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I think this meta looks really awesome, so I theorymonned and found this combo:
(I'm not SO into DOU so this might be shit :P)
Aegislash @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard / Shadow Sneak
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Slide
- Protect / Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice] /Focus Blast
I call this duo the "Break-Everything-In-Sight-Combo". Almost everything lose to LO+SF Aegi and Lando-I. Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball are STAB and Sheer Force boosted and hit everthing hard. Lando-I is there to give SF and break Fire types and Bisharp that troubles Aegislash. Also Lando-I can now (kinda) break through Cress really easy w/ Shadow Ball. Wide Guard stops potenial Icy Winds, Surfs and EQs aimed at the core. Leftovers and/or Shadow Sneak are there for longevity and/or picking off faster opponents. Rock Slide and HP Ice are for here for Talon/Char-Y and Lando-T, respectively. Focus Blast is for Levitran which I feel is going to be everywhere.
Let's take a look at the calcs:
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cresselia: 161-192 (36.2 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cresselia: 328-385 (73.8 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Together, bye-bye Cress.
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Amoonguss: 188-224 (43.5 - 51.8%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Amoonguss: 224-265 (51.8 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Bop.
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 148-175 (42 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 175-208 (49.7 - 59%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
Almost Bop
(These aren't even standard. This is just to prove that even with max Special Bulk these can't stop the core.)
What troubles this duo is water types such as Rotom-W, Keldeo and Suicune. So offensive Dragons, Grass or Electric types such as Cube, M-Venu and Thundy really benefits this core.
Other duos that comes to mind:
+
(Chlorophyll boosted CharY will be fun...)
+
(Sun+STAB+SF+FireBlast=Death)
+
(Immune to EQs and Adaptability)
+
(ALL moves are Adaptability boosted. Spam CC, E-Speed, Hydro etc.
Probably going to make a post about this another day)
(I'm not SO into DOU so this might be shit :P)
Aegislash @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard / Shadow Sneak
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Slide
- Protect / Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice] /Focus Blast
I call this duo the "Break-Everything-In-Sight-Combo". Almost everything lose to LO+SF Aegi and Lando-I. Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball are STAB and Sheer Force boosted and hit everthing hard. Lando-I is there to give SF and break Fire types and Bisharp that troubles Aegislash. Also Lando-I can now (kinda) break through Cress really easy w/ Shadow Ball. Wide Guard stops potenial Icy Winds, Surfs and EQs aimed at the core. Leftovers and/or Shadow Sneak are there for longevity and/or picking off faster opponents. Rock Slide and HP Ice are for here for Talon/Char-Y and Lando-T, respectively. Focus Blast is for Levitran which I feel is going to be everywhere.
Let's take a look at the calcs:
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cresselia: 328-385 (73.8 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Together, bye-bye Cress.
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Amoonguss: 224-265 (51.8 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Bop.
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 175-208 (49.7 - 59%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
Almost Bop
(These aren't even standard. This is just to prove that even with max Special Bulk these can't stop the core.)
What troubles this duo is water types such as Rotom-W, Keldeo and Suicune. So offensive Dragons, Grass or Electric types such as Cube, M-Venu and Thundy really benefits this core.
Other duos that comes to mind:
Probably going to make a post about this another day)
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind / Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled / Thunderbolt / Flamethrower
Slowbro-Mega @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
- Slack Off / Ice Beam / Flamethrower
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind / Ice Beam / Flamethrower / Toxic
Featuring the two fat calm mind mons of ou. After a couple of calm minds, mega slowbro is extremely difficult to take down thanks to shell armor and magic guard. Clef benefits from shell armor too, allowing the both of them to calm mind without fearing critical hits.
