Hi everyone, it's been a long time since i don't come here to lurk into the RMT forums and get inspired to improve my shabby teambuilding skills.
But anyway, this VGC Team started with the idea of a goodstuff, "jack of all trades" team that could handle (almost) any kind of common threat present in the VGC meta (except maybe dedicated Trick Room teams) with various standard play 'mons like Hitmontop, Crobat and Chandelure, and i've had a moderate success with it so far battling against all kinds of people both in DS and in the Nugget Bridge server of PS! (18W/6L, as of now, in 2 days of battling). however, i still feel that there's something missing in my team, and i hope that with this RMT and all of your constructive criticism, i can find out some its pros and cons to improve it further (and "de-standardize" it, if possible).
Without further ado, let's jump into the team.
Hitmontop @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 6 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Sucker Punch
Good ol' Hitmontop, a really good Pokémon that is even better on Double Battles's metas and has been the base of well known strategies like TopOgre back then and more recently, TopMoth; this guy is the premier supporter of the team, with Intimidate helping to soften blows from common physical attackers like Tyranitar or Breloom; Fake Out to give me potential free turns and help Crobat set up Tailwind against the likes of Whimsicott and other Prankster users and Wide Guard to help against common spread moves like Heat Wave, Surf, EQ or Rock Slide.
I use it with Close Combat + Fighting Gem to hit like a truck and "bypass" Chople Berries or leave a dent in 'mons like Metagross; and Sucker Punch is there as a good priority move to hit hard stuff like Chandelure or Latios or as a last ditch move.
EVs are quite straightforward, they are placed in Attack and Speed to hit as fast and as hard as possible, and to surprise some people that are more familiarized with the more standard 252HP/252Atk spread.
As i wrote above, Top's main role is to support my 'mons that fall prey to common spread moves, like Chandelure and Crobat; to help the rest of my teammates to take physical hits easier from almost everything that is physical oriented (except Metagross or Defiant Pokémon) and/or give myself free turns when it is possible to.
Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 248 Spd / 4 SDef / 4 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Protect
- Trick Room
Chandelure is an awesome Pokémon when it comes to battling against sun teams and some Trick Room-setting threats; i chose it because of its FIREpower to hit very hard 'mons like Cresselia or Amoonguss or to abuse it's really good STABs and inmunities/resistances against common types like Fire, Normal, Fighting or Steel.
It has a pretty standard moveset, with Heat Wave as its main move, hitting Steel or Grass types lacking Occa Berry or rain support really hard, Shadow Ball as its secondary STAB that is very useful against common Psychic or Ghost types, Trick Room just in case i have to reverse its effects against opposing TR teams and Protect to avoid or scout attacks.
EVs are pretty straightforward, full investment in Sp.Atk and Speed of make full use of Tailwind, instead of a bulkier, more "Anti-Trick Room-ish" spread.
Chandy's role is mostly to battle against Sun teams, to abuse its really good typing offensively and defensively and to counter Trick Room teams to an extent. it absolutely lovs Hitmontop's Wide Guarding services to help against the common spread moves that hit it Super Effectively and Hitmontop's role in eliminating one of its main counters: Tyranitar; in return, Chandy has a good defensive synergy with Ferrothorn, taking Fire and Fighting-Type attacks that may cripple, if not KO it right away; while in return, Ferro can take on Water, Ghost-Type attacks and rain teams that Chandy absolutely hates.
Crobat @ Flying Gem
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 224 Spd / 28 HP / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Tailwind
- Haze
- Protect
Ah, Crobat, an often overlooked Pokémon because of the popularity of threats like Metagross or Thundurus, but neverthless, a great Tailwind user and a good answer against Fighting-Types like Hitmontop or Mienshao.
It's main role is to decimate Fighting-Types or Fake Out users and to set up Tailwind 99.8% of the time; Acrobatics + Flying Gem will destroy, if not heavily cripple, most Fighting and Grass Types lacking Coba Berry or Intimidate support that stand on its path, Tailwind to double the rest of my Team's Speed and make battles against fast attackers like the common Swift Swim abusers much more palatable, Haze is there, as gimmicky as it looks, to remove unwanted Stat drops (it's mostly abused with Latios's Draco Meteor) and against Stat boosters like Beat Up or Defiant abusing 'mons; it may backfire if i'm relying on Intimidate support or opposing team's Stat drops, however, and Protect to avoid/scout damage.
