So, nothing extraordinary, but I've reached 50 in both doubles and singles, so I thought I should share the teams I've been using in case anyone is looking for new ideas. Both can be played relatively "aggro" and while you have to make a hard call every once in a while, I think they are really fun and relatively safe for people with less experience of the Tree. I saved a lot of battle videos along the way to showcase here, but with the release of v1.1, none of them can be shared anymore, which is a real shame. I had a new ongoing streak in doubles (the first one I lost at 62), so I brought it to 50 again today and saved Battle 50 vs. Blue to at least prove that it works.
All of these Pokémon can be obtained from
my giveaway if anyone is interested in trying some (Raichu, Oricorio and Ribombee aren't listed, but PM me and it'll be my pleasure to send them over as well without counting them for the giveaway).
Singles
The strategy is very simple: set up Electric Terrain for Raichu, do as much work as possible with Tapu Koko while it's there (almost a suicide lead really), then finish everything with Raichu. Since the 3rd slot of the team is only meant to compliment this main strategy, many Pokémon can be used to good effect, as long as they have a pretty good matchup against ground types. I first got to 43 on my first run with DD Kommo-o as the 3rd, then tried Tapu Bulu and lost at 31 (pretty unlucky loss though, I think this team could have gone further with more attempts), but I think Kartana is pretty ideal in that slot. In the end, you rarely need the 3rd Pokémon. Even though it is pretty straightforward, here is a quick breakdown of the team:
@ Terrain Extender
Timid | Electric Surge
IVs: 31/30/31/28/31/31 [HP Grass] (Hyper trained to 31/31/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Thunderbolt / Dazzling Gleam / Hidden Power Grass / Taunt
I would say about 30% of the battles were just a Tapu Koko sweep. I'm using a special set to avoid recoil and make use of Fairy STAB. Taunt is extremely important on the set, it prevents so many things that can go wrong in the Tree, and every time I'm in doubt, I use it just to be safe, to avoid Trick Room, weather setters, evasion boosters (ALWAYS taunt Rotom!), calm minders, etc. The Tree really wants to hax the hell out of you, and Taunt goes a long way in preventing it. Otherwise, Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam are pretty straightforward STABs, while HP Grass is very rarely used, but allows you to not fear Golem, Rhyperior and the likes. Grass Knot could have been used instead, but I don't like relying on the opponents' weight. This slot is not as important, though, and Nature's Madness is also viable and useful.
Terrain Extender is absolutely necessary for this team. The entire strategy revolves around Raichu sweeping, and you really need those 8 turns of Electric Terrain to do that.
@ Aloraichium Z
Hasty | Surge Surfer
IVs: ?/?/?/?/?/? [HP Ice] (Hyper trained to 31/?/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpAtk / 164 Spe
Nasty Plot / Thunderbolt / Psyshock / Hidden Power Ice
This Raichu was actually part of my in-game team - I caught it as a Pichu very early and was fortunate enough to get HP Ice with the Hasty nature. Ideally, Timid should be used instead, but it can rarely live a physical hit anyway, so Hasty isn't that bad. The most important part of this set is the option for the Stoked Sparksurfer Z-move. It's an insane nuke which, boosted by Electric Terrain, can even OHKO some Pokémon that resist it, with the amazing bonus that when it doesn't, it always leaves them paralyzed. If Tapu Koko can handle just 1 or 2 of the opposing Pokémon before going down, Raichu can come in and finish the work pretty nicely. When in front of anything that can't OHKO you or that is too passive, Nasty Plot is also a great option, bringing the nuke status of Stoked Sparksurfer to a sky-high level.
Psyshock wasn't used a lot, but came in handy a few times against Pokémon that are specially bulky, the ability to hit on the physical side is very helpful. However, if unboosted from Nasty Plot, Psyshock is a relatively weak and underwhelming attack. HP Ice also does very disappointing damage if it isn't 4x effective. I think I only ever used it against Garchomp.
Since Raichu is very frail, I often resorted to damage calcs to know which move was best (whether I could safely Nasty Plot, or whether or not I needed to Z-move to get a KO). One mistake with Raichu can be very punishing, so when in doubt, doing a few calcs is worth the time. Tapu Koko + Raichu alone were able to handle about 80% of the teams.