This core features THUNDER WAVE, SCALD, PINK FAT MONS, and HAX
Stratos
Banned deucer.
expected top threats:
mega lop -> gives partners scrappy fake out to cycle and its own fake out beats QG users, it gets Encore, which will be super great with a Prankster, especially going to be big because another top threat is
sableye -> gives partners cycled fake outs AND prankster wisps/taunts
other things that look like they could be good
thundurus -> doesn't have quite the movepool of sableye but is faster, stronger, gets skill wave (not sure how useful this will be), resists Brave Bird if that becomes a thing.
amoonguss -> expect this to be a noob slayer with prankster spores, though i'm less sure how good it will be at high level. Prankster RP is still too slow to redirect any Fake Outs, though it can punish them with Effect Spore (would be even better at that if we FREED KANG)
talonflame -> If any physical Flying (like Landorus, Salamence, etc) proves to be any good in this meta then we will certainly see Talonflame alongside it to spam ridiculously powerful Brave Birds. Helps to deal with Amoonguss, Lop, Sableye, though it loses hard to Thundurus.
anti-meta
quick guard -> definitely going to be common, not sure who the popular user will be. keld loses to thund and rak to lop. will we see quick guard top / scrafty since they also provide Fake Out and intimidate is really powerful?
defiant/competitive -> only if any intimidate users become popular, but these guys will punish it so fucking hard, free +2/+4 on both of your mons and if your opponent tries to switch their non-intim user the boost gets even higher. Bisharp gets Quick Guard and Sucker Punch so I assume it will remain the best choice for these abilities, though you can't sucker anything faster, like a Brave Bird Lando-T.
right now my mind is revolving HEAVILY around priority when I look at this metagame; we'll see if that doesn't end up being the case but I am pretty sure it will.
mega lop -> gives partners scrappy fake out to cycle and its own fake out beats QG users, it gets Encore, which will be super great with a Prankster, especially going to be big because another top threat is
sableye -> gives partners cycled fake outs AND prankster wisps/taunts
other things that look like they could be good
thundurus -> doesn't have quite the movepool of sableye but is faster, stronger, gets skill wave (not sure how useful this will be), resists Brave Bird if that becomes a thing.
amoonguss -> expect this to be a noob slayer with prankster spores, though i'm less sure how good it will be at high level. Prankster RP is still too slow to redirect any Fake Outs, though it can punish them with Effect Spore (would be even better at that if we FREED KANG)
talonflame -> If any physical Flying (like Landorus, Salamence, etc) proves to be any good in this meta then we will certainly see Talonflame alongside it to spam ridiculously powerful Brave Birds. Helps to deal with Amoonguss, Lop, Sableye, though it loses hard to Thundurus.
anti-meta
quick guard -> definitely going to be common, not sure who the popular user will be. keld loses to thund and rak to lop. will we see quick guard top / scrafty since they also provide Fake Out and intimidate is really powerful?
defiant/competitive -> only if any intimidate users become popular, but these guys will punish it so fucking hard, free +2/+4 on both of your mons and if your opponent tries to switch their non-intim user the boost gets even higher. Bisharp gets Quick Guard and Sucker Punch so I assume it will remain the best choice for these abilities, though you can't sucker anything faster, like a Brave Bird Lando-T.
right now my mind is revolving HEAVILY around priority when I look at this metagame; we'll see if that doesn't end up being the case but I am pretty sure it will.
So, something like Greninja + Scizor for Technician Protean Feint, Bullet Punch, Shadow Sneak and Water Shuriken? (Or use Breloom if you prefer Mach Punch or Hitmontop if you want the full set including Fake Out and Sucker Punch.)
Stratos
Banned deucer.
nah those moves are way too weak. Greninja could potentially be useful with a set like mat block | hydro pump | ice beam | protect, particularly with Thundurus, for passing around Protean (most of the other mons im hyped about are physical attackers) and for prankster Mat Blocks (not sure how useful they'll be as they won't stop fake outs or jolly Talons, but Electric-type Thundurus will beat Talon anyways), but scizor is damn useless in this meta.
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Steel Wing
Tornadus (M)
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Protect
If you're gonna use Talonflame (and you ought to it's S tier) you may want to use Jolly CB to beat the hordes of Adamant Talonflame that will descend upon your Mega Sceptiles, Chlorosaurs, and weak prankster mons. Jolly also means you go before Thundurus Tbolt which is cool. Defiant is a super powerful ability in this format (if Landorus-T and Gyarados become any kind of common) because you double boost anytime an Intimidate mon switches in. Tornadus gets Flying moves and coverage for the steel types so it was the Defiant user of choice.
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What if Talonflame gets KOed or switches out? Then you get STABless Tornadus. The itemless Acrobatics set trades an item slot and a moveslot for a good deal more consistency.
