Revolution 909

[Electrolyte]

--REVOLUTION 909--
An XY Doubles Team by Electrolyte

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Hey, Electrolyte here with a cool new team for a cool new tier.

I'll make this intro short and sweet because the there's not much to it and the team description is way more important. This is my first ever SmogDubs team, which I made to help get a foothold on the metagame and transition into the tier. I liked the OU metagame but I was quite a bit tired with its structure; I wanted to try out Doubles and see if I could find something less repetitive and more skill based. This is what I made.

This team isn't too unique, I must admit, but it does have a few tricks (in my opinion) that make it both solid and different enough to be fun and effective to play with. Hitmontop provides the team with Intimidate, Fake Out, and Wide Guard support, and SubTran and LO Skymin wear down the opponent with their powerful STAB attacks. Tyranitar brings in Sand, serving as a great counter to things such as CharY or Talonflame. Finally, Azumarill and Garchomp can be used to clean up late game. All in all, the team is very solid, and has great synergy that allows for all sorts of different playstyles.

--TEAM DESCRIPTIONS--​

Technologic (Hitmontop) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Atk / 60 Def / 60 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Close Combat

Intimidate and Fake Out are staple on most balanced Doubles teams, simply because they provide bulk and maneuvering that offensive Pokemon otherwise would not be able to fit in their movepools. Hitmontop is a real team player. Most of the team is more specially bulky than physically, so its Intimidate always comes in handy. Fake Out is also awesome, especially as a lead with Heatran / Skymin, stunning a single opponent temporarily so I can get off a powerful attack early. (I speed creep here to beat other Top leads, giving me the ability to stun them and OHKO with Skymin Air Slash.)

Hitmontop makes up a lot of the backbone synergy of the team, and is definitely indispensable