VGC My First RMT (CharY Team)

[GreenNinjask]

First off, I'd like to point out that I am a very experienced player. No, I'm not the best in the world, but I do know quite a lot about Pokemon and I have been playing it competitively for about 3 years now. This team was actually #100 on the Smogon VGC ladder when I made this RMT (as GreenNinjask, if you're really interested at where I am now)... it's just I have that aching feeling that it's not at it's full potential and I have no idea how to change that
;-;.

The team building process with this team has been going on for about 3 weeks now, and I don't remember everything, but what I do remember is that sadly, Breloom didn't work because it was too reliant on speed control and without out it, it faints to quickly. I've also tried Nidoqueen, and it's actually a great pokemon, it's just that it also relies on speed control a little and it's power really only hits huge on those it hits super effectively. I've also tried Bisharp because I thought I had a fairy weakness, but it turns out that my team can deal with them fairly easily without him, and without going against teams with fairy types, the pokemon I switched him out with were more useful. Now, let's stop talking about this team's creation and start talking about the team itself!

The team at a glance:

At first I was having some sprite placement problems, but then I decided that it made sense CharY was so big compared to the other, but then I decided that it made sense and decided to not mess with it :P.

The team is almost (if not is) centered around Tailwind CharY. Every single pokemon on the team shows at least a little synergy with it and they all benefit from Tailwind. You'd actually be surprised on hoe easy it is to set up Tailwind in certain situations.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 84 SpA / 20 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Tailwind
- Protect

I chose him because he could utilize Tailwind very effectively while supporting his teammates with drought and he's able to dish out a ton of damage. Mega Charizard Y is definitely the MVP of the team, being the lead almost every time and still being included every other time because of Tailwind. He also makes it easier to KO pokes, by doing quite a bit of damage with spread moves while finishing it off with another attack. Tailwind is there for obvious reasons by now. I decided to chose Protect > Overheat or Flamethrower because it helps against possible double targets, fake outs, and trick room stalling. The EVs let it live mega Kang returns and Lando rock slides without LO, which really helps with setting up twind. I chose to put the rest of them in SpA because putting them in Spe would only give me a speed tie with 252+ Spe pokemon with 70 base speed; giving the EVs to SpA instead took out the risk while giving it the ability to do a lot more damage.

252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 220 HP / 180 Def Mega Charizard Y: 139-163 (76.7 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gardevoir @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 80 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Skill Swap
- Trick Room

I chose Gardevoir because of it's nice tr support and because of the fact that it can finish off a lot of pokemon that took damage from CharY and its Skill Swap trolling. Gardevoir is my most likely pokemon to lead with other than CharY because of these things. Skill Swap was inspired by the Seniors Division World Tournament Champion, Mark McQuillan, who absolutely dominated his opponent with his Skill Swap shenanigans. Trick room is used for when Tailwind is down and CharY is fainted or if the opponent used Tailwind. Gardevoir is also EVed to live Kang double edges with sitrus.

252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Gardevoir: 184-217 (105.1 - 124%) -- guaranteed OHKO (don't forget the +25% health with sitrus)

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Snarl
- Reflect
- Protect

I chose Entei because it went incredibly well with CharY with it's Snarl/Reflect support and possible burn support while also doing massive damage with Sacred Fire. Entei is the tanky supporter of the team, doing many things that reduces damage to my team. Sacred Fire, Snarl, and Protect are there for obvious reasons, but Reflect is there as a result for testing a few fillers. It's basically a more consistent way of reducing physical damage than Sacred Fire and reducing damage from two physical pokemon at the same time, like vs. the common lead Land-T + Mega Kang. The EVs are there to live Double Edge Mega Kang while having good overall bulk otherwise, out speed max speed Smeargle (without Choice Scarf), and to have a decent attack stat to at least dent most pokemon.

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 156 HP / 244 Atk / 108 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Protect

I chose Mamoswine because I needed a good Lando-T switch in and because of it's amazing synergy with CharY. With it's max Atk and LO, it makes a really good revenge killer or finisher for weakened pokemon, since it has Ice Shard. The only non-standard thing about this Mamoswine is it's EV setup, which is enough bulk to live Mega Kang Double Edges ad having the rest put into Atk. It doesn't really need the speed because of it's priority and the fact that Tailwind support is huge in this team and that the fact that I have tr in the team, making it counteractive to add speed.

Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Def / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Wide Guard

I added Machamp because it fit well with tr Gard and because it was also insired by Mark McQuillan. I also realized it worked well with Tailwind and Wide Guard could really help with multiple things in my team. Machamp is a very unique pokemon; it supports a lot of utility and support while doing a lot of damage at the same time. The EVs are there to let it live Mega Kang Return, out speed Kang under twind, and shoved the rest into Atk and SpD. I chose Expert Belt because it gave a guaranteed OHKO against Heatran, giving other possible OHKOs, and when at -1, having guaranteed 2hkos instead of possible ones.