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with any core that falls apart when one of its members dies, unless you think you will consistently not lose that Pokemon. And given that this is Doubles with so much more versatility and power than normal, that sounds like a terrible assumption.
The Excadrill + Tyranitar core looks good by dint of its resistance to priority (particularly, Aerilated and regular Espeeds), and can work alright without Excadrill. Mega/Garchomp is nice as backup, with two great abilities in the sand.
Would think up some extended cores of my own, but I'm on mobile.
Stratos
Banned deucer.
because honestly I can't see a time where a +0 atk, +0 prio acrobatics is going to do me any good (get spored, slower than lop -> die to return, get wisped by sableye, koed by opposing talon etc) so I'd rather have Tailwind on the set and have a team support Tornadus that is also much stronger. I guess depending on how common Intimidates it may be worth doing but i think defiant alone would be enough to keep them at bay. I'd also probably not run Choice Band talon in this format so it surviving would be a little more reliable. I don't know if I'd run torn at all.
ExcaTar is normally fucking shit but may be a little better in this meta; if I'm right about things like Intimidate Fightings, Prankster spores, and prankster wisps flying everywhere i don't see it being much better but at least it'll benefit from the decreased popularity of Lando (though +2 Ice Beam tar outspeeds and koes anyways) and is good vs lop. I don't see why you're worrying much about aerilated Espeed when Salamencite is banned. though i guess Pinsir may become a thing with some sort of BB/Wisp/Return talonflame, or inner focus dragonite, or both. Actually that sounds like a cool team of 3.
ExcaTar is normally fucking shit but may be a little better in this meta; if I'm right about things like Intimidate Fightings, Prankster spores, and prankster wisps flying everywhere i don't see it being much better but at least it'll benefit from the decreased popularity of Lando (though +2 Ice Beam tar outspeeds and koes anyways) and is good vs lop. I don't see why you're worrying much about aerilated Espeed when Salamencite is banned. though i guess Pinsir may become a thing with some sort of BB/Wisp/Return talonflame, or inner focus dragonite, or both. Actually that sounds like a cool team of 3.
So run Tailwind over Knock Off, imo. If +0 priority +0 Atk Acrobatics sounds weak, Knock Off has about 5/8 the power against neutral targets, and is only mildly stronger against Psychic/Ghost-types that have lost their item. Superpower could go instead if you want to do better against Aegislash. IDK, you might even want to run Lum Berry on the set if you're that worried about Spores and WoWs and T-Waves.
I think it would behoove most teams to pack Defiant users in order to dissuade Intimidates anyways, so it's not a stretch to back up a sand core with one to play mind games at the very least. I am admittedly not a doubles player, but I feel like there should be ways to circumvent the status issue as well.
Espeed Mega Pinsir is disgusting every time I see it in an OM, so I am skeptical of any form of speed control that can't work around it. Access to Feint on both active parties compensates for attempts to counterplay with Protect shenanigans. The Talonflame + Dragonite + Mega Pinsir core you described looks very tasty; it and others like it might limit the +0 priority bracket to resists and very bulky mons.
Perhaps the sand core isn't the best thing in the world, but at a glance it's one of the few things that can beat bird spam without having to outproritize it.
So, I tried to theorymon some Ability matchups:
These seems as if they could be occasionally useful, but they are situational and would only apply to specific matchups:
These abilities affect the whole side anyway:
These are undesirable in singles let alone doubles:
These can't be used by allies:
- Adaptability + Protean (2x on everything)
- Aerilate + Gale Wings (this will work right?)
- Cheek Pouch / Gluttony / Unburden (choose 2)
- Compound Eyes + Hustle (50% extra power and 4% extra accuracy!)
- Drizzle + Dry Skin / Rain Dish / Hydration / Swift Swim
- Drought + Chlorophyll / Harvest / Solar Power
- Guts + Toxic Boost / Marvel Scale / Poison Heal / Quick Feet
- Snow Warning + Ice Body / Snow Cloak
- Infiltrator + Intimidate (this will intimidate through subs right?)
