Hi guys, this is my first post here on the forum and it is an RMT for my very first VGC '15 team. I would very much appreciate your input and ideas on how this can be improved.
I like to make use of some of my favourite Pokemon, and some other Pokemon that might not see much play in VGC, then mixing them with some big threats in the VGC Meta. Without further ado, here's the team!
Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP/ 252 SpA/ 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Scald
-Psychic
-Fire Blast
-Power Gem
One of my favourite Pokemon in general. My favourite set of Slowking is the Assault Vest variant. Slowking is useful for dealing with several threats such as Landorus-T, Talonflame, Mega Charizard- Y, Thundurus, Gengar, Terrakion and others. Scald has a chance to OHKO Landorus-T after being able to live any attack it tries. Also its a great STAB move to hit for neutral damage or any fire type Pokemon. Psychic is another STAB move which hits Mega Venusaur hard and is again good for Pokemon that Slowking walls like other bulky water types. Fire Blast catches those Amoongus off guard and can also hit Bisharp on the switch-in. Power Gem was chosen as a way to hit both Talonflame for a guaranteed OHKO and a 75% chance to OHKO Mega Charizard-Y since Scald is halved in the sun. Bisharp and other physical Dark's can OHKO Slowking along with life orbed Virizion, but on the chance of a predicted switch can be caught for huge damage from Fire Blast. I am thinking of changing Psychic to Ice Beam since it deals with Dragon types like Salamence or Garchomp.
Mega Charizard-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: HP 248/ SpD 148/ Spd 112
Jolly Nature
-Will-o-Wisp
-Fire Punch
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
Mega Charizard-X is seen a lot less than its other mega forme, but does a lot to aid my team and holds up well in the meta. Being able to dish out fast and furious hits while being able to take damage well. I opted for a bulkier build with Will-o-Wisp since I wanted other physical attackers to take out more prominent threats. Charizard-X has a chance to OHKO Garchomp if it doesn't have any Def investment, easily OHKO's Salamence on the switch in, and can shut down Amoongus, Bisharp and Virizion. Since it gains the Dragon type it resists a good number of types but it does become neutral to Fairy attacks. However, it gains that Electric resistance which is useful if opponents predict that it is Mega Charizard-Y. Since losing the Flying type, Lando-T and Garchomp run right over him. He can survive a Rock Slide from Terrakion which is quite pleasing.
Staraptor @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Brave Bird
-Close Combat
-Double Edge
-U-Turn
Being immune to Ground which really hurts Charizard X, I chose to bring in Staraptor because I love the big hits he dishes out. I often lead with this guy because of this. I was unsure whether to pick Reckless or Intimidate since it is really helpful in VGC, but I tried out Reckless to see how it did. Even after an Intimidate, Staraptor just dealt huge damage to almost everything that doesn't resist it. Brave Bird and Double Edge are for STAB and are a 2HKO on Lando-T and almost Guaranteed OHKO on Garchomp. (I keep referring to these two as they are some of the biggest threats to my team and the most common things I ran into while testing.) I predicted a few Terrakion switch-ins by Will-o-Wisping the slot with Charizard-X, then once Staraptor comes in he can take a Rock Slide or Close Combat and OHKO with either Brave Bird or Close Combat. Close Combat is also handy to have against Bisharp and the dreaded Mega Kangaskhan, which he speed ties with. U-Turn is useful for a predicted switch or to get out if I don't like the matchup.
Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Timid Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Icy Wind
-Protect
Always been a big fan of Gengar and I was glad when he slotted great into this team. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb make for great STAB attacks, plus the 30% of Poison is always nice. Icy Wind was chosen for Speed Control, as if I can manage to get one of on Terrakion he has no chance against Staraptor. Protect is a staple move in VGC at this point. He's very useful for hitting the Trick Room lead, Mega Metagross and Sylveon with his STAB attacks, and can slow threats down or even KO with Icy Wind. Pretty standard.
Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Rock Slide
-Close Combat
-Protect
-Quick Guard
Terrakion is a monster in the VGC meta. Being able to counter Mega Kangaskhan, Bisharp, Heatran and more, he was a must have on my team. The Lum Berry is in case of burns or paralysis but it didn't really be of any use. Rock Slide is an excellent move in VGC because it comes with the chance of a flinch. Close Combat is also another really powerful STAB attack being able to take out a number of threats in one shot since it will most likely out-speed. Quick Guard is for prankster users, mainly Thundurus, and Talonflame. Terrakion does go down to Sylveon's Hyper Voice and Earthquake from Lando-T. Bisharp can OHKO if my opponent is able to predict a switch in. Suicune is a problem for Terrakion but I feel I have other ways to deal with him.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Sucker Punch
-Knock Off
-Protect
-Iron Head
Rounding off the team is Bisharp. Another must have in my opinion as Bisharp is handy against intimidate users and can scare people from attacking with Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch is also nice to finish off Pokemon on low HP as well as dealing big damage after a Defiant boost. Knock Off is a great STAB attack which hits Gengar and any Trick Room user with the added bonus of removing the opponents item which is always a plus. Iron Head is used again for its STAB and chance of flinch, being able to able to OHKO Terrakion 81% of the time after an Icy Wind decreases Terrakions speed and deals with the popular Sylveon.
So there you go, my first VGC team. After doing some BETA testing on Showdown I went 9-1. Rotom-W is a threat but can be played around. Excadrill boosted by Sand Rush was the 1 defeat as I really didn't have anything that could out-speed and kill. Nothing else I ran into seemed to cause much trouble but I'm preparing to find out more once I take it to Battle Spot.
Thanks a lot for reading, and I would really appreciate feedback on how this can improve, mainly some EV spreads as I am quite unsure about the right spread to go for. Potential threats would also be a major help. Thanks once again!