It is EV'd to hit as hard as possible and to outspeed everything except opposing Crobat or the rare Jolteon and Aerodactyl, and 4 EVs in SpDef to avoid an Sp.Atk boost from opposing Download users.
As with Chandelure, it absolutely loves Hitmontop's Wide Guard and Intimidate support, against spread moves like Blizzard, Rock Slide and the removal of 'mons like Tyranitar, respectively. And as i said, it's main role is to defeat Fighting and Grass-Types (especially the incredibly annoying Amoonguss and Ludicolo lacking Ice Beam) and set up Tailwind, which Chandelure and Hitmontop really enjoy and can help against Metagross and Tyranitar, respectively.
Latios @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 Spd / 248 SAtk / 12 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect
Latios, a very useful Dragon in the VGC, and one that hits like a ton of bricks with its powerful Dragon Gem-boosted Draco Meteor to anything that doesn't resist it.
Latios's role is that of hitting like a brake-less, 4X4 truck, to dispose of threats quick'n easy with its Draco Meteor, something that gets worse with Tailwind (and Haze) support; Moveset is pretty standard, Draco Meteor is the STAB move of choice to smash (almost) anything to pieces not called Tyranitar, Steel-Types or dedicated special sponges, Psychic as its secondary STAB to hit Fighting-Types super effectively, Hidden Power Fire to nail Ferrothorn and deal moderate damage to Metagross and other Steel-Types outside of rain, and Protect to avoid/scout damage.
EVs are straightforward, 248 EVs in Sp.Atk and Speed to make up for the IV drop of Hidden Power Fire, and the rest are placed on HP to give it a small amount of additional bulk.
To function properly and start spamming Draco Meteors, Latios appreciates the removal of Tyranitar and Metagross, two of its most common checks, so that's why i have both Hitmontop and Chandelure/Zapdos to help disposing of those two to open Latios's path to start wrecking stuff with Draco Meteor; in return, Latios helps Hitmontop and Chandelure with the removal of threats like Amoonguss or Water-Type threats, respectively.
Zapdos @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 156 Spd / 252 SAtk / 104 HP
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Zapdos, a really awesome Electric-Type that, despite it being somewhat outclassed by Thundurus-I thanks to Prankster, a higher Speed Stat and slightly better coverage, it is by no means a bad Pokémon and it is still awesome at doing its job, countering Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch-lacking Metagross, Hitmontop, Ferrothorn and some other common threats effectively.
It's main role is to fight against the aforementioned Metagross and Hitmontop, Landorus-T and other common threats like Ferrothorn and Bronzong; its moves are pretty standard, Thunderbolt is there as its STAB of choice, that, along with a Life Orb and Max Sp-Atk investment, hits really hard, Heat Wave is there to hit those annoying Grass-Types that resist its Electric STAB, like Amoonguss or Ferrothorn, Hidden Power Ice to nail common Ground-Types that are inmune to its Electric STAB, like non-Yache Berry Landorus and Garchomp, and thestandard Protect to scout/avoid damage over Detect, since Imprison is now very uncommon these days (on my experience).
I chose a custom spread for Zapdos; with a Timid nature + 156 EVs it is able to outspeed neutral base 100-101s like Adamant/Modest Salamence and Landorus-I and hit them with Hidden Power Ice before their eyes, expecting the standard Modest variant; 252 EVs on Sp.Atk + a Life Orb make up for the loss of power with a Timid nature over a Modest one, and the rest of the EVs are placed in its HP to improve its already good bulk.
