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Ghostium Z Mimikyu as well, although it shouldn't switch into anything.
I've used Specs Primarina on a few runs and... well, its Moonblast hits like a truck, so much you don't tend to rely on Hydro Pump (I'm considering swapping it with Scald because there are not really many situations I can say I need it), and it has nice coverage. Ferrothorn's rarity in the Battle Tree means you don't really need to run HP Fire and you can go with Psychic and Ice Beam.
Lack of a reliable Fairy STAB takes away from Mimikyu. Without that Mimikyu doesn't have a good way to deal with Dragon types, so it's not that useful on a Dragon/Steel team. Fairium Z would make it a little better, but it would still add a Ghost weakness that's hard to check within the Dragon/Steel core. Dragonite/Bisharp/Mimikyu would be an interesting team when that becomes available, but I already see a couple small problems with the team such as lack of Fairy resist.
It's really annoying that I keep losing in the 30's and 40's. I'm just so new at battling that I'm not sure whether my team can tank a hit from something or not so I make a poor switch and then proceed to lose the battle. (This just happened a second ago with a Mega-Alakazam, which 2HKO'd Scizor before it could get an X-Scissor off, when Garchomp could have tanked a Psychic and OHKO'd with Earthquake.) Right now I'm using a variant of Kommo-o's team from a couple of pages ago: (I really like the Z-Refresh set)
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Jolly
31/31/31/X/31/31 (252 Attack/Speed)
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Fire Fang
Swords Dance
1.) {NOT BRED YET; LOOKING FOR OPINIONS}
Lead (Arcanine) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Intimidate or Flash Fire [I have Intimidate but I'm always scared about Competitive and Defiant. Flash Fire could be valuable, though not likely.]
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Burn Up
- Snarl
- Toxic
- Morning Sun or Charm or Bulldoze or Safeguard
For both teams I would suggest z crystals. Firium-Z on arcanine gives a much stronger first attack, and wide lens is pretty situational- it seems like the goal is bulk, so missing with toxic should never be the end of the world. I'm not sure what the point of the EV spread is, since it seems oddly specific, but if you were going for even bulk you should probably factor the intimidate drop into it, especially considering how many more strong special attackers there are vs physical.
For Phero, I suggest sub over taunt. Taunt stops set-up sweepers, but if phero is your revenge killer that seems not that necessary. Blocking status and getting a free attacking turn is really useful, whereas taunt loses you the game if they go with an attack and only ever prevents that turn's move. I think you will find brick break very underwhelming- i would suggest hjk with fightinium if you absolutely need a 100% fighting attack.
It's unconventional, but i would consider poison jab over ice beam. Ice beam mostly exists for quad weaknesses, but almost all of those are dragons, which your other two definitely have covered. You lose coverage on lando and gliscor, but i think having a plan for whimsicott/ribombee/garde is worth it.
I used to use a Dragonite/Aegislash/Tapu Fini team, but I've made a switch to Garchomp/Scizor/Tapu Fini. You can read about the team a couple pages back if you're interested. Since I used to use Dragonite, I'll share some of my thoughts that you may find useful.
I was worried about the lack of Dragon Dance when I went from Dragonite to Garchomp too, but I don't ever want to go back now. I found Dragonite to be very underwhelming. EQ without STAB doesn't hit as hard as I would like and virtually forces you to lock yourself into Outrage. When faced with status users, sure you can get a free boost while consuming the Lum Berry, but the resulting Outrage confusion afterwards will force a switch anyway, so it's kind of wasted. Jolly Garchomp is fast enough to set up a Sub in front of almost all status users which gets you a free +2 Swords Dance boost and makes it very easy to sweep combined with a STAB EQ. I also found Adamant Dragonite's Speed to be quite lacking at +1 without picking up any meaningful KO's so I switched to a max Speed Jolly set before making the jump to Garchomp. Max Speed Jolly hits a conveniently empty Speed tier of 217 at +1. This outruns even Sand Rush Excadrill which lands at 216. I found the extra Speed from Jolly helped me pick up more easy KO's at +1 vs the fast, frail Pokémon. Gengar4(Mega-Gengar) for example is a huge problem for an Adamant Dragonite lead, but the Jolly Dragonite poops on it by being faster at +1.
Scizor can check all the Ice types with ease if you run more bulk. I've been having a lot of success with a bulky 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD Scizor running Swords Dance/Roost/Bullet Punch/U-turn(filler). It can boost to +6 vs virtually anything. More details about the set on my team post.
