ORAS Doubles OU Mega Gengar, the Forgotten One

[Test Bot #]

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Introduction​

Hey… people!

I’m fairly new to Smogon, and it had been great… except for that one time that Arcticblast blocked me. (JK) Anyways, I’ve gotten better (in such a short period) by watching KyleCole’s videos, and the ladder isn’t a huge problem for me. Rather, I found it to be misleading as I soon found out that Tournaments (Tours) had much better players. Nevertheless, here is my Mega Gengar balanced team.

(Replays: TBA)

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The Team

Gengar-Mega

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Giga Drain

Of course, I have Mega Gengar. And I think it is a great Mon, Mega or not. Its pre-Mega ability, Levitate, is great for fooling players, especially when their CS Landorus-T uses Earthquake, and it guarantees one or two turns. On the other hand, I usually use it as a reserve, either as a Shadow Tag user (evil laugh) or a late sweeper. (You can imagine how Weather teams feel as they lose their only weather setter!) Also, I needed an alternative against Water types; Thundurus is a good counter, but I rather have an additional check. Anyways, its Special Attack allows it to hit hard and take a full advantage of Giga Drain. What is there not to like?

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Scrafty

Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Protect
- Fake Out

Scrafty is a great complement to Mega Gengar; it can either replace it or eliminate its threats. First of all, Fake Out is a great move. I usually use the move with Thundurus’s Taunt to ensure that TR cannot be set up. Plus, Landorus-T’s and its ability, Intimidate, causes even the most common threats to be less threatening. As of result, the opposing players have two options: give the Mon up or send in another one. Either choices are beneficial to me because I’m nevertheless in the position to attack freely. And I prefer Drain Punch over Low Kick; I prefer a move that regains health rather than one that depends on a Mon’s weight.

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Sylveon

Sylveon @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Heal Bell

With the addition of Sylveon, I have a triple-core between Mega Gengar, Scrafty, and itself. Besides the obvious, I put Safety Goggles on Sylveon because Amoonguss always try to Spore it, and it can use Psyshock to eliminate Amoonguss. (I try to have at least two Mons that I can send out against Spore users.) Furthermore, I use Heal Bell for precaution. I just hate how Burn, Paralysis, Sleep, or Freeze are immediate threats to victories.

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Thundurus

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 88 HP / 172 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt

I usually reserve the 4th slot for a support Mon and/or a Taunt user. In this case, I chose Thundurus because it ensures the core’s dominance. For example, if some opposing Mon uses Wide Guard, then I’ll use Taunt to ensure Sylveon’s or Landorus-T’s continual pressure. Also, Taunt prevents Mons from using Protect… Now, imagine Mega Gengar’s presence. As long as I play right, this scenario will send the opposing Mons to the Graveyard. Also, its EVs is a mix between a bulky supporter and a special sweeper; I like it!

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Landorus-T

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Explosion

This is standard Landorus-T… and it likes to Explode!!! :P

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Volcanion

Volcanion @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Steam Eruption
- Protect
- Heat Wave

Volcanion is a great Mon for a reason. Its incredible moveset + bulky presence is just undeniable, and it deserves to be called an S-Ranked Mon. And as I mentioned earlier, I try to maintain two Mons that I can switch in for Amoonguss, so I gave Safety Goggles to Volcanion. Finally, Sludge Bomb is a filler move, one that I use to counter Fairy types, especially Azumarill. Nevertheless, you really can’t go wrong with using Volcanion. Cheers!

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Conclusion:​

Overall, this team had more success than I can remember. It rarely loses in the ladder and usually peaks in semi-/finals for tournaments (tours). Well, this is my 1st RMT, so I am quite curious to how you will respond, and I hope to join you guys in the Doubles Community. Also, I am not an actual Bot nor I am Joim, Matame. That being said, thanks for rating my team! GG
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Full Team

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Giga Drain

Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Protect
- Fake Out

Sylveon @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Hyper Voice
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 88 HP / 172 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Explosion

Volcanion @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Steam Eruption
- Protect
- Heat Wave

 

[deoxys speed]

Hey test bot n_n pretty ~standard~ looking Volcanion team barring Scrafty. First thing I would change is make Scrafty a Life Orb Weavile. I think Scrafty is a better fit on Trick Room teams and doesn't do anything better than Weavile on a team like this. It also gives you a better check to Latios, Hydreigon, Thundurus, and Mega-Diancie, all things that Volcanion hates. I would give Sylveon Pixie Plate over Safety Goggles and make it Calm Mind>Heal Bell and Hidden Power Ground>Psyshock. With Goggles Volcanion, Taunt on Thundurus, LO Weavile, and Gengar to pick it off, I think you have enough for Amoonguss. This lets you bluff Choice Specs, and works well with Fake Out support. For Thundurus I made it a bulkier spread with Sitrus Berry because full out offensive Thundurus tends to run either Taunt/Thunder Wave(and you really need both) and Protect. I still think you need the speed though mainly for Keldeo. For Landorus-T I would use Superpower>Explosion as you need a good way to damage Kangaskhan and I think it's better in almost every situation. For Volcanion you should try out Overheat>Heat Wave as your team really likes things like Amoonguss and Aegislash gone and Heat Wave(Fire Blast too) can't OHKO either one. I personally think Earth Power is better than Sludge Bomb but I can see the benefits of either one(kinda)so you can try that out if you want. Lastly for Mega-Gengar I think Will-O-Wisp would be better than Giga Drain as it doesn't even OHKO things like Keldeo or Mega-Diancie and Sludge Bomb does similar damage. But to be fair you are quite weak to Mea-Swampert rain(which isn't common at all) but is still a problem. So if you are paranoid about that I guess you can keep it? lol