Zapdos, like Chandelure and Crobat, really appreciate Hitmontop's Wide Guard and Intimidate support, as well as its ability to dispose of any non-Focus Sash Tyranitar and Abomasnow; and in return, it helps Hitmontop countering Metagross and (to an extent) Amoonguss. it also enjoys Crobat's Tailwind support, since it can outspeed stuff that it can't normally outspeed by itself and hit with a Lightning-fast (pun intended) LO Thunderbolt.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 106 SDef / 150 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
The Ever annoying Ferrothorn, widely infamous for being one hell of a counter against almost every-single rain team,Water or Grass-Types in the game, or Dragons like Latios and Latias lacking Hidden Power Fire.
Its role in the team is mostly to help countering rain teams and to an extent, battle against certain Trick Room threats, like Rhyperior or Gastrodon.
It's moveset is pretty standard, but still very effective; Leech Seed to annoy the hell out of Pokémon like Politoed or Metagross and to force them to switch out, unwilling to give Ferrothorn free HP; Power Whip as its STAB of choice to hit all those pesky Water-types (specially Gastrodon) hard thanks to its BP of 120 and Ferrothorn's moderate Attack; Gyro Ball as its secondary STAB and to hit hard anything with a high Speed stat, and hits even harder thanks to its 0 Speed IV and Relaxed Nature, guaranteeing that it is going to hit with its maximum BP at all times, and Protect to scout surprise Hidden Powers or simply to avoid damage.
Its EVs and nature are Standard, Max HP investment to make full use of Ferrothorn's excellent defenses and typing, and Relaxed + 150 Defense EVs to help it cushion physical attacks better and the rest dumped into its Sp.Def; and i chose Leftovers as its item since it helped a lot more than the Occa Berry or a Rocky Helmet due to its passive recovery being far more helpful, especially when countering rain threats (its main role in the team).
When it comes to teammates, it really appreciates Chandelure or Latios's help in taking on counters like sun team threats (except the rare Heatran, which is dealt with Hitmontop) or Zapdos, respectively; as well as Hitmontop's with Intimidate and Wide Guard support against incoming Heat Waves; while in return helping against rain teams or the ever annoying Cresselia and the rare Musharna.
And well, that's all the RMT folks, i hope you can help with with some good constructive criticism and advice; Thanks in advance, and please RATE MY TEAM! it really helps!
But anyway, this VGC Team started with the idea of a goodstuff, "jack of all trades" team that could handle (almost) any kind of common threat present in the VGC meta (except maybe dedicated Trick Room teams) with various standard play 'mons like Hitmontop, Crobat and Chandelure, and i've had a moderate success with it so far battling against all kinds of people both in DS and in the Nugget Bridge server of PS! (18W/6L, as of now, in 2 days of battling). however, i still feel that there's something missing in my team, and i hope that with this RMT and all of your constructive criticism, i can find out some its pros and cons to improve it further (and "de-standardize" it, if possible).
Without further ado, let's jump into the team.
Hitmontop @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 6 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Sucker Punch
Good ol' Hitmontop, a really good Pokémon that is even better on Double Battles's metas and has been the base of well known strategies like TopOgre back then and more recently, TopMoth; this guy is the premier supporter of the team, with Intimidate helping to soften blows from common physical attackers like Tyranitar or Breloom; Fake Out to give me potential free turns and help Crobat set up Tailwind against the likes of Whimsicott and other Prankster users and Wide Guard to help against common spread moves like Heat Wave, Surf, EQ or Rock Slide.
I use it with Close Combat + Fighting Gem to hit like a truck and "bypass" Chople Berries or leave a dent in 'mons like Metagross; and Sucker Punch is there as a good priority move to hit hard stuff like Chandelure or Latios or as a last ditch move.
EVs are quite straightforward, they are placed in Attack and Speed to hit as fast and as hard as possible, and to surprise some people that are more familiarized with the more standard 252HP/252Atk spread.
As i wrote above, Top's main role is to support my 'mons that fall prey to common spread moves, like Chandelure and Crobat; to help the rest of my teammates to take physical hits easier from almost everything that is physical oriented (except Metagross or Defiant Pokémon) and/or give myself free turns when it is possible to.
Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 248 Spd / 4 SDef / 4 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Protect
- Trick Room
Chandelure is an awesome Pokémon when it comes to battling against sun teams and some Trick Room-setting threats; i chose it because of its FIREpower to hit very hard 'mons like Cresselia or Amoonguss or to abuse it's really good STABs and inmunities/resistances against common types like Fire, Normal, Fighting or Steel.
It has a pretty standard moveset, with Heat Wave as its main move, hitting Steel or Grass types lacking Occa Berry or rain support really hard, Shadow Ball as its secondary STAB that is very useful against common Psychic or Ghost types, Trick Room just in case i have to reverse its effects against opposing TR teams and Protect to avoid or scout attacks.
EVs are pretty straightforward, full investment in Sp.Atk and Speed of make full use of Tailwind, instead of a bulkier, more "Anti-Trick Room-ish" spread.
Chandy's role is mostly to battle against Sun teams, to abuse its really good typing offensively and defensively and to counter Trick Room teams to an extent. it absolutely lovs Hitmontop's Wide Guarding services to help against the common spread moves that hit it Super Effectively and Hitmontop's role in eliminating one of its main counters: Tyranitar; in return, Chandy has a good defensive synergy with Ferrothorn, taking Fire and Fighting-Type attacks that may cripple, if not KO it right away; while in return, Ferro can take on Water, Ghost-Type attacks and rain teams that Chandy absolutely hates.
Crobat @ Flying Gem
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 224 Spd / 28 HP / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Tailwind
- Haze
- Protect
Ah, Crobat, an often overlooked Pokémon because of the popularity of threats like Metagross or Thundurus, but neverthless, a great Tailwind user and a good answer against Fighting-Types like Hitmontop or Mienshao.
It's main role is to decimate Fighting-Types or Fake Out users and to set up Tailwind 99.8% of the time; Acrobatics + Flying Gem will destroy, if not heavily cripple, most Fighting and Grass Types lacking Coba Berry or Intimidate support that stand on its path, Tailwind to double the rest of my Team's Speed and make battles against fast attackers like the common Swift Swim abusers much more palatable, Haze is there, as gimmicky as it looks, to remove unwanted Stat drops (it's mostly abused with Latios's Draco Meteor) and against Stat boosters like Beat Up or Defiant abusing 'mons; it may backfire if i'm relying on Intimidate support or opposing team's Stat drops, however, and Protect to avoid/scout damage.
It is EV'd to hit as hard as possible and to outspeed everything except opposing Crobat or the rare Jolteon and Aerodactyl, and 4 EVs in SpDef to avoid an Sp.Atk boost from opposing Download users.
As with Chandelure, it absolutely loves Hitmontop's Wide Guard and Intimidate support, against spread moves like Blizzard, Rock Slide and the removal of 'mons like Tyranitar, respectively. And as i said, it's main role is to defeat Fighting and Grass-Types (especially the incredibly annoying Amoonguss and Ludicolo lacking Ice Beam) and set up Tailwind, which Chandelure and Hitmontop really enjoy and can help against Metagross and Tyranitar, respectively.
Latios @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 Spd / 248 SAtk / 12 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect
Latios, a very useful Dragon in the VGC, and one that hits like a ton of bricks with its powerful Dragon Gem-boosted Draco Meteor to anything that doesn't resist it.
Latios's role is that of hitting like a brake-less, 4X4 truck, to dispose of threats quick'n easy with its Draco Meteor, something that gets worse with Tailwind (and Haze) support; Moveset is pretty standard, Draco Meteor is the STAB move of choice to smash (almost) anything to pieces not called Tyranitar, Steel-Types or dedicated special sponges, Psychic as its secondary STAB to hit Fighting-Types super effectively, Hidden Power Fire to nail Ferrothorn and deal moderate damage to Metagross and other Steel-Types outside of rain, and Protect to avoid/scout damage.
EVs are straightforward, 248 EVs in Sp.Atk and Speed to make up for the IV drop of Hidden Power Fire, and the rest are placed on HP to give it a small amount of additional bulk.
