VGC Listen to your elders: A Mega Kangaskhan Team

[Steven Stone]

Hey guys! Today we're looking on another Mega Kangaskhan team. I haven't built around Kangaskhan since my National Championship team, which was around 4 months ago, so i may be a little rusty about how to use it. Well, without further ado, let's check the team:

Teambuilding Process

Ehhh.... honestly, i didn't want to use Mega Kangaskhan at all due to be overused, unoriginal and....extremely used, to not say much. Since my other teams were failing i decided to build Kangaskhan until i got an idea for a fresh, new team that i'll use.

What does wall what Kangaskhan fears? Aegislash for sure (any other ghost would probably do it as well, but i decided to go Aegislash anyways). It also provides Wide Guard support which is pretty useful.

Aegis+Hydra core=death. Not much to say about this guy.

For some odd reason, i felt like Cresselia would provide the support i need. Well, it does but....i'm not sure if i should use her any longer...

Tailwind support and a fire resistance that wasn't weak to fighting was kinda needed, Suicune provides both.

Conkeldurr was somewhat a anti-TR mon and a fighting type that could fare well against opposing Kangaskhan.

The team had great issues with Mega Mawile, so i decided to put Blaziken in the team. I also followed the advice of a really good VGC player, Serapis, which told me to use Blaziken. I wanted to test out Blaziken too. It has put on a lot of work, i must say.

Given that the last team was pretty weak to rain, i decided to put Ludicolo>Suicune, so i could beat rain easier. The downsides of this were that i was pretty weak to Talonflame, so i added Thundurus>Cress to handle that. The reason to put Thundurus over Zapdos was that Thundy somehow could beat TR easier, thanks to Prankster Taunt and T-Wave.

The BIGGEST change that i've made to a team so far, since i literally got rid of 4 mons. I still kept kang and blaze since i like them. Zapdos replaced Thundurus so i could have a better Talonflame matchup and i could beat opposing Tailwind, meanwhile providing more bulk to the team. Gastrodon helped Blaziken a ton with its water weakness, thanks to Storm Drain, and beats TR mons like Mega Mawile, Heatran, Mega Camerupt, Aegislash, etc. Gengar burned down fighting types, which threatened this team a lot, and while being inmune to its hits. Bisharp synergised well with Gengar, and helped to finally get rid of that awful Fairy weakness that my team had so far.

Well, without further ado, let's get onto the team:

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 108 Atk / 60 Def / 20 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Low Kick
- Sucker Punch

EV spread is Level 51 bulky Kangaskhan, A.K.A #BANKANGA (from "Moonlight Sonata").

• Survives Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick 100% of the time
• Survives Specs Modest Hydreigon's Draco Meteor 100% of the time.
• Outspeeds base 81 by one point

Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 176 Atk / 76 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Superpower
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

My personal favorite until now, Blaziken! This EV spread isn't borrowed from anywhere else (lol who in the name of god would use rash nature?) so i'll be the one giving the details.

• Always OHKOs 4 HP / 0 Sp.Def Landorus with HP Ice
• Nearly always OHKOs most bulky Amoonguss (it can OHKO 252/252+, but with less chance)
• Nearly always OHKOs Mega Kangaskhan (minimun bulk investment to survive it is 252 HP / 124 Def.

Gengar (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Standart Gengar set. I'm NOT AFFORDING to run Icy Wind/Taunt > Tect unless i really need to do so, okay? Shadow Ball Gengar catches opponents up so badly, all thanks to Aaron Zheng.

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Protect

Black Glasses, Black Glasses, Black Glasses.... I had no other choice. And i'm clearly not as experienced as Alex Ogloza to just run CB sharp. Moveset is pretty standart (given that it is the only sharp sets besides CB and maybe Assurance).

Gastrodon (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 148 HP / 164 Def / 100 SpA / 96 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Protect

This Gastrodon set is quite the special one. There was a Nugget Bridge report talking about the sea slug and this set is the support one. It does the following things:

• OHKOs 36 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-T with Ice Beam 100% of the time.
• OHKOs 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence with Ice Beam 100% of the time.
• OHKOs 4 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion with Earth Power 100% of the time.
• 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 148 HP / 164 Def Gastrodon: 84-100 (40.9 – 48.7%) — 99.7% chance to 3HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 148 HP / 164 Def Gastrodon: 175-207 (85.3 – 100.9%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

Zapdos @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 84 SpD / 156 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
- Roost

While trying to remember what exactly this EV spread does, Safety Goggles helps me against Breloom, a Pokémon that i realised will give my team some trouble later. Can't be putted to asleep by Spore and can't be paralysed... Zapdos is amazing! According to the Report "Screaming Through the Desert (SoCal 2nd Place Regs)" this Zapdos can outspeed Jolly Max Speed Smeargle while taking some SpA and SpD from its original spread that was made to take Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor and outspeeding base 70s.

Well, that's it guys for the team. Now, getting in-depth on the team:

• While not being as bulky as the past teams, this team has perfect defensive synergy.
• Although it has perfect defensive synergy, it loses to 2 deadly combinations: Fire/Flying and Grass/Water (Talonflame and Ludicolo in rain respectively)
• Although this team looks prepared to beat Talonflame, i rely on 2 checks that can't take one of its 2 STABs, and Ludicolo can hit everything on my team bar Kangaskhan super effectively, something that puts me in a bad spot.
• The team can control its speed by the means of Tailwind, and its TR matchup is pretty good if Amoonguss, the biggest check that TR offers to my team, is gone. Abomasnow also poses as a threat, but i think Bisharp and Kang can handle it with ease.