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 12 HP / 172 Atk / 92 Def / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
- Superpower

I chose Landorus-Therain for one reason: because it's almost broken against most teams. It was just a convenience that it worked so well with the team. Its role is to cut down the attack of Kangs, other Landos, and rock sliders so CharY can live them, and it's also there to deal a lot of damage. It's also my best pokemon to lead with CharY, countering many counterleads against CharY. It's EVs are there to let it live Kang Double Edges and out speed max speed Smeargles. The rest is dumped into Atk. I also tried U-Turn > Knock Off once, but I then realized that Knock Off was definitely better. I chose Assault Vest > Choice Scarf and LO because I want it to be slower while under my Gard's Trick Room and because I wanted it to last longer.

Threats:

Politoed: Obvious CharY counter is obvious. If the opponent has Poli in his roster non-lead, he can mess up CharY with surprise rain by switching in, making CharY massively weaker.

Tyranitar: Can act like Poli, but is more aggressive and less defensive in it's countering. If I can't KO it first with Solar Beam while in sun or anything else in sandstorm, Ttar gets a guaranteed OHKO against CharY.

Heatran Leads: If I can't Skill Swap it or if I didn't lead anything ground, Heatran can really mess with CharY.

LO Lead Landorus-Therian: With out any stat reductions, Lando-T gets a guaranteed OHKO on my CharY. If I can't reduce it's attack before it KOs CharY, I'm screwed.

And that's it! Thanks for checking this out and if you're rating it, please not only give some team building tips but also tell me if I did anything wrong with the RMT!

 

[Serapis]

Alright, I'm going to go through this Pokemon by Pokemon, so let's begin!

Charizard is interesting. As the center of your team, it makes sense to leave it about how it is. However, with that said two things jump out at me right off of the bat. First, your EV spread is much different than the standard one and second, that you said you used to have Trick Room on your team. More and more we're seeing the rise of strategies with Charizard and Cress, and TR seems to fit you well enough. For this reason, I feel as though you should add Trick Room to the team overall. How does this change Charizard? Well, here's the set I would suggest:

Set

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 84 SpA / 20 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Tailwind
- Protect

The set takes Jolly Kang Double Edge, Specs Hydreigon Draco Meteor and Adamant Landorus-T Rock Slide. The 4 speed is because it couldn't go anywhere else. Tailwind is kept because you can play with TailRoom.

Before we move on, allow me to explain TailRoom. Long story short, it's a combination of Tailwind and Trick Room on the same team. Especially as a core it can be devastating. Besides giving you multiple speed control options going into each game, it can also set up some awesome endgames. The most common way to deal with Tailwind is to Protect stall it, and if you get your TR setter out you can set up TR as your opponent Double Protects to stall out the last turn of Tailwind, keeping the speed advantage in your favor.

To be quite honest, I'm not certain I see the point of Gardevoir. It's a more offensive version of Cress, but it doesn't really seem like your team needs the extra power. I believe that using Cresselia here would be the best option overall, however other possibilities exist. I mean, if you want the offense by all means keep Gard, but Cress offers everything you could want in a Trick Room setter from amazing bulk to a support movepool to run with the best of them (TR, Helping Hand, Screens, Moonlight, Calm Mind, Swagger, and other less used options).

Entei is an interesting mon. I understand the point of it on your team and I agree with it, however I feel the need to point out that Arcanine is a thing. I'm just gonna list a few of it's pros and cons

Pros

• Intimidate is more natural power control than Reflect
• Arcanine can use either physical or special attack as it wants
• Has plenty of coverage and support moves ranging from Close Combat to Helping Hand

Cons

• Intimidate is one stage whereas Reflect is two
• It doesn't have Sacred Fire
• Less HP, slightly less overall bulk

While dangerous, Mamoswine finds itself in an awkward position for both held item and moves; it always wants more than one. In general, I feel that the ability of Focus Sash sets to take any one hit and live is a massive plus, however in a metagame full of Mega-Kang and spread moves I understand the reasoning behind LO. I mean, if it works for you then go with it. As for the set, I would take 8 EVs out of a stat of your choice and put 4 into SpD and 4 into Speed. Not only does this give you an extra overall stat point, but it also allows you to outspeed base 130s under Tailwind. It might not seem that important, but losing a speed tie with Mega-Gengar is never fun.

I also suggest running Icicle Crash over Icicle Spear on Mamoswine. Suggesting a 90% accurate move over a 100% one makes me cringe, but hear me out. First off, while Icicle Crash always hits, on it's lowest role it's a measly base 50 Power and even on it's normal role it hits the decidedly average base 75 power. Icicle Crash hits consistently hard with 85 base power. This is made even more important as you begin to learn your team calcs; instead of having to worry about the number of hits you can get having a set base power allows you to work in definiteness (baring misses rip).