Well that's it, hope I was of some help. If you have any questions about the changes, doubles in general, or smogon feel free to ask. :)

implemented changes

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Metal Claw/Low Kick

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind
- Protect

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 124 HP / 128 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Ice]/Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Superpower

Volcanion @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Steam Eruption
- Overheat
- Protect

calculations

252 Atk Life Orb Weavile Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 250-296 (103.7 - 122.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
They don't have Metal Claw in the damage calc so 50 bp Iron Head will have to suffice lol.

My iPad isn't letting me copy/paste things anymore for some reason o_o but the other calcs are that Sylveon lives an Adamant Return from Mega-Kangaskhan and Thundurus lives a Life Orb Hydro Pump from Keldeo.

 

[Idyll]

So yeah, the team looks like a bit standard and works but has a few quirks that prevent it from getting to its full potential. The team also has a bit of a "click x" situation against Bisharp since you have two Intimdates, two Pokemon with a weakness to Dark or Steel, and 1 frail-ish mon in Thunudurus, bulk and all; Volcanion is the only one that can handily take a hit but even that is a bit shaky since it's outrun. I do like that the team is a bit offensive while at least maintaining some bulk and a manageable TR match-up. My suggestions will aim to keep that balance and make it better, maybe.

My first suggestion would be changing Landorus-T into Landorus-I. Yes, I just changed one of the most splashable mons in the game into something specialized, but this is for good reason, of course. Landorus-I fixes your horrid matchup against Bisharp a bit by having one less Intimidate and gives you a much more offensive and powerful attacker, useful for being cheeky with trapping KOs with Mega Gengar. You for the most part keep the same coverage while not really opening yourself much to anything stupid or something like that. You don't really miss the Speed from Scarf Landog that much since the presence of Mega Gengar and Offensive Thundurus + Thunder Wave keep up the Speed advantage well enough.

Another suggestion would be changing your Sylveon set. Your Sylveon set is basically a mishmash of trying to be offensive and supportive, but in truth it sucks at both. You don't actually need Heal Bell as long as you recognize how to play around status; yes, you have to take some sacrifices regarding dealing with status down the road but that's fine. Using Heal Bell only really gives up your momentum and and wastes a turn when mostly it'd rather be attacking. I recommend changing Sylveon's set to either a Choice Specs set or to the CM set deoxy speed suggested. The two sets play a bit differently, but the idea of being a powerful attacker stays the same. Regardless, you'd want a set that can deal a whole lot of damage so that Mega Gengar + teammates can have an easier time breaking down the opposing team, which both Sylveon sets can fulfill making it really a point of how much you care how to play the game. I know you want two Spore switchins minimum but that's not really necessary; having only Volcanion as your sole Sleep switchin is fine enough and would still work.

Now, time for some smaller scale changes! I recommend using Timid over Modest and Taunt over Giga Drain on Mega Gengar. Timid lets you actually outrun Darkrai and Weavile, two threats you should be beating but you don't because you don't outrun. Outrunning those two, among other things, lets you avoid any unnecessary damage to your team and it's not like Modest guarantees any particular KOs, though the general power rise may be nice and all. Taunt over Giga Drain is because Giga Drain is ass and doesn't actually KO anything; heck, Sludge Bomb does nearly as much as a 2x SE Giga Drain so losing it won't be much of a big deal. Taunt lets you do things you'd regularly do with Taunt, doesn't need much explaining; only thing notable about though is that the things Mega Gengar Taunts are also trapped, making it more potent. By relegating Taunt to Mega Gengar, you free up a slot on Thundurus. You should then use Protect over Taunt on Thundurus as being an offensive set you kinda need it lol and you don't really need two Taunts. You could also use Flash Cannon over HP Ice and Magnet over Life Orb in order to solidify your matchup against Mega Diancie; you kinda need Mega Diancie gone quickly due to Sylveon, Scrafty, and Volcanion not enjoying its presence. You can still deal with the original targets of HP Ice fine mostly and Magnet is because you conserve HP and only really need to boost Thunderbolt; Flash Cannon still gets KOs on its intended targets without the Life Orb boost. One last change would be using Quick Guard > Protect and a different spread on Scrafty in order to solidify your matchup against priority and just make it more efficient. Quick Guard helps protect Mega Gengar from harm against a handful of things and also helps against Bisharp and Talonflame by being able to deny Sucker Punch and Brave Bird. Meanwhile, a spread of 244 HP / 220 Atk / 44 Def and an Impish nature lets it take a Secret Sword from Keldeo; the power loss is neglible as Scrafty is not mainly an attacker but more of a supporter with Fake Out, Intimidate, and Knock Off and ideally you'd want it to take as much hits as it can. If you want to keep Protect, use Detect instead as it helps against the very rare imprison strategy; it's a small gain without any real loss as Scafty will rarely / never ever get to a PP stall situation.