- Reckless + Rock Head / Magic Guard
- Sand Stream + Sand Force / Sand Rush / Sand Veil
- Skill Link + Technician
- Sniper + Super Luck
- Tough Claws + Strong Jaw / Iron First
- No Guard + Zap Cannon / Inferno / etc. (c.f. No Guard Galaxy)
- Serene Grace + Charge Beam / Diamond Storm / Fiery Dance / Luster Purge / Mist Ball / Octazooka / Poison Fang / Razor Shell / Rock Smash / Sacred Fire (these all normally have 50% chance of secondary effects)
- Simple + Dragon Dance / Geomancy / Quiver Dance / Shell Smash
- Simple + Plus + Magnetic Flux + Stored Power:
- Turn 1: Swoobat protects and Ampharos uses Magnetic Flux (both are now at +2 Def/SpD)
- Turn 2: Swoobat uses Calm Mind and Ampharos uses Magnetic Flux
- Turn 3: Swoobat uses Stored Power. It has 12 boosts, plus it's at +2 from the Calm Mind, plus an extra 50% from Plus, so effectively 260BP at +4. Still needs rocks and full spikes to OHKO Chansey though.
- Adaptability
- Aerilate
- Battle Armor
- Chlorophyll
- Competitive
- Compound Eyes
- Contrary
- Defiant
- Desolate Land
- Download
- Filter
- Friend Guard
- Fur Coat
- Gale Wings
- Guts
- Harvest
- Huge Power
- Hustle
- Imposter
- Infiltrator
- Inner Focus
- Insomnia
- Intimidate
- Iron Barbs
- Iron Fist
- Magic Bounce
- Magic Guard
- Marvel Scale
- Mega Launcher
- Minus
- Mold Breaker
- Moody
- Moxie
- Multiscale
- Natural Cure
- No Guard
- Oblivious
- Overcoat
- Own Tempo
- Parental Bond
- Pixilate
- Plus
- Poison Heal
- Prankster
- Primordial Sea
- Protean
- Pure Power
- Reckless
- Refrigerate
- Regenerator
- Rock Head
- Rough Skin
- Sand Force
- Sand Rush
- Sand Stream
- Sand Veil
- Scrappy
- Serene Grace
- Shed Skin
- Sheer Force
- Shell Armor
- Shield Dust
- Simple
- Skill Link
- Snow Cloak
- Snow Warning
- Solar Power
- Solid Rock
- Speed Boost
- Strong Jaw
- Sturdy
- Swift Swim
- Technician
- Teravolt
- Thick Fat
- Tinted Lens
- Tough Claws
- Turboblaze
- Unaware
- Unburden
- Vital Spirit
- Wonder Guard
- Aftermath
- Analytic
- Anger Point
- Anticipation
- Bad Dreams
- Big Pecks
- Blaze
- Bulletproof
- Cheek Pouch
- Clear Body
- Color Change
- Cursed Body
- Cute Charm
- Dark Aura
- Delta Stream
- Drizzle
- Drought
- Dry Skin
- Early Bird
- Effect Spore
- Fairy Aura
- Flame Body
- Flare Boost
- Flash Fire
- Forewarn
- Gluttony
- Gooey
- Grass Pelt
- Healer
- Heatproof
- Heavy Metal
- Hydration
- Hyper Cutter
- Ice Body
- Illusion
- Immunity
- Justified
- Keen Eye
- Klutz
- Leaf Guard
- Light Metal
- Lightning Rod
- Limber
- Liquid Ooze
- Magician
- Magma Armor
- Magnet Pull
- Motor Drive
- Mummy
- Overgrow
- Pickpocket
- Pickup
- Poison Point
- Poison Touch
- Pressure
- Quick Feet
- Rain Dish
- Rattled
- Rivalry
- Sap Sipper
- Sniper
- Soundproof
- Static
- Steadfast
- Stench
- Sticky Hold
- Storm Drain
- Suction Cups
- Super Luck
- Swarm
- Sweet Veil
- Symbiosis
- Synchronize
- Tangled Feet
- Telepathy
- Torrent
- Toxic Boost
- Trace
- Unnerve
- Victory Star
- Volt Absorb
- Water Absorb
- Water Veil
- Weak Armor
- White Smoke
- Wonder Skin
- Air Lock
- Arena Trap
- Aroma Veil
- Aura Break
- Cloud Nine
- Damp
- Flower Veil
- Frisk
- Shadow Tag
- Defeatist
- Honey Gather
- Illuminate
- Normalize
- Run Away
- Slow Start
- Stall
- Truant
- Flower Gift
- Forecast
- Multitype
- Stance Change
- Zen Mode
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Actually, Normalize is terrifying, because Normalize Ghost is now effortless. Lead with Mega Gengar carrying Skill Swap and Delcatty with of course Normalize. Delcatty Skill Swaps (from Gengar) Normalize onto an enemy. Now, you just avoid KOing that enemy, and their entire team is in trouble, unable to touch Mega Gengar. They basically have to try to KO their own Pokemon to escape it, if they don't have Skill Swap or something on one of their Pokemon.