That's it my friends!!! I'd love to see some really nice feedback. I'll actually post the same RMT on NB, so watch out for that as well!

 

[Imaboy321]

Hey there! I am a major lurker in the RMT section and am finally deciding to rate some teams! Anyway, are there are some major threats I can see coming out against your mega. Talonflame. Also, without max EVs in attack there is not much damage you can do with Kang's attack. Power-Up Punch is a major compliment to Parental Bond. +2 Attack with a sucker punch could take out a Talonflame in one hit while you keep your current EV spread. Low kick is also a weird thing to include since there is not much you will be advancing against that will have a major affect with. I would replace that with protect so once you show how much damage you can deal they will target it as a major threat. Using protect will let you learn their move set and either setup with your second pokemon or even just take some attention off and deal some extra damage on one of their threats. You don't NEED protect but you should maybe replace Fake Out with it only if you don't plan on starting a battle with it. Replacing Low Kick with Power-Up Punch will probably be best also. Another change is that you should replace Double-Edge with Return. As long as you get at least one Power-Up Punch off and you have friendship with your Kang then Return can take out almost everything. With +2 attack from Power-Up Punch, it is a Guaranteed OHKO against Mega-Garchomp. Here is the build I recommend:

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 108 Atk / 60 Def / 20 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out/Protect
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

Sorry for the big explanation. Again it is my first time rating a team and I only did your first pokemon haha. I will slowly take a look at your others. I will admit I admire your EV spreads.

 

[Steven Stone]

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 108 Atk / 60 Def / 20 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out/Protect
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

Instead of admiring my EV spreads, you could admire the really good players that made these n_n. I love their work and the EV spreads are great!
Also, isn't the EV spread you posted the EXACT SAME that i had lol? I was considering PuP too, thanks for the tip!
Talonflame is a really big threat, but considering i have Suicune which is one of the best answers to deal with it i really barely mind it. TR and Mega Mawile hurt my team more than what Talonflame could ever do.
Bulky Kangaskhan (generally the ones that doesn't have max Attack) really appreciate the little bunch of extra power Double-Edge gives, since it let's you KO bulky mons like Suicune and Sylveon way easier than what i will with Return.

Well, thanks for the tips! Also, could you think of a way i could handle TR teams better?

 

[Pigeons]

Hi, I'm also a bit of a lurker around the forums, and I have some things you might want to try.

One thing I think might help you against TR is running TR on your own Cresselia (replacing Thunder Wave). I've used it to great success in the past, because not many people see it coming and it looks like it could also work on your team as a secondary form of speed control against faster teams (obviously it won't work with Blaze lol).

If Mawile's been giving you trouble, Substitute on Aegislash (replacing King's Shield) would let you play around it quite well, because assuming the usual set of Sucker Punch/Iron Head/Play Rough/Protect, Mawile can't really touch it at all, so that could help turn your Mawile problem into almost an advantage.

Other than that, the team looks really good (I've been using a Rash LO Blaziken as well, it's great), so I hope I helped.

 

[Imaboy321]

Instead of admiring my EV spreads, you could admire the really good players that made these n_n. I love their work and the EV spreads are great!
Also, isn't the EV spread you posted the EXACT SAME that i had lol? I was considering PuP too, thanks for the tip!
Talonflame is a really big threat, but considering i have Suicune which is one of the best answers to deal with it i really barely mind it. TR and Mega Mawile hurt my team more than what Talonflame could ever do.
Bulky Kangaskhan (generally the ones that doesn't have max Attack) really appreciate the little bunch of extra power Double-Edge gives, since it let's you KO bulky mons like Suicune and Sylveon way easier than what i will with Return.

Well, thanks for the tips! Also, could you think of a way i could handle TR teams better?

The adaptations I made looked upon your current EV spread so I just included them in the build I posted. I understand where you are coming from based on the double-edge over return. To take control of TR teams, you will want something will little speed but something that can break a wall since most TR teams use heavy hitters that are just slow. It is a risk but one of the slowest pokemon is Avalugg with a base attack of 117 but a base speed of 28. The other option is to go will Amoonguss which is base speed 29 and get the spore off to block the biggest threat and take it out. You already have Aegislash (with a base speed of 50 I believe?) but there are a lot of slower mons. Having Amoonguss could be a major threat to a lot of TR teams. Unfortunately I can not think of a good build for it at the moment.

Edit: Seems like your Aegislash and Cresselia are threatened by Mega-Banette in a big way. You don't really have anything to counter it will except for shadow ball on Aegislash (252 SpA) which can OHKO Mega-Banette (4 HP, 252 SpD). Mega-Camerupt is another for your Aegislash. It is slower and bulky which can draw your Aegislash into blade form and OHKO with either earthquake or fire blast.

 

[Steven Stone]

Reviving this 1-month old threat. Thanks to Serapis for helping me so much doing this!

 

[haxiom]

Hello Skarm_Steel , and welcome to Smogon!

Unfortunately, this RMT is currently not following the rules which can be found in the RMT Resource Thread; specifically, this thread violates rule #4, because you lack sufficient descriptions for each Pokemon on your team. As such, I am afraid that I will have to lock this thread for the time being. If you would like this thread to be reopened, feel free to PM me with your updated RMT, and I would be happy to reopen this thread for you. If you need help making an RMT up to the required standards, I recommend that you carefully read the RMT Resource Thread and check out other RMTs from the Team Showcase and RMT Archive for some examples.

On a side note, I'd avoid bumping threads that have been active for a very long time; technically one could infract you for thread necromancy.

Good luck with your team, and have a nice day!