To function properly and start spamming Draco Meteors, Latios appreciates the removal of Tyranitar and Metagross, two of its most common checks, so that's why i have both Hitmontop and Chandelure/Zapdos to help disposing of those two to open Latios's path to start wrecking stuff with Draco Meteor; in return, Latios helps Hitmontop and Chandelure with the removal of threats like Amoonguss or Water-Type threats, respectively.
Zapdos @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 156 Spd / 252 SAtk / 104 HP
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Zapdos, a really awesome Electric-Type that, despite it being somewhat outclassed by Thundurus-I thanks to Prankster, a higher Speed Stat and slightly better coverage, it is by no means a bad Pokémon and it is still awesome at doing its job, countering Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch-lacking Metagross, Hitmontop, Ferrothorn and some other common threats effectively.
It's main role is to fight against the aforementioned Metagross and Hitmontop, Landorus-T and other common threats like Ferrothorn and Bronzong; its moves are pretty standard, Thunderbolt is there as its STAB of choice, that, along with a Life Orb and Max Sp-Atk investment, hits really hard, Heat Wave is there to hit those annoying Grass-Types that resist its Electric STAB, like Amoonguss or Ferrothorn, Hidden Power Ice to nail common Ground-Types that are inmune to its Electric STAB, like non-Yache Berry Landorus and Garchomp, and thestandard Protect to scout/avoid damage over Detect, since Imprison is now very uncommon these days (on my experience).
I chose a custom spread for Zapdos; with a Timid nature + 156 EVs it is able to outspeed neutral base 100-101s like Adamant/Modest Salamence and Landorus-I and hit them with Hidden Power Ice before their eyes, expecting the standard Modest variant; 252 EVs on Sp.Atk + a Life Orb make up for the loss of power with a Timid nature over a Modest one, and the rest of the EVs are placed in its HP to improve its already good bulk.
Zapdos, like Chandelure and Crobat, really appreciate Hitmontop's Wide Guard and Intimidate support, as well as its ability to dispose of any non-Focus Sash Tyranitar and Abomasnow; and in return, it helps Hitmontop countering Metagross and (to an extent) Amoonguss. it also enjoys Crobat's Tailwind support, since it can outspeed stuff that it can't normally outspeed by itself and hit with a Lightning-fast (pun intended) LO Thunderbolt.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 106 SDef / 150 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
The Ever annoying Ferrothorn, widely infamous for being one hell of a counter against almost every-single rain team,Water or Grass-Types in the game, or Dragons like Latios and Latias lacking Hidden Power Fire.
Its role in the team is mostly to help countering rain teams and to an extent, battle against certain Trick Room threats, like Rhyperior or Gastrodon.
It's moveset is pretty standard, but still very effective; Leech Seed to annoy the hell out of Pokémon like Politoed or Metagross and to force them to switch out, unwilling to give Ferrothorn free HP; Power Whip as its STAB of choice to hit all those pesky Water-types (specially Gastrodon) hard thanks to its BP of 120 and Ferrothorn's moderate Attack; Gyro Ball as its secondary STAB and to hit hard anything with a high Speed stat, and hits even harder thanks to its 0 Speed IV and Relaxed Nature, guaranteeing that it is going to hit with its maximum BP at all times, and Protect to scout surprise Hidden Powers or simply to avoid damage.
Its EVs and nature are Standard, Max HP investment to make full use of Ferrothorn's excellent defenses and typing, and Relaxed + 150 Defense EVs to help it cushion physical attacks better and the rest dumped into its Sp.Def; and i chose Leftovers as its item since it helped a lot more than the Occa Berry or a Rocky Helmet due to its passive recovery being far more helpful, especially when countering rain threats (its main role in the team).
When it comes to teammates, it really appreciates Chandelure or Latios's help in taking on counters like sun team threats (except the rare Heatran, which is dealt with Hitmontop) or Zapdos, respectively; as well as Hitmontop's with Intimidate and Wide Guard support against incoming Heat Waves; while in return helping against rain teams or the ever annoying Cresselia and the rare Musharna.
And well, that's all the RMT folks, i hope you can help with with some good constructive criticism and advice; Thanks in advance, and please RATE MY TEAM! it really helps!
