health to work with against any attack that does not outright KO it and allowing it to use Rage Powder more freely. 252 HP and 184 Defense EVs and a Relaxed nature allow Amoonguss to always survive a Jolly Mega Metagross's Zen Headbutt. The rest of the EVs are placed into Special Defense to help Amoonguss survive attacks such as a Kyurem-B's Ice Beam. A Speed-decreasing nature and a 0 Speed IV are chosen to give Amoonguss a better Trick Room matchup, and with a base Speed stat of 30 it isn't going to be outspeeding anything outside of Trick Room anyway. The same spread but with a Sassy nature over a Relaxed one is usable to grant Amoonguss the ability to survive Mega Camerupt's spread Heat Wave while still surviving Life Orb Latios's Psyshock. Amoonguss often gets low on health amidst redirection and switching into attacks for the team, but it is still able to maintain its HP thanks to Regenerator healing a third of its health when it switches out. This enables Rocky Helmet Amoonguss in particular to have reliable ways to recover health even though it lacks a Sitrus Berry.
Usage Tips
========
Using Amoonguss is fairly straightforward; use Spore against Trick Room setters that aren't immune to it, on predicted switches, and while Amoonguss's partner is protecting itself. Use Giga Drain when Amoonguss has been Taunted or when it is super effective and Amoonguss's partner isn't in danger. Use Protect against Fake Out or if the opponent is likely to double target Amoonguss and your other Pokemon can knock out one of the threats. Otherwise, use Rage Powder to redirect non-threatening moves to Amoonguss and allow its partner to move safely, whether it be setting up or attacking. Keep in mind, however, that Rage Powder and Spore do not affect Grass-types, Safety Goggles users, and Pokemon with Overcoat. Amoonguss works well throughout the match, neutralizing big threats with Spore early-game to gain momentum, aiding setup and better positioning during the mid-game, and easing the pressure on its teammates during cleanup in the end-game. Keep in mind that switching Amoonguss out of a dangerous situation has the benefit of restoring its health, so if Amoonguss is highly pressured and a safe switch is available, switching out is often the best option.
Team Options
========
Amoonguss struggles to take multiple super effective hits and appreciates teammates that can hurt threats like Heatran, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gardevoir, and Talonflame. Pokemon with Rock-type attacks can hurt the Flying-, Fire-, and Ice-type Pokemon that scare Amoonguss, so Terrakion, Landorus-T, and Mega Diancie are all good choices. Amoonguss also helps them in return by redirecting Hydro Pumps, Close Combats, Flash Cannons, and any non-STAB Grass-type moves. Amoonguss does a great job at aiding setup, so boosting Pokemon that don't share its weaknesses, such as Azumarill, have a much easier time with Amoonguss on the field. Substitute users such as Heatran and Kyurem-B have a much easier time getting up a Substitute with Amoonguss around to redirect attacks. Amoonguss works extremely well under Trick Room with its low Speed stat, so Trick Room attackers make for great partners. For example, Mega Camerupt removes the Grass-types that wall ("shut down" maybe? "Walling" a Pokemon that shouldn't be attacking in the first place sounds a tad off) Amoonguss while Amoonguss returns the favor against Water-types. In a similar vein, Cresselia, Chandelure, and Jellicent help Amoonguss by setting up Trick Room and beating threats to its success. Amoonguss has almost no offensive presence itself, so it needs partners that can pressure the opposing team offensively in order to avoid losing all momentum. Thus, any offensively oriented pokemon that doesn't share too many weaknesses with Amoonguss is a good teammate.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sludge Bomb can be used over Giga Drain for a better matchup against Grass-types like Breloom, but that makes Amoonguss lose both the possibility of recovery and its great matchup against bulky Water-types like Suicune. Foul Play can be used over Giga Drain to punish physical attackers like Power-Up Punch Mega Kangaskhan more effectively, but it's very situational. Protect can be forgone in favor of one of the above attacking moves considering Amoonguss can likely take whatever attacks it would be avoiding anyway, but this leaves it much more vulnerable, especially when it is revealed that Amoonguss doesn't carry Protect. Mental Herb can stop Taunt from ruining Amoonguss's day, but it's single use and typically not enough to outweigh the benefits of Sitrus Berry. Black Sludge or Leftovers can be used for turn-by-turn recovery, but Amoonguss is rarely on the field long enough for it to provide more healing than a Sitrus Berry due to Doubles OU's being such a fast-paced metagame nature. If your team has particular trouble with Fire-types or Flying-types, Amoonguss can run an Occa Berry or Coba Berry to gain the ability to survive one attack and, usually, put the foe to sleep. However, this is a fairly specialized item, (AC) and Sitrus Berry or Rocky Helmet generally proves useful more often.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Typing Advantage**: Offensive Fire-, Flying-, Ice-, and Psychic-types like such as Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, Deoxys-A, and Hoopa-U can hit Amoonguss hard, limiting its ability to redirect attacks away from its partner. Grass-type Pokemon are immune to Spore and Rage Powder and take little damage from Giga Drain. Mega Camerupt can underspeed Amoonguss under Trick Room and do massive damage to it.
**Utility Moves**: Taunt shuts down Amoonguss's main functions on the field, preventing it from using Spore, Rage Powder, or Protect. Although Amoonguss usually carries an attacking move, its uninvested Special Attack stat is too low for it to do much damage. Substitute blocks Amoonguss's Spore, and the two most common users, Heatran and Kyurem-B, can do lots of damage in return.
**Miscellaneous**: Even if they don't do much damage to Amoonguss, spread moves prevent it from redirecting attacks. Some examples include Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice, Mega Diancie's Diamond Storm, and Landorus-T's Rock Slide. Spread utility moves like Icy Wind and Snarl also hurt Amoonguss's partner's effectiveness. Safety Goggles users like such as Cresselia and Jirachi and Pokemon with Overcoat like such as Escavalier and Reuniclus are immune to Spore and Rage Powder, and most of them take little damage from Amoonguss's attacking options.
