Pseudo-boosting - a double battles tactic

[verycoolguy]

What do you all think of a Latias + Poliwrath combo?

Latias@Leftovers?
Levitate

Surf
Dragon Pulse
Filler
Filler

Poliwrath@Salac Berry?/Leftovers
Water Absorb

Belly Drum
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Waterfall/Brick Break


Both have solid bulk to withstand hits. If Poliwrath Belly Drums, he will very likely have a Salac Berry activated. Latias does this so well because it's fast, it's a special attacking partner, dodges Earthquake, and is not a water type, so this duo does not have a nasty Discharge weakness. This is risky, so Poliwrath would need heavy defensive EVs. There will probably not be enough Speed EVs to make the Salac boost be very effective, so he can probably use Leftovers instead. Rock Slide hits both enemies. The opponents will be terrorized by the amazing QuakeSlide combination. Waterfall is just for STAB and it provides good coverage, but Brick Break takes care of screens.

I guess it should be called pseudo-healing support... for aid in setting up.

 

[False [old]]

While effective in some cases, this isn't really a very new tactic for Doubles; in fact, I'd say that it's probably one of the first sort of teams someone might come up with for a Doubles team, based on the following thought process.

1) Pokemon X would be great if he had Ability A.

2) Pokemon Y has Skill Swap and Ability A.

3) Pair up Pokemon X and Y, and use Skill Swap on turn 1.

It might be slightly different if they're trying to get RID of the Ability, ala Slaking or Regigigas, but the idea is still the same.

And these teams are fine, and can be very dangerous if they succeed, but the problem comes in them being able to succeed.

The problem with the above Skill Swap example is that even if this was my first Double Battle, the minute I see a Regigigas and some other pokemon, it's glaringly obvious what they are going to try to do, and if I'm smart, I'll be doing what I can to make sure the Skill Swap never happens; I could have my Crobat taunt the other Pokemon, or I could have my Togekiss use Follow Me and redirect the Skill Swap, or I could just do what I can to faint the Regigigas before it can make a move.


The idea of Pseudo-boosting by attacking your partner is also risky in the fact that while you're effectively only performing one attack on the opponent, they could be firing back with both Pokemon. This is why the classic Toxicroak/Kingdra combo is so effective; Kingdra can hit both opponents while 'attacking' Toxicroak, and Toxicroak is free to do as he pleases.

But Pseudo-boosting with a single-target attack is fine as long as you aren't doing it with a Pokemon that is designed for attacking. For example, if I used Lickilicky and Azelf, and had Azelf use Swagger on Lickilicky, I'd personally consider that a waste of a moveslot that could go to an attack that takes advantage of Azelf's offensive power. However, if Cresselia used Swagger, it wouldn't be a waste at all, since Cresselia is a mainly defensive Pokemon, and would most likely be running Support moves anyway.

In short, Pseudo-boosting can be effective as long as you aren't limiting your Pokemon in their offensive Power. It also shouldn't be the 'core' what your team is built off of; going back to the Toxicroak/Kingdra combo, those two are part of a Rain Dance team. Even if one of them faints, the other two members of the team are designed to compliment them as part of the team's goal of using Rain to win. Skill Swap teams are limited in that regard because the ideal 'swap' is usually between only two Pokemon, leaving the remaining two to fend for themselves.

 

[blasphemy1]

While effective in some cases, this isn't really a very new tactic for Doubles; in fact, I'd say that it's probably one of the first sort of teams someone might come up with for a Doubles team, based on the following thought process.

1) Pokemon X would be great if he had Ability A.

2) Pokemon Y has Skill Swap and Ability A.

3) Pair up Pokemon X and Y, and use Skill Swap on turn 1.

It might be slightly different if they're trying to get RID of the Ability, ala Slaking or Regigigas, but the idea is still the same.

And these teams are fine, and can be very dangerous if they succeed, but the problem comes in them being able to succeed.

The problem with the above Skill Swap example is that even if this was my first Double Battle, the minute I see a Regigigas and some other pokemon, it's glaringly obvious what they are going to try to do, and if I'm smart, I'll be doing what I can to make sure the Skill Swap never happens; I could have my Crobat taunt the other Pokemon, or I could have my Togekiss use Follow Me and redirect the Skill Swap, or I could just do what I can to faint the Regigigas before it can make a move.


The idea of Pseudo-boosting by attacking your partner is also risky in the fact that while you're effectively only performing one attack on the opponent, they could be firing back with both Pokemon. This is why the classic Toxicroak/Kingdra combo is so effective; Kingdra can hit both opponents while 'attacking' Toxicroak, and Toxicroak is free to do as he pleases.

But Pseudo-boosting with a single-target attack is fine as long as you aren't doing it with a Pokemon that is designed for attacking. For example, if I used Lickilicky and Azelf, and had Azelf use Swagger on Lickilicky, I'd personally consider that a waste of a moveslot that could go to an attack that takes advantage of Azelf's offensive power. However, if Cresselia used Swagger, it wouldn't be a waste at all, since Cresselia is a mainly defensive Pokemon, and would most likely be running Support moves anyway.

In short, Pseudo-boosting can be effective as long as you aren't limiting your Pokemon in their offensive Power. It also shouldn't be the 'core' what your team is built off of; going back to the Toxicroak/Kingdra combo, those two are part of a Rain Dance team. Even if one of them faints, the other two members of the team are designed to compliment them as part of the team's goal of using Rain to win. Skill Swap teams are limited in that regard because the ideal 'swap' is usually between only two Pokemon, leaving the remaining two to fend for themselves.

If you are referring to Drifblim + Regigigas combo I posted I can assure you there is no way to prevent the Skill Swap without running a Choice Scarf Taunter or Deoxys-A/S. Again, Slaking/Regigigas have ridiculous bulk(150 / 100 / 65 and 110 / 110 / 110, respectively) meaning no attack can OHKO when holding a Chople Berry(barring Explosion). Besides that, many pokemon run Protect/Substitute in doubles, so it isn't always safe, especially when there is one ghost active.

 

[False [old]]

Actually, I did list a way to prevent the Skill Swap, in the form of a Follow Me Pokemon. Skill Swap is normally meant to target an enemy, so it can be affected by Follow Me, unlike a move that only affects the Partner, like Helping Hand. And that's just if you're holding the Choice Scarf; if it's the Focus Sash you're well within the speed range of many of the more popular Taunting pokemon, like Crobat.

Personally, I think locking yourself into a move in Double Battles, where you don't have as many Pokemon to switch out into, is really risky, but I'm guessing the Drifblim from your team doesn't really have a job outside of getting Slow Start off Regigigas, so it's not a big deal in that case.