I think Primarina, Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele are the best Fairy options available now. I like Tapu Fini because of the status immunity, but Tapu Lele is interesting too because of the better power and speed.
Thanks for your help ! Im going to try your team, I just need to adjust to garchomp since i dont use it too much.
Scizor seems fine tuned too, i'll put that ev spread so i can use it like a pivot better.
It's really annoying that I keep losing in the 30's and 40's. I'm just so new at battling that I'm not sure whether my team can tank a hit from something or not so I make a poor switch and then proceed to lose the battle. (This just happened a second ago with a Mega-Alakazam, which 2HKO'd Scizor before it could get an X-Scissor off, when Garchomp could have tanked a Psychic and OHKO'd with Earthquake.) Right now I'm using a variant of Kommo-o's team from a couple of pages ago: (I really like the Z-Refresh set)
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Jolly
31/31/31/X/31/31 (252 Attack/Speed)
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Fire Fang
Swords Dance
Use the 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD spread from my team. It can take 2 hits from Alakazam. Makes it easier to Swords Dance vs more opponents. You can actually Swords Dance then OHKO with Bullet Punch the next turn which is the same as using X-Scissor, but you end up with a +2 in the end.
Also, use the damage calculator linked in the first post created by turskain. It comes preloaded with the Battle Tree sets, so it's easy to check the damage.
EDIT: Mega Scizor can guaranteed take 2 hits from Mega Alakazam Focus Blast. It has a >50% chance of surving 1 Focus Blast as regular Scizor followed by a second after Mega evolving. I would suggest spamming Roost until it misses a Focus Blast and then setting up in between or after it runs out of Focus Blast PP. I would expect it to use Psychic vs Garchomp, so Scizor is a very safe switch after battle 50. Before battle 50, the AI can be very strange. I generally treat Alakazam3 as Scizor set up bait.
Side note: I've also noticed the AI is not very good about using variable base power moves like Heavy Slam, Grass Knot and Return. Aggron3 will use Stone Edge or Dragon Rush over Heavy Slam, which is good because it makes this set less of a nightmare to face. The Belly Drum Snorlax will just spam neutral Crunch over neutral Return. Anybody else run into the same thing?
I haven't really started going for high streaks yet on SuMo, but once pokebank comes out I'm planning to use some of the stuff I used in the Battle Maison back then.
It's interesting to read that people are using M-Sciz-Chomp-Fini teams now, because that's exactly what I had been planning to do ever since Tapu Fini was revealed. I used M-Sciz-Chomp-Azu for my 485 Maison streak back then and I know I'd never want to go back from having pretty much the best defensive type coverage you can get in the game in Bug/Steel, Dragon/Ground and Water/Fairy. Once I get my Chomp and Sciz back I'll likely go for some major streaks with them.
So far I've only been playing to get items, but I've been impressed with the fast UBs, namely Kartana and Nihilego. When used as leads with a Sash and with just 4 attacking moves you get an unexpected amount of free 3-0 sweeps thanks to Sash and Beast Boost. They both sit in a good speed tier and have amazing offensive coverage as well. My record so far was something in the 70s, but it was with a suboptimal team and without any spreadsheet peaking, so there's certainly room to improve.
I got to 66 wins, a personal best for me. Unfortunately Stallrein decided that enough was enough I foolishly switched My mmence into my chansey in hopes that with evasion I could stall out the pp from fissure/sheer cold. Wallrein had other ideas and nailed her cold. After that it was trying to get outlast Sheer colds with mmence subs, but Wallrein decided that 33% of the time, it works every time. Eh I ain't too mad, at the very least in this run I managed to get around Taunt Defiant Bisharp, that mon counters my team so ridiculously hard. I can't toxx stall him with chansey because he's immune to poison and hits hard enough to reliably break through subs and taunts because my evasion can save me, Salamence and Aegislash can't take down his attack with Intimidate/Kingshield because his ability cancels them out. My only two options tend to be either a) I get lucky in setting up Aegislash and nail him with a +6 Sacred Sword or b)spam roost/soft boil until he can't attack anymore. Fortunately I was able to get the former alot more often than the latter. In the land of Multi Battle, I don't want to try to get the 50 battle achievement. Yeah I got the trainers that come every 10 battles, but all of them tend to have passive moves. I got lucky with Demiathena with her Choice Specs Latios and that really set the bar in sweeping teams hard. I also would have to thank the smog articles strat of focusing on one trainer's poke since trainers can only switch into their individual mons.