Defeatist, Slow Start, Stall, and Truant are less horrifying, but the ability to share Skill Swap with Regigigas/Archeops/Slowking/Sableye I guess directly and the fact that the Abilities are shared automatically means you can have Regigigas pass off Slow Start to the enemy team, and both of their Pokemon suffer. Even if they immediately switch out the one that got hit, the other team member still has to cope with halved Speed for one turn. Meanwhile Regigigas can benefit from any number of friendly Abilities, and can even have Prankster Skill Skill Swapped (If supported by a Mega Banette that's already Mega Evolved) to bypass the Speed cut and ensure enemy attacks (That aren't abusing priority) are immediately suffering from halved Attack.
This is way better than relying on Pyroar to Entrainment Moxie onto Regigigas in an attempt to make it decent. Hell, after you've Skill Swapped, bring in Greninja to turn Regigigas into a terrifying Protean abuser. Or have a Skill Swap+U-Turn/Volt Switch buddy who can swap out the same turn Regigigas uses Skill Swap. (By the way, you don't currently address what happens if a Pokemon switches out while its buddy is intending to use a move of its)
Auras don't stack, so it's not "situational" to share them, it's zero added value. Same for Victory Star. Pretty sure this is true of Friend Guard too.
Worth commentary that Immunity is actively bad if you try to have it on a team with Poison Heal. Poison Heal isn't that amazing in Doubles anyway, and it's not going to be much better here, but it's still worth commentary.
Lightning Rod and Storm Drain are actually disturbingly general, since moves are also shared. Zebstrika (Among others) can carry Lightning Rod and Discharge and assume its allies are immune/being boosted and if they're halfway competent Special attackers they can join in the fun even if they wouldn't normally be a part of a Discharge team. Replace "Lightning Rod" with "Storm Drain" and "Discharge" with "Surf" and you can do the same with Water spam, only able to benefit from Rain boosts and with no type-based immunity to worry about.
Pressure is weirdly good, because Doubles loves its spread moves, and taking away 3 PP every time they try just because you have one Pressure 'mon on the field is actually kind of useful if you're going for a Doubles Stall team.
Re: Sniper. Kingdra can donate Focus Energy Sniper Draco Meteor to literally anything. Since Focus Energy's boost lingers even if Kingdra dies, its relative fragility isn't even a problem. Donate to a Dragon like Hydreigon or Salamence, and they can spam Draco Meteor on their own, or you can donate to Overheaters or Leaf Stormers to shake things up. Strictly Octillery and Beedrill can also donate Sniper+Focus Energy, but they don't donate Draco Meteor or an equivalent move, and anyway Octillery is bad while if you're using Beedrill (Unlikely in Doubles) you're using Mega Beedrill.
Soundproof Boomburst Exploud sounds awesome, combined with an -ater like Mega Gardevoir... until you realize Noivern's Telepathy works just as well (Excepting enemy Sound moves, admittedly), and Noivern is actually a very good Pokemon in its own right.
Plus and Minus are actually pretty amazing, now representing "So long as I have a surviving ally, +50% Special Attack for free". That's unprecedentedly powerful, given it's automatic here, no strings attached. (Unlike, say, Flare Boost)
Ditto is slower than Chansey... but not by so much that you can't just slow Chansey down and/or speed Ditto up and end up with Chansey Impostering before Ditto. Mind, Imposter isn't nearly as useful in Doubles as in Singles...
Combine Wonder Guard with Magic Guard. Now they have to have a super effective move and/or Mold Breaker. Shedinja can stall for a turn via Protect while its buddy sets up or something. Alternatively combine it with Sturdy, get Safety Goggles onto Shedinja, and Thunder Wave it ASAP. Now they need to take out the partner or force-switch it or something to do anything to it. Awww, banned from the get-go. Too bad.