I like to make use of some of my favourite Pokemon, and some other Pokemon that might not see much play in VGC, then mixing them with some big threats in the VGC Meta. Without further ado, here's the team!
Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP/ 252 SpA/ 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
-Scald
-Psychic
-Fire Blast
-Power Gem
One of my favourite Pokemon in general. My favourite set of Slowking is the Assault Vest variant. Slowking is useful for dealing with several threats such as Landorus-T, Talonflame, Mega Charizard- Y, Thundurus, Gengar, Terrakion and others. Scald has a chance to OHKO Landorus-T after being able to live any attack it tries. Also its a great STAB move to hit for neutral damage or any fire type Pokemon. Psychic is another STAB move which hits Mega Venusaur hard and is again good for Pokemon that Slowking walls like other bulky water types. Fire Blast catches those Amoongus off guard and can also hit Bisharp on the switch-in. Power Gem was chosen as a way to hit both Talonflame for a guaranteed OHKO and a 75% chance to OHKO Mega Charizard-Y since Scald is halved in the sun. Bisharp and other physical Dark's can OHKO Slowking along with life orbed Virizion, but on the chance of a predicted switch can be caught for huge damage from Fire Blast. I am thinking of changing Psychic to Ice Beam since it deals with Dragon types like Salamence or Garchomp.
Mega Charizard-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: HP 248/ SpD 148/ Spd 112
Jolly Nature
-Will-o-Wisp
-Fire Punch
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
Mega Charizard-X is seen a lot less than its other mega forme, but does a lot to aid my team and holds up well in the meta. Being able to dish out fast and furious hits while being able to take damage well. I opted for a bulkier build with Will-o-Wisp since I wanted other physical attackers to take out more prominent threats. Charizard-X has a chance to OHKO Garchomp if it doesn't have any Def investment, easily OHKO's Salamence on the switch in, and can shut down Amoongus, Bisharp and Virizion. Since it gains the Dragon type it resists a good number of types but it does become neutral to Fairy attacks. However, it gains that Electric resistance which is useful if opponents predict that it is Mega Charizard-Y. Since losing the Flying type, Lando-T and Garchomp run right over him. He can survive a Rock Slide from Terrakion which is quite pleasing.
Staraptor @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Brave Bird
-Close Combat
-Double Edge
-U-Turn
Being immune to Ground which really hurts Charizard X, I chose to bring in Staraptor because I love the big hits he dishes out. I often lead with this guy because of this. I was unsure whether to pick Reckless or Intimidate since it is really helpful in VGC, but I tried out Reckless to see how it did. Even after an Intimidate, Staraptor just dealt huge damage to almost everything that doesn't resist it. Brave Bird and Double Edge are for STAB and are a 2HKO on Lando-T and almost Guaranteed OHKO on Garchomp. (I keep referring to these two as they are some of the biggest threats to my team and the most common things I ran into while testing.) I predicted a few Terrakion switch-ins by Will-o-Wisping the slot with Charizard-X, then once Staraptor comes in he can take a Rock Slide or Close Combat and OHKO with either Brave Bird or Close Combat. Close Combat is also handy to have against Bisharp and the dreaded Mega Kangaskhan, which he speed ties with. U-Turn is useful for a predicted switch or to get out if I don't like the matchup.
Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Timid Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Icy Wind
-Protect
Always been a big fan of Gengar and I was glad when he slotted great into this team. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb make for great STAB attacks, plus the 30% of Poison is always nice. Icy Wind was chosen for Speed Control, as if I can manage to get one of on Terrakion he has no chance against Staraptor. Protect is a staple move in VGC at this point. He's very useful for hitting the Trick Room lead, Mega Metagross and Sylveon with his STAB attacks, and can slow threats down or even KO with Icy Wind. Pretty standard.
Terrakion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Rock Slide
-Close Combat
-Protect
-Quick Guard
Terrakion is a monster in the VGC meta. Being able to counter Mega Kangaskhan, Bisharp, Heatran and more, he was a must have on my team. The Lum Berry is in case of burns or paralysis but it didn't really be of any use. Rock Slide is an excellent move in VGC because it comes with the chance of a flinch. Close Combat is also another really powerful STAB attack being able to take out a number of threats in one shot since it will most likely out-speed. Quick Guard is for prankster users, mainly Thundurus, and Talonflame. Terrakion does go down to Sylveon's Hyper Voice and Earthquake from Lando-T. Bisharp can OHKO if my opponent is able to predict a switch in. Suicune is a problem for Terrakion but I feel I have other ways to deal with him.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Sucker Punch
-Knock Off
-Protect
-Iron Head
Rounding off the team is Bisharp. Another must have in my opinion as Bisharp is handy against intimidate users and can scare people from attacking with Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch is also nice to finish off Pokemon on low HP as well as dealing big damage after a Defiant boost. Knock Off is a great STAB attack which hits Gengar and any Trick Room user with the added bonus of removing the opponents item which is always a plus. Iron Head is used again for its STAB and chance of flinch, being able to able to OHKO Terrakion 81% of the time after an Icy Wind decreases Terrakions speed and deals with the popular Sylveon.
So there you go, my first VGC team. After doing some BETA testing on Showdown I went 9-1. Rotom-W is a threat but can be played around. Excadrill boosted by Sand Rush was the 1 defeat as I really didn't have anything that could out-speed and kill. Nothing else I ran into seemed to cause much trouble but I'm preparing to find out more once I take it to Battle Spot.
Thanks a lot for reading, and I would really appreciate feedback on how this can improve, mainly some EV spreads as I am quite unsure about the right spread to go for. Potential threats would also be a major help. Thanks once again!