I got to 66 wins, a personal best for me. Unfortunately Stallrein decided that enough was enough I foolishly switched My mmence into my chansey in hopes that with evasion I could stall out the pp from fissure/sheer cold. Wallrein had other ideas and nailed her cold. After that it was trying to get outlast Sheer colds with mmence subs, but Wallrein decided that 33% of the time, it works every time. Eh I ain't too mad, at the very least in this run I managed to get around Taunt Defiant Bisharp, that mon counters my team so ridiculously hard. I can't toxx stall him with chansey because he's immune to poison and hits hard enough to reliably break through subs and taunts because my evasion can save me, Salamence and Aegislash can't take down his attack with Intimidate/Kingshield because his ability cancels them out. My only two options tend to be either a) I get lucky in setting up Aegislash and nail him with a +6 Sacred Sword or b)spam roost/soft boil until he can't attack anymore. Fortunately I was able to get the former alot more often than the latter. In the land of Multi Battle, I don't want to try to get the 50 battle achievement. Yeah I got the trainers that come every 10 battles, but all of them tend to have passive moves. I got lucky with Demiathena with her Choice Specs Latios and that really set the bar in sweeping teams hard. I also would have to thank the smog articles strat of focusing on one trainer's poke since trainers can only switch into their individual mons.
I'm confused... I don't see where the problem is...
Bisharp14 are the only sets with Taunt. Bisharp23 have the Chople Berry, but no Taunt, so you can score the OHKO with +2 Sacred Sword.
Bisharp1 has no Focus Sash, so:
252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bisharp: 180-216 (104.6 - 125.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Bisharp4 has a Focus Sash, so a little trickier, but:
252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 252-300 (146.5 - 174.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
In theory, if Aegislash is the active Pokemon, use Sacred Sword turn 1 while Bisharp4 uses Taunt. Free switch turn 2 while Bisharp uses Sucker Punch(don't want to get hit by that in Blade Form since Shadow Sneak will still hit second). KO with your active Pokemon or get another free switch when it uses Taunt or Sucker Punch again.
If Aegislash is not the active Pokemon, either 2HKO it with your active if you can, or hit it once to break the Sash and free switch to Aegislash on the Sucker Punch to finish it with Sacred Sword. You can switch stall Sucker Punch PP with ease too to make it even easier for Aegislash if you want to. The only other move you can get hit by is Iron Head which Aegislash laughs at. Just don't use Salamence for the switching(or just mega evolve). Salamence is faster than Bisharp, so if you do get hit by Iron Head on the switch, just Roost it off the next turn since Salamence is faster.
When you put it like that it actually sounds like managing Bisharp to be alot easier than I thought. I can't remember exactly so chances are I ended up making things more difficult for myself when facing this mon with suboptimal plays. Thank you for the advice mate, I really appreciate it.
Finally got to 50 wins in Super Singles and Doubles, gonna go for Multi soon. I also plan to continue my Singles and Doubles streaks after getting that last stamp, so I'm posting my team here and would love some feedback on how to keep it going.
Dugtrio-A @ Rockium Z
Ability: Tangling Hair
Jolly Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
- Memento
Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator --> Shell Armor
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
- Calm Mind
- Yawn
- Slack Off
- Ice Beam
I've absolutely fallen in love with this team. As was my style in ORAS, I was able to bring out the usefulness of some oddball Pokémon, and I'm proud (especially of Dugtrio, who seldom finds a place in serious battle facility teams). I was sad at first to be battling with a Staraptor sans Reckless, but Intimidate did prove to be significantly more useful, something I learned as I became more experienced with Singles. (Plus I got to use my beautiful shiny Staraptor rather than wait for the Bank release to get an HA one!) The team played in three different styles, which I'll note in a list:
1. Hyper offense. There were many battles where Staraptor and Dugtrio were able to clean house on their own. Even without Reckless, Brave Bird dented many things and absolutely destroyed anything weak to it as well as some defensively weaker Pokémon on neutral hits. Dugtrio provided Ground and Steel coverage, both of which were much appreciated, and it killed most things weak to its STABs despite a relatively average Attack stat. Rockium Z also allowed for a one-time perfectly reliable base 180 Rock attack, which assisted in numerous situations. For instance, it allowed me to one-shot three of the Rotom forms and many bulkier Flying-types. I'd tried Endure + Reversal with Liechi Berry before, but Continental Crush proved to be more reliable and less redundant. Generally these two swept opposing offensive teams, especially by outspeeding most of them.