Simple isn't actually that great. Setting up is, in general, less amazing in Doubles than in Singles. Stored Power abusing setup, in particular, isn't as noteworthy. You'd rather spam spread moves, generally.
Defeatist, Slow Start, Stall, and Truant are less horrifying, but the ability to share Skill Swap with Regigigas/Archeops/Slowking/Sableye I guess directly and the fact that the Abilities are shared automatically means you can have Regigigas pass off Slow Start to the enemy team, and both of their Pokemon suffer. Even if they immediately switch out the one that got hit, the other team member still has to cope with halved Speed for one turn. Meanwhile Regigigas can benefit from any number of friendly Abilities, and can even have Prankster Skill Skill Swapped (If supported by a Mega Banette that's already Mega Evolved) to bypass the Speed cut and ensure enemy attacks (That aren't abusing priority) are immediately suffering from halved Attack.
This is way better than relying on Pyroar to Entrainment Moxie onto Regigigas in an attempt to make it decent. Hell, after you've Skill Swapped, bring in Greninja to turn Regigigas into a terrifying Protean abuser. Or have a Skill Swap+U-Turn/Volt Switch buddy who can swap out the same turn Regigigas uses Skill Swap. (By the way, you don't currently address what happens if a Pokemon switches out while its buddy is intending to use a move of its)
Auras don't stack, so it's not "situational" to share them, it's zero added value. Same for Victory Star. Pretty sure this is true of Friend Guard too.
Worth commentary that Immunity is actively bad if you try to have it on a team with Poison Heal. Poison Heal isn't that amazing in Doubles anyway, and it's not going to be much better here, but it's still worth commentary.
Lightning Rod and Storm Drain are actually disturbingly general, since moves are also shared. Zebstrika (Among others) can carry Lightning Rod and Discharge and assume its allies are immune/being boosted and if they're halfway competent Special attackers they can join in the fun even if they wouldn't normally be a part of a Discharge team. Replace "Lightning Rod" with "Storm Drain" and "Discharge" with "Surf" and you can do the same with Water spam, only able to benefit from Rain boosts and with no type-based immunity to worry about.
Pressure is weirdly good, because Doubles loves its spread moves, and taking away 3 PP every time they try just because you have one Pressure 'mon on the field is actually kind of useful if you're going for a Doubles Stall team.
Re: Sniper. Kingdra can donate Focus Energy Sniper Draco Meteor to literally anything. Since Focus Energy's boost lingers even if Kingdra dies, its relative fragility isn't even a problem. Donate to a Dragon like Hydreigon or Salamence, and they can spam Draco Meteor on their own, or you can donate to Overheaters or Leaf Stormers to shake things up. Strictly Octillery and Beedrill can also donate Sniper+Focus Energy, but they don't donate Draco Meteor or an equivalent move, and anyway Octillery is bad while if you're using Beedrill (Unlikely in Doubles) you're using Mega Beedrill.
Soundproof Boomburst Exploud sounds awesome, combined with an -ater like Mega Gardevoir... until you realize Noivern's Telepathy works just as well (Excepting enemy Sound moves, admittedly), and Noivern is actually a very good Pokemon in its own right.
Plus and Minus are actually pretty amazing, now representing "So long as I have a surviving ally, +50% Special Attack for free". That's unprecedentedly powerful, given it's automatic here, no strings attached. (Unlike, say, Flare Boost)
Ditto is slower than Chansey... but not by so much that you can't just slow Chansey down and/or speed Ditto up and end up with Chansey Impostering before Ditto. Mind, Imposter isn't nearly as useful in Doubles as in Singles...
Simple isn't actually that great. Setting up is, in general, less amazing in Doubles than in Singles. Stored Power abusing setup, in particular, isn't as noteworthy. You'd rather spam spread moves, generally.
- Contrary Serperior getting +4 Leaf Storms after 1 Leaf Storm.