sets

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Slide
- Focus Blast
- Protect

nyan cat sets

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Ground

OR

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind
- Protect

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt
- Protect

Thundurus @ Magnet
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 88 HP / 172 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

Scrafty @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 220 Atk / 44 Def
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Quick Guard

GL

 

[Test Bot #]

I've tried your suggestions, deoxys speed and Memoric, and I certainly like the changes:

1. Mega Gengar's Will-o-wisp was certainly better for the long run as Giga Drain didn't do much for its already fragile state. Timid>Modest because pre-mega Gengar can definitely use that speed.

2. In the case of Scrafty, I decided to use it over Weavile. Weavile is just too fragile and can't take much hits. Plus, Scrafty's Intimidate is essential since I already decided to use Landorus-I. Finally, it's capability to stay long in the battle field and as a pseudo-pivot is just way I like it.

3. You were right about Sylveon as I really don't need a cleric. Right now, I'm going with the CM set, and although I see no real change, I'm sure that once I have an opportunity to use CM it'll be one heck of a fairy. And although I see the potential of Hidden Power Ground, I thought that Sylveon was too slow to take on what is coming. To support this claim, Hidden Power Ground does nothing to Poison types such as Crobat or Venusaur nor does anything to Fire types like Charizard-Y or Talonflame. I don't even see Heatran as much as I did in the past, so I just kept Psyshock to keep bulky Mons in check.

4. Eh... Thundurus is alright. I replaced its Hidden Power Ice because Landorus-I did a better job of using it.

5. For the matter of Landorus-T, I've changed it into Landorus-I. When I thought about it, I really don't need two Intimidate users as using Mega-Gengar's Will-o-wisp will make the opposing Mon useless anyways. Plus, when I mega evolve Gengar, I don't have to worry much about Earthquake; Earth Power is better. As you mentioned, this put me a greater matchup against Bisharp. However, I've never saw a reason to use Focus Blast nor ever had a good opportunity to use it. Ice Shard will KO it, and Weavile always has Focus Sash. Instead, I put Hidden Power Ice because I can switch it in for opposing Landorus-T's and surprise kill them. (Worked out great!)

6. Volcanion is alright.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Test Bot #]

UPDATE​

By looking at this RMT, I can tell how much I really sucked! Well, in my current Mega Gengar Team, there are drastic changes and improvements. It is based on the core of Mega Gengar + Hydreigon with the support of Jirachi. (Goodbye Scrafty and Slyveon.)

Mega Gengar + Hydreigon + Jirachi

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Disable
- Protect

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
- Dark Pulse

When working with Mega Gengar, Hydreigon can eliminate its partner's threats, especially Aegislash and Bisharp. Likewise, Mega Gengar eliminates Fairy types with ease, allowing Hydreigon to proceed in eliminating threats. They are also good for switching in for each other. Since Mega Gengar is vulnerable to Ground, Psychic, Ghost, and Dark type moves, Hydreigon can act as its pivot. At the same time, Hydreigon, which is vulnerable to Fighting and occasional Bug type moves, can allow Mega Gengar to sub in, but I don't recommend doing that with its other weaknesses.

However, I'm aware that common THALK members are still a threat to the team. In order to counter this issue, I use Disable. It is mainly used to eliminate Sucker Punch users (MKang and Bisharp) asap. Another great usage of Disable is that it can stop Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave, Mega Garevoir's Hyper Voice, Choice Scarf user's only attack, etc. You really can't go wrong with Disable.

Jirachi @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Icy Wind
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Follow Me

However, in the case that Landorus-T and Thundurus attempts to eliminate Mega Gengar (or my other Mons), I make sure that Jirachi is available. With Icy Wind, it allows Mega Gengar to eliminate Choice Scarf users and Deoxys-A. It also redirect Prankster-boosted Thunder Wave as well as other annoyances. Its great defensive typing and its pseudo-role as a Fairy threat is something to note as well.

I've made slight changes to my other Mons as well. My current Thundurus has some bulk and is fully invested in SPA. This is to ensure that it will at least outspeed Breloom and to have a chance to KO Volcanion/Landorus-T/Azuramill. For the matter Landorus-T, I decided to use Superpower rather than Explosion (it helps out to KO Kang and other Mons, so why not). Lastly, I'm using Pane's moveset for Volcanion, and it had proven itself to be quite popular and handy. So, here are the changes and HF.

Landorus-T + Thundurus + Volcanion

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Rock Slide

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 128 HP / 108 Def / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Steam Eruption
- Protect
- Substitute