2. PP stalling. Though Staraptor and Dugtrio aren't exactly renowned for their defensive capabilities, their types along with Slowbro covered each other extremely well, and the first two provided invaluable immunities as well. I've PP stalled purely off immunity before; for instance, I continuously switched between Staraptor and Dugtrio against a Palossand that ran only Ground, Ghost and Poison coverage. The Palossand repeatedly found its attacks ineffective and finally ran out of Sludge Bombs, leaving it helpless against Staraptor. However, it is more common to use Slowbro and its resistances to tank a hit, then use Regenerator to heal it on the switch. This was the case against Alolan Marowak, who continuously alternated Flare Blitz (when I would switch to Slowbro) and Shadow Bone (when I would switch to Staraptor). The most important defensive capability type-wise, though, is no doubt Dugtrio's immunity to Electric attacks. Since the other two are both weak to Electric, Dugtrio is indispensable as a switch-in, and from there it either gets rid of that Pokémon (if it's Electric) or switches to Slowbro to tank a coverage move otherwise. Overall this team possesses more defensive prowess than one might think.
3. Setup. Out of the three strategies/playstyles, this is the one I generally aim for, as nothing can take out a fully set up Slowbro. Staraptor and Dugtrio are, in this case, here to support. Staraptor's Intimidate has proved useful in softening opposing blows against Slowbro, and Dugtrio's Memento makes setting up to +6/+6 even easier. The goal is to find a Pokémon that can do minimal damage to Slowbro, which isn't hard thanks to its plethora of resistances yet lack of immunities. Some Pokémon, such as Passimian or Wishiwashi, pretty much never need a Memento, while others absolutely need to have their offensive ability halved (especially some stronger special attackers). From there Slowbro comes in, Mega Evolves and sets up Calm Mind to max, Yawning and recovering along the way. Mega Slowbro's already massive defense lets it take a bunch of hits, while slowly setting up Calm Mind patches up its middling Special Defense (made easier by Memento). Yawn is useful for having perfect accuracy and buying a few turns, and Slack Off needs no explanation. Ice Beam was chosen because it is a fairly strong move with no immunities and a great side effect that might kick in now and then. Slowbro should be careful coming in against the following threats: Mold Breaker (allowing for a crit through Shell Armor), other Pokémon that can set up (either offensive stat is dangerous if it gets too high, though they usually take a while to boost), Toxic (ticking death clock), and powerful Pokémon that could outdamage Slack Off but can't be put to sleep (haven't run into this yet).
This team works great not only because of its ability to play in different playstyles, but to switch between them during a single battle in order to adapt. Of course, it helps having a +6/+6 Slowbro because that can usually take on the entire opposing team with ease if set up. There are definitely some flaws with this team, but I've been lucky so far to not encounter a major problem with them and I hope to take these Pokémon far!
This isn't as creative of a team, and I sort of cheesed my way through with a Mega, a legendary and two UBs, but it did its job and got me through 50 fast-paced Doubles battles (not counting the lag time when the opponent still has two Pokémon on the field). Tapu Lele was originally built competitively, and it would probably do better with different moves than Focus Blast and HP Fire, but it almost never chooses those moves anyway. It's dangerously strong and dangerously speedy, and being locked into a move isn't as unappealing in Doubles. Pheromosa is blazing fast, and if it manages to get a Beast Boost, its Speed is unrivaled. Sure, it has absolutely horrendous defenses, but that doesn't matter when Tapu Lele and Pheromosa basically kill everything on sight and do it first. Speaking of which, they're very good partners for each other, with each hitting most things the other cannot. Pheromosa definitely appreciates Psychic Terrain in order to not be revenge killed, especially by Talonflame. This allows it to go for strong attacks, including a powerful All-Out Pummeling that never misses. Psychic Terrain is amazing in general for stopping those pesky Fake Outs that occur so often in Doubles. In the back, Alakazam comes in to sweep everything in place of a fallen teammate (usually Pheromosa). Thanks to the new Mega mechanics, Mega Alakazam almost always immediately evolves and outspeeds most things to start firing Terrain-boosted Psychics. Though its coverage seems somewhat redundant with Tapu Lele's, both of them are so strong that it works out, and Alakazam provides Fairy coverage if Tapu Lele is locked into Psychic and vice versa. The Ghost coverage is also nice, and Encore will disable any nonthreatening opponents and allow me to gang up on a different Pokémon. There's not much to say about Kartana except it provides great physical coverage and having a powerful Grass Attack as well as a no-miss move are nice. This team is easy enough to play and I don't think it's meant for super long streaks, but it gets battles done fast.