While in Electric Terrain Raichu straight up outspeeds everything, scarfers included, I think a +Spe nature is important in order to stand a chance if you ever find yourself outside of Electric Terrain. Raichu really needs to outspeed the opponent to be efficient.
@ Focus Sash
Jolly | Beast Boost
IVs: 30/31/29/x/31/31 (Hyper trained to 31/31/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Leaf Blade / Smart Strike / Sacred Sword / Night Slash
As frail as Kartana is on the special side, it's physically bulky (if I had to use it again, I would also probably invest in HP instead of Attack) and can take Ground type attacks pretty well, all the while threatening them with Lead Blade, which synergizes with the rest of the team very nicely. Despite this, I rarely switched Kartana in on menacing Ground types, and usually just weakened them with Koko to then revenge KO easily with Raichu or Kartana. The free switch often meant that Kartana's sash remained intact and got a free Beast Boost in the process, which can then steamroll very quickly. I felt like Night Slash was necessary since Raichu is weak to Ghost, and Kartana's job was to revenge kill whatever stopped Raichu's sweep. Both Smart Strike and Sacred Sword are amazing options in the Tree as they don't check evasion, and this can prevent a lot of shenanigans and hax. The immunity to sand was also a big plus.
When I first tried Kartana, I went with a Choice Scarf instead, but Focus Sash is an absolute necessity for Kartana to work well on this team, as every once in a while, it will have to take a special hit and KO in return. Thanks to the Terrain Extender, there is even a chance for Kartana to come revenge Tapu Koko, faint, and allow Raichu to clean up with the Electric Terrain still up.
List of threats:
- Obviously, Ground types are pretty scary, but generally haven't caused that much trouble.
- Grass types can be problematic, Abomasnow especially.
- Ghost types can be a problem if Tapu Koko has gone down.
- Be wary to never let Trick Room happen!
Doubles
Note: Thanks a ton to Slowbrotaku for breeding the Oricorio and Cutiefly for me!
The idea for this team came from a video posted by Wolfe Glicke some time ago. It is obviously a gimmicky team, but that's definitely part of the fun. While I doubt this could work well in VGC, I thought if any place would be a place for such gimmick to actually work, it would be the Tree (and what do you know, I was right!). The idea is to abuse Oricorio's Dancer ability to give it free boosts on the same turn as it either protects or attacks. With the guaranteed Quiver Dance (there isn't a single game in which I wasn't able to Quiver Dance turn 1), Oricorio is guaranteed to be +1 in SpA, SpDef and Spe by turn 2, turning it into a genuine threat. It can then steamroll pretty quickly if the AI allows you to keep Quiver Dancing on the following turns all the while Oricorio attacks. While turn 1 is Protect + Quiver Dance 80% of the time, the way to handle the team from then on is very flexible, and as frail as it is overall, it's relatively forgiving if you make mistakes or get haxed. As a bonus, it provides hilarious moments when your opponents go for their own Quiver Dances, Dragon Dances and whatnot. In one battle, I had Oricorio at +6 SpA, SpDef and Speed on turn 3!
@ Sitrus Berry
Modest | Dancer
IVs: ?/?/?/?/?/? [HP Ground] (Hyper trained to 31/?/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Revelation Dance / Air Slash / Hidden Power Ground / Protect
I think Oricorio Pom-Pom is by far the best of the 4. The Electric typing removes its weakness to Electric with absolutely no drawbacks since it is immune to Ground, leaving it only weak to Rock and Ice. The Electric typing is also excellent offensively. Modest is used over Timid because you are boosting your speed anyway with Quiver Dance, and Oricorio isn't the most powerful of Pokémon, so it needs every boost it can get. Revelation Dance is a straightforward STAB, while Air Slash is usually excellent neutral coverage, with the nice chance of flinching (don't rely on it!). Sadly, its 95% accuracy is treacherous and can betray you in the most crucial of moments, so when I didn't NEED to use Air Slash, I usually preferred the other, safer attacks. HP Ground was super fortunate to have (the Oricorio just happened to have it!), since Electric types and Steel types were generally a problem for my lead (especially both types combined, hello Magnezone!). While I think HP Ground is preferable when possible, many other moves can fit nicely in this slot such as Roost, Baton Pass and Taunt. Protect is there because this is doubles, and Oricorio almost always uses it on turn 1 to get the speed boost.