- CM Cress
- DD Gyarados (which gives the partner Intimidate at the start too just to be even more annoying)
- SD Tyranitar (since it gets a Sand Rush partner most likely it will not need speed boosts, but those are cool too I guess)
- Defiant mons like Bisharp
- Competitive mons like Milotic
- I guess Speed Boost Blaziken gets in there too
- Diamond Storm from Mega Diancie giving it +2 for each boost
- PuP on anything gives it an automatic SD boost
EDIT: SIMPLE BEAM THOUGH GETTING THOSE -4 EERIE IMPULSES
Edit 2: I also forgot Download
Also I agree Scarf Delcatty will become incredibly stupid on Perish+Trap types of teams.
Is this metagame coded yet?
AWailOfATail
viva la darmz
Workin on it
Having two abilities at the same time has always been a major problem in OMs, don't think it's ever been done. Since this isn't technically two abilities, though, it might be easier. Decided to focus on the shared movepool first; before that gets done, I'm honestly just bouncing ideas off of other coders. Considering changing each ability as a whole, considering changing the way abilities are recognized, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Trust me, it's being worked on.
With that said, anyone with ideas, please please please bounce them around.
Maleovex
Lt. Col. of The Kyergrzstan Killer Beez
Look, it's a team!
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
Been all hyped about this metagame for a while now, but I wanted to make a rather large post instead. Without further a-do, here's the cores! Tbh ya'll better drop a like, this shit's hard af.
Credit to Chopin and Angry1, and probably a lot of other people. !Randpoke OU also helped :]
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
- Fusion Bolt
Lucario-Mega @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Low Kick
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Protect
Shaymin-Sky @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Protect
- Rest
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 40 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Helping Hand
Lucario-Mega @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Swords Dance
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Low Kick
Jirachi @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Doom Desire
- Protect
- Flash Cannon
- Follow Me
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Vacuum Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Earthquake
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Protect
Gyarados @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Protect
Politoed @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Swift
- Giga Drain
- Fake Out
- Protect
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Ice Beam
- Low Kick
- Gunk Shot
- Dark Pulse
Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 236 Atk / 20 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Protect
Landorus-Therian @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Superpower
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt
- Flare Blitz
Chatot @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Boomburst
- Sing
- Chatter
Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
Volcarona @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hurricane
Swoobat @ Leftovers
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Rock Slide
- Quick Guard
- Close Combat
Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Genesect @ Life Orb
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shift Gear
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Extreme Speed
Protect is mandatory - run it in every core.
Credit to Chopin and Angry1, and probably a lot of other people. !Randpoke OU also helped :]
Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
- Fusion Bolt
Lucario-Mega @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Low Kick
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Protect
Shaymin-Sky @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Protect
- Rest
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 40 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Helping Hand
Lucario-Mega @ Lucarionite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Swords Dance
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Low Kick
Jirachi @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Doom Desire
- Protect
- Flash Cannon
- Follow Me
Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Vacuum Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Earthquake
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Protect
Gyarados @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Protect
Politoed @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Encore
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Swift
- Giga Drain
- Fake Out
- Protect
Greninja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 Atk / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Ice Beam
- Low Kick
- Gunk Shot
- Dark Pulse
Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 236 Atk / 20 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Protect
Landorus-Therian @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Superpower
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt
- Flare Blitz
Chatot @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Boomburst
- Sing
- Chatter
Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
Volcarona @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hurricane
Swoobat @ Leftovers
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Rock Slide
- Quick Guard
- Close Combat
Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Genesect @ Life Orb
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shift Gear
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Extreme Speed
Protect is mandatory - run it in every core.
Why?
Maleovex
Lt. Col. of The Kyergrzstan Killer Beez
I think that was probably due to him trying to get swift swim, I'm guessing that's meant to be scald?
bp scrub
rub a dub dub one scrub in a tub
kinda nitpicky but that should be just be Kangaskhan
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Life Orb
Is that going to work, or is each ally Pokémon going to use Dark unless you tweak their IVs?
What would happen if I have Hidden Power Rock on Charizard and Hidden Power Fairy on a Pikachu? Will I get both Hidden Powers or just one?
I think the real question here is why are you using HP Rock on regular Charizard or why are you using Pikachu
in all seriousness though, i dont really like how Hidden Power works in this meta. It's too confusing and is way too complicated.
I was just making an example and I know those Mons are unviable. Anyway I think that a way to deal with Hidden Power is treating each different one as a separate move so that we can use two hidden powers with confusion.