Battle 50 for Singles: ZR4G-WWWW-WWW4-5JWK Battle 50 for Doubles: Y2MG-WWWW-WWW4-5JWP
Both were, sadly, relatively boring battles, but it's proof of 50 and I'm working on Multi next! Please leave comments and feedback if you can!
I used to use a Dragonite/Aegislash/Tapu Fini team, but I've made a switch to Garchomp/Scizor/Tapu Fini. You can read about the team a couple pages back if you're interested. Since I used to use Dragonite, I'll share some of my thoughts that you may find useful.
I was worried about the lack of Dragon Dance when I went from Dragonite to Garchomp too, but I don't ever want to go back now. I found Dragonite to be very underwhelming. EQ without STAB doesn't hit as hard as I would like and virtually forces you to lock yourself into Outrage. When faced with status users, sure you can get a free boost while consuming the Lum Berry, but the resulting Outrage confusion afterwards will force a switch anyway, so it's kind of wasted. Jolly Garchomp is fast enough to set up a Sub in front of almost all status users which gets you a free +2 Swords Dance boost and makes it very easy to sweep combined with a STAB EQ. I also found Adamant Dragonite's Speed to be quite lacking at +1 without picking up any meaningful KO's so I switched to a max Speed Jolly set before making the jump to Garchomp. Max Speed Jolly hits a conveniently empty Speed tier of 217 at +1. This outruns even Sand Rush Excadrill which lands at 216. I found the extra Speed from Jolly helped me pick up more easy KO's at +1 vs the fast, frail Pokémon. Gengar4(Mega-Gengar) for example is a huge problem for an Adamant Dragonite lead, but the Jolly Dragonite poops on it by being faster at +1.
Scizor can check all the Ice types with ease if you run more bulk. I've been having a lot of success with a bulky 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD Scizor running Swords Dance/Roost/Bullet Punch/U-turn(filler). It can boost to +6 vs virtually anything. More details about the set on my team post.
I think Primarina, Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele are the best Fairy options available now. I like Tapu Fini because of the status immunity, but Tapu Lele is interesting too because of the better power and speed.
Here's a team I came up with and my cousin is beta testing for me. He currently has an ongoing >50 streak. I'm working on breeding my own and I'll post some streak later.
Team Garcizorini <-- placeholder until I think of something I like
This set is pretty self explanatory. Substitute to be used as needed to scout the opponent's set, block status/OHKO moves from slower status users and set up in front of the weaker or more passive opponents. Jolly nature and max speed to ensure you can OHKO or set up the Substitute in front of as many opponents as possible. Max attack investment with Outrage and EQ are chosen to hit as hard as possible. The 4 Def EV as opposed to HP ensure you can survive an Ice Fang from Gyarados3 which is somewhat random but potentialy useful. Swords Dance is to boost as fast as possible since Garchomp doesn't have access to recovery, power through Curse users, and because you only have 3 turns of status immunity from a Tapu Fini pivot to reach +6 in front of Swagger/Flatter users that Substitute can't block or status users than can actually break your Substitute. My favorite part of the set is hands down the Dragonium Z. The 190 Base Power + STAB gives you a OHKO option on a lot of Pokemon you can't set up on that Outrage misses. This makes it a 3v2 with a perfectly fresh team, and it also doesn't lock you in if a Fairy or Steel comes in to ruin your sweep, especially without a Lum Berry to cure the confusion. For that reason alone, Devastating Drake should be used to KO all first or second Pokemon that can't be taken down with EQ regardless if Garchomp is +0 or +6. The second use is to guarantee a KO on those annoying Bright Powder/Lax Incense sets that can hax you over. Also, did I mention that the character's Dragonium Z jaws pose goes really well with GarCHOMP? That alone makes it worth using! Nothing like the feeling when you KO the last Pokemon with a +6 Devastating Drake while hiding behind a Substitute.