Oh, and a 30% flinch chance can be totally clutch when you're moving first, which is kinda the point of TailRoom.

Machamp is weird, especially next to Conkeldurr. Still, I feel that the one thing Machamp has over Conkeldurr is it's utility as a Wide Guard users, so I'm going to focus on your Machamp and how it can be improved. The moves are fine, and I have no gripe with the ability, it's the set that gets to me. Here's what I'd do:

Machamp Sets

Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 44 Atk / 188 Def / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Wide Guard

Machamp @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: No Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Wide Guard

These sets are very simplistic (oh, and like the Charizard Y set I made them myself using a combination of the PS! Teambuilder and the Nugget Bridge Damage Calc). The requirements were twofold:

1.) Live Adamant Mega-Kang Double Edge

2.) Outspeed Jolly Kang under Tailwind

Both sets OHKO Kang with Dynamic Punch, both one shot CharY with Stone Edge and both sets miss the KO on the likes of bulky Thundurus. I feel that any Fighting type that either does outspeed Mega-Kang naturally (Terrakion) or survive it's attacks (Conk, good Machamp) isn't worth running. Also, you didn't EV to outspeed Jolly Kang which I feel is a mistake, however do what you want. I personally would go with the Sitrus set for the added longevity and better overall bulk, but the choice is yours.

First comment, your spread is wasting EVs. Take 4 from Speed and put them into SpD and you gain an extra stat point. With that said, I'm a little leary of running that much speed on a TailRoom Landorus-T anyway. The absolute maximum speed I would run is 196 EVs to speed creep things speed creeping Breloom. Anything more than that are wasted EVs imo. You also have the option to run 100 Speed EVs which speed creeps things speed creeping Bisharp (that should catch most Arcanine/Rotom formes). The extra EVs can be put into bulk however you see fit.

So, that's about it. I'll PM you how to do my spoiler tag and I hope you have a good day!

 

[GreenNinjask]

In response to that (I can't figure out how to do that "quote in a tab thing", like what you did with the CharY set, except while quoting what someone said. pls tell me how to do that ;-;):

I found the CharY set really useful, and thanks for that. If this was in the smog dex, I sometimes forget that that thing exists. :P

About Tailroom, thanks for reminding me of that strat. I'm actually very well aware of what it can do, being a person who has used it before. In fact, that was the team I used to use. I understand your point of Gard being slightly irrelevant, but I find its offensive presence extremely useful. I definitely agree with switching protect with trick room, and will do that. I have a feeling that the reason why I didn't find use in tr was because of the fact that I lead it with CharY a lot, which I realize is a HUGE mistake. Also, when I look at my team, I realize the almost every single pokemon on the team is useful in tr and twind, except for cases like Amoongus.

For Gard, I'm actually going to still keep it, unless I can find and equally offensive pokemon that can learn Skill Swap and tr :/. I just find that the offense it delivers is very useful, finishing KOs and putting dents, if not OHKOing others. Sadly, Cress can't do that. I understand that Cress can do some good super effective damage, but it just isn't even close to how much Gard can do. I see where your point is, and I can even agree with you, it's just my experience with this pokemon and Cress that tells me that damage is overall better than bulk.

I will change the RMT accordingly, while also editing some things that I've noticed that I haven't pointed out. Thanks for response! :)

... Although, as I read from your response, I do see some more tips coming, so I believe that this isn't over :P.

Edit: I've changed my mind about Gard. Now that I testing it while using it differently, it just doesn't deliver anymore. I'll probably go with Cress, but I'll scan for some more options first. Man, I surely failed on that opinion lol :P ;-;.

For Entei, I see where you're going, and it's a good direction. I'll definitely try Arcanine out (since, you know, it also gives me the option to breed > reset my 3ds over and over again :P)

I agree with the Mamo changes. I've been thinking about it, and I've realized the roll for misses is smaller than the roll for actually doing damage, so I'll change that. I also forgot why I had 101 speed on Gard, and I realized what you said it why XD. I'll definitely take your advice on Mamo.

Since I'm giving up Gard, I'll be taking the Sitrus Machamp set, since it's not that much weaker than the other one while better than the one I was using :P.

When I saw what you said about Lando-T, I knew how much I have messed up. I'll test both speed investments, since it's actually a really hard choice imo, but I bet I'll take the 196 option, since breaking Breloom sashes is appealing and I don't think putting more EVs into SpD would be that helpful, since that'd be my only option to put the EVs in when chosing the 100 EV investment.

Thanks again for reviewing my team btw, and you did bring up a lot of view points I never would've gotten anyways. I'm glad that I did this RMT. :)