@ Focus Sash
Timid | Shield Dust
IVs: ?/?/?/?/?/? (Hyper trained to 31/?/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Quiver Dance / Pollen Puff / Baton Pass / Protect
Oricorio's partner in crime, Ribombee sets up one or multiple Quiver Dances before either sweeping alongside Oricorio, baton passing to Tapu Lele, or fainting. After the initial Quiver Dance, you have to really use your judgement on what to go for. If it was left unharmed with the sash intact, setting up further Quiver Dances is usually pretty safe. However, if the matchup is good, Pollen Puff can do sizeable chunks of damage, and as a huge added bonus, it heals Oricorio if used on him! Usually, however, the goal is to pass these boosts (just one is plenty) to Tapu Lele, turning one of the game's best Pokémon into an offensive beast your opponent will have no answer to. The Focus Sash is an absolute necessity to allow Ribombee to do its job well and reliably. Despite that, it may faint after turn 1 if the opponent double-targeted it or sand/hail has been set, but while not ideal, it's usually fine, as long as it got its Quiver Dance off - everything else is just bonus.
Shield Dust is preferred over Sweet Veil, but both are very helpful abilities. I was using Sweet Veil on my first run, and it did prevent Yawn from affecting my Pokémon twice (that's a pretty big deal). But Shield Dust prevents secondary effects, which means: no freeze, no burn from receiving a fire move, no flinch from Fake Out (!) or Rock Slide, etc. Considering how much hax the Tree seems to get, this is an amazing ability which allows Ribombee it do its job really reliably.
@ Life Orb
Timid | Psychic Surge
IVs: 31/x/31/31/26/31 (Hyper trained to 31/x/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
Psychic / Dazzling Gleam / Psych Up / Protect
If you can safely Baton Pass a single Quiver Dance into Tapu Lele, it's usually game over for the opponent. Psychic in Psychic terrain is already incredibly strong, so boosting it further makes it a real nuke even when resisted. Dazzling Gleam deals with dark types, and since Wide Guard isn't really used by the AI, it's a pretty safe spread move that can finish weakened Pokémon. Psych Up is necessary in case either Ribombee or Oricorio goes down too early. Since they both get the Quiver Dance boost, Lele can Psych Up the boosts from any of the 2. While it isn't too frail and can usually tank a hit, Life Orb reduces its lifespan quite a bit, especially if it was hit on switch-in, so every attacking turn should be used to the fullest.
@ Fightinium Z
Jolly | Beast Booost
IVs: 31/31/31/x/3/31 (Hyper trained to 31/31/31/31/31/31)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Leaf Blade / Smart Strike / Sacred Sword / Protect
Kartana is mainly there to cover the other Pokémon's weaknesses. Since its teammates are mostly weak on the physical side (and are boosting their special defense), Kartana can tank a few physical hits (that aren't fire). The lead is very weak to Rock, and both Ribombee and Tapu Lele are weak to Steel, so Kartana can handle all these types pretty nicely. All-Out Pummeling allows for one nuke, especially useful against Chople Berry Tyranitar (I've seen it so many times by now). To be fair, Kartana was very rarely used or needed, but some Ground/Rock themed teams (usually from construction workers or policemen) really give trouble to the rest of the team and require Kartana to shine and sweep. Handling these teams usually requires good usage of Protect from Kartana's teammates.
Replay of battle 50 vs. Blue : U52G-WWWW-WWW4-FCEZ (overall, not that exciting of a battle, it's a simple Oricorio+Ribombee sweep, but it does show how the team works most of the time).
List of threats:
- To the lead, Rock types and Rock type attacks such as Rock Slide are very scary, they need to be handled quickly. Ice also, but to a lesser extent, since these Pokémon are often special attackers and/or KOed by +1 Revelation Dance & +1 Pollen Puff.
- Fire types threaten Ribombee and the team in general, especially if they are physical attackers. Definitely priority targets. Rotom-Heat is a pain, as the only answer on the team is Tapu Lele.
- Steel types are scary for the Ribombee slot, since Ribombee cannot take them on, and cannot Baton Pass safely into Tapu Lele. The same could go for Poison types, but I found these usually easy to handle.
- Trick Room. If your opponent successfully sets it up, it's important to Protect-stall it as much as possible, because the team relies on speed.
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As final words, both of these teams are really meant to be fun and easy to use. I doubt they can get to sky-high numbers in the Tree, but they should be able to get you pretty far in very little time due to their aggro nature!