I prefer Garchomp over Dragonite because of the STAB EQ giving you other KO options besides locking yourself into Outrage. It also makes short work of some faster leads that Dragonite has issues with such as Charizard34 which I always hated seeing. Charizard-X either OHKO's or Dragon Dances as well and Charizard Y can flinch and neuter Dragonite with Air Slash, then has no trouble sweeping the Steel and Water/Fairy backups thanks to Drought. Garchomp also provides an electric immunity and is able to benefit from the Misty Terrain status immunity to set up and KO with a STAB move, something that Dragonite cannot do.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EV: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 112 SpD (currently in use by cousin)
EV: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD (recommended)
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
My cousin's spread adds a rather arbitrary amount into SpD and dumps the rest in attack. Heavy SpD investment is required to allow Scizor to set up on special attackers as safely as possible. Thanks to Technician, Scizor generally has more than enough power to sweep at +6, even against some Steel resists types. I saw this particular set OHKO Red's Charizard34 at +6 with Bullet Punch after setting up on Mega Venusaur. I ran the calculations later, and it wasn't a guaranteed OHKO, but that is impressive nonetheless.
Right now I am leaning toward the second spread. The 76 Atk lets you OHKO Gengar4 at +2 while the 252 HP / 180 SpD gives you special bulk and a decent chance(>50%) to switch in regular Scizor on a Gengar34 lead, mega evolve Swords Dance and survive a second Shadow Ball from a Gengar4 while you boost to take it out if you really don't want to risk losing Garchomp. If Scizor is already mega evolved and at full health, it is guaranteed to survive 2 Shadow Balls from Gengar4 without any critical hits or SpD drop on the first one, which is pretty impressive. Scizor uses Bullet Punch most of the time, so it's not that important to hit an empty Speed tier. The only ones available to Scizor are 73, 74 and 77 if you use Brave, and 82, 83 and 89 for Adamant with imperfect IVs. The next open one is 107 which is not worth the sacrifice in bulk.
U-Turn is a bit of a filler move. I think it could be replaced with Brick Break or Superpower(post-bank) to aid in taking down opposing Steel types which can be a pain. However, U-turn does give you a free switch to Garchomp on Magnet Pull Magnezone while simultaneously breaking Sturdy. Garchomp and Tapu Fini don't have any recovery, so avoiding having to sack Scizor is a huge plus. I like U-turn just for that reason. Swords Dance lets Scizor boost as high as possible during the 3 turns of status immunity he is given by Tapu Fini.
Bulky Scizor makes short work of Fairy/Ice/Grass types that threaten your team. Able to switch in on the thorn that is Altaria3, Roost, Swords Dance and Bullet Punch OHKO at just +2. He can even set up further if you can tolerate the risk of consecutive critical hits. He is also the team's best answer to Ice types that threaten Garchomp after a pivot through Tapu Fini to set Misty Terrain and provide freeze immunity.
Max SpA to hit as hard as possible when necessary and 240 Spe to outrun the base 130 crowd. Since Garchomp can't Dragon Dance, it's nice to have all the extra Speed you can get. The rest just maximize bulk.
Fini's main role is to pivot into predicted status moves that Garchomp can't block with Substitute and set up Misty Terrain. From here Tapu Fini can either take out the other Pokemon or switch back out to Scizor or Garchomp to give them a chance to set up without worry for status. In the case of Swagger users, they get a free +2 attack boost to help them set up. More often than not, Scizor will come in after Fini because access to Roost makes setting up easier and safer.
This is my Gen VII remix on the Dragon/Steel/Fairy core. It doesn't use any Intimidate switching or PP stalling, but is still effective due to its flawless type synergy. Garchomp is weak to Ice, Dragon and Fairy. Scizor resists all 3, and Tapu Fini has Dragon immunity and resists Ice with an added status immunity. Scizor's only weakness is Fire which is resisted by both partners. Fini is weak to Poison, Grass and Electric. Garchomp has electric immunity plus Poison resist, and Scizor has Poison immunity and 4x Grass resist. Because the team doesn't rely on Intimidate switching or PP stalling, matches tend to go fairly quickly. However, since Scizor is the only team member with access to recovery, it generally requires good prediction to use effectively since it can be worn down quickly. Scizor sees a lot of use as a result.
The general team strategy is:
1) If Garchomp can Substitute or set up on the first Pokemon, do it. Fire and Electric types generally fall into this category along with slow & passive sets.
2) If the first Pokemon is not something Garchomp can set up on, can Scizor set up either through direct switch in or Tapu Fini pivot? Or is Scizor the safer set up option in general? Most Ice, Fairy, Grass, Poison, Bug and Psychic fall into this category.
3) Can Garchomp EQ/Devastating Drake OHKO? Mostly anything EQ hits for super effective that is not a passive set like Arcanine and Typhlosion. Charizard34 is a good example of straight up Devastating Drake OHKO.
4) Can Fini switch in and KO it safer with minimal damage? Water and Dragon types usually.
5) "Oh ****, none of these are possible!" This happens every once in a while. Haven't encountered any leads yet that can't be beat, but some do require a little luck to not get critical hit.
Gourgeist34 is an example is an example of an annoyance. The best play is do Devastating Drake turn 1. If Gourgeist3, you will take ~40% and finish with EQ. If Gourgeist4, it will Trick-or-Treat, so EQ can't finish it with Garchomp as Ghost type. Free switch to Scizor for turn 1 of Phantom Force. Gourgeist4 is faster than Scizor, so mega evolve Roost to keep full health and finish with Bullet Punch.
Aggron3 is another example or one that can leave a big dent or a hole. Garchomp can't even EQ 2HKO, so free switch to Fini on the Dragon Rush, then hope for a Surf 2HKO(58.6% chance). The best outcome is Fini 2HKO and 60% or 100% remaining after 1 Stone Edge or Stone Edge miss, which it uses instead of Heavy Slam for some reason. The medium outcome is Fini 3HKO and barely survive 2 Stone Edge. The worst outcome is Aggron3 with barely any health and Fini dead from a Stone Edge critical. This team doesn't like Mega Aggron, but with Filter and max HP investment with mono-Steel typing, I can't think of too many Pokemon that can power through him.
Primarina34 is another example of a serious pain. Similar to the experience HeadsILoseTailsYouWin ran into using Dragonite/Aegislash/Tapu Fini, there is no great way past this Pokemon. Scizor can slowly set up to +2 2HKO or +4 OHKO Bullet Punch on Primarina4 if you don't fear critical hits, but Tapu Fini has to take a 20% Blizzard to ensure no freeze on Scizor. If Primarina3, Sizor can switch in directly and PP stall it out of Hydro Pump if no critical hits, then set up with ease, but since most trainers can carry both sets, Tapu Fini must eat a up to ~57% Moonblast before Scizor comes in. At least this team wrecks Mega Altaria and Incineroar leads thanks to Scizor and STAB EQ, respectively.
Gyarados34 leads are annoying if they have Intimidate. Without it Gyarados3 is OHKO'd by Devastating Drake, and Gyarados4 is left with minimal HP while doing about 50% to Garchomp. If it Dragon Dances, switch to Scizor and Bullet Punch. If it has Intimidate, it gets more tricky, but haven't seen them yet. The team can get past them, but not without some bruises.
Starmie4 is not too much of hassle unless it is a lead, but if it is, the safest way is Tapu Fini on the Ice Beam to set up Terrain to prevent freeze, Garchomp on the Thunderbolt, Scizor on the Ice Beam and U-turn OHKO. Else Fini can 2HKO with Grass Knot while taking 59-71% damage, but no chance for flinch hax. Bullet Punch is a 70% OHKO if Scizor is already at +6 with the 76 Atk spread.
I've just started having a crack at the battle tree and an ambipom used fake out on my araquanid which put it to sleep?... is there new mechanic/held item I'm unaware of this gen?
I've just started having a crack at the battle tree and an ambipom used fake out on my araquanid which put it to sleep?... is there new mechanic/held item I'm unaware of this gen?
The only Ambipoms with Fakeout are Ambition 1&3. 1 has a King's Rock, 3 a Life Orb, and both lack status moves. All I can guess is something yawned before it died?
The only Ambipoms with Fakeout are Ambition 1&3. 1 has a King's Rock, 3 a Life Orb, and both lack status moves. All I can guess is something yawned before it died?
I encourage anyone tackling Super Doubles to try it out if you're a fan of hyper offensive playstyles; I sure had a lot fun with it, especially considering I was able to use rehashed Raichu & Pelipper, mons that saw very little usage (if any) in Gen 6's Maison.
I actually tried your team a few days ago, really enjoy using it. Managed to reach battle 72, got defeated by opponent who start with Landorus+Garchomp.
Too bad I forgot to save the battle, I want to ask your advice about it. IIRC, I decided to Fake Out Landorus and keep Tapu Koko on field and try to Dazzling Gleam. But the Garchomp outspeed and OHKO me, it must be scarfed :(
If I Fake Out Garchomp instead, would Dazzling Gleam OHKO Garchomp? But then, I might probably still lost my Koko because Landorus also has Earthquake (would it OHKO Koko?)
What Pokémon goes well with Specially Defensive Arcanine? I was thinking Gyarados/Salamence for the Intimidate spam or like Chansey to abuse Attack drops. But Mega-Gyarados and Mega-Mence together with Arcanine tend to die to EdgeQuake coverage so I was thinking what could be a good third? Anyone got any ideas? This is in Singles by the way
I actually tried your team a few days ago, really enjoy using it. Managed to reach battle 72, got defeated by opponent who start with Landorus+Garchomp.
Too bad I forgot to save the battle, I want to ask your advice about it. IIRC, I decided to Fake Out Landorus and keep Tapu Koko on field and try to Dazzling Gleam. But the Garchomp outspeed and OHKO me, it must be scarfed :(
If I Fake Out Garchomp instead, would Dazzling Gleam OHKO Garchomp? But then, I might probably still lost my Koko because Landorus also has Earthquake (would it OHKO Koko?)
I actually tried your team a few days ago, really enjoy using it. Managed to reach battle 72, got defeated by opponent who start with Landorus+Garchomp.
Too bad I forgot to save the battle, I want to ask your advice about it. IIRC, I decided to Fake Out Landorus and keep Tapu Koko on field and try to Dazzling Gleam. But the Garchomp outspeed and OHKO me, it must be scarfed :(
If I Fake Out Garchomp instead, would Dazzling Gleam OHKO Garchomp? But then, I might probably still lost my Koko because Landorus also has Earthquake (would it OHKO Koko?)
Lando + Chomp is a less than ideal matchup, but I'd always treat the latter as the larger threat; Fake Out to see if it's Scarf Chomp or not, always Dazzling Gleam with Koko. If it's worst-scenario where Lando ends up being Scarfed as well (is there actually a Trainer set that could have that combo?) and KO's Koko before it can get damage off, at least you still outspeed both Scarfers with Raichu and can bring in Pelipper without risk the next turn. And yes, Landorus4 always OHKO's with EQ while Landorus3 has a very high (93.8%) chance to. Glad to hear you like the team though!
Hey everyone! I'm kinda new to the battle tree and competive in general. I wanted to try to make a team so I thought up a team that sounded kinda fun something like kingdra with z-rain dance, xurkitree, and Celesteela. Not sure if this is any good though...
If not anyone have suggestions for someone just starting out :) (I have moon btw)
I don't know the damage calc, but I do know that Misty Terrain only protects grounded foes from Dragon or status moves. Devastating Drake would have hit that entire team with no penalty.
For that matter, the user may be grounded, but as long as the target is aloft, they are unprotected.
Who gets trageted more turn 1, Koko or Garchomp? I'm guessing Tapu Koko, in which case it should have Protect over Discharge/Thunderbolt. Koko can Protect turn 1 while Garchomp fires on an EQ to soften both targets. Turn 2 Koko can attack one or both softened targets with Thunderbolt/Discharge and Garchomp can pick off the other one with Dragon Claw.
Celesteela can switch into Ground attacks for Koko, while Garchomp covers the Fire and Electric weakness it comes with. Celesteela can switch into Fairy and Dragon for Garchomp, but nothing to cover the Ice weakness. Something like Primarina seems like it would work well. It can take Ice and Dragon attacks for Garchomp and Garchomp can cover the Electric and Poison weakness for it. Celesteela can cover the Grass and Posion weakness too.
Terrain works this way:
- Electric boosts Electric damage from grounded Pokemon. Grounded Pokemon cannot fall asleep.
- Grassy boosts Grass damage from grounded Pokemon. Grounded Pokemon get Leftovers-like recovery.
- Psychic boosts Psychic damage from grounded Pokemon. Grounded Pokemon cannot be hit by priority moves.
- Misty reduces Dragon damage dealt to grounded Pokemon. Grounded Pokemon cannot suffer from status ailments.
Turn 1 : Alakazam use Psychic on Tapu Koko, Tapu Koko Die, Machamp use Ice Punch on Garchomp, Garchomp die
Alakazam and Machamp were faster then my Tapu Koko and my Garchomp, so they one shoted them. (My Tapu Koko isn't Timid :/ I can't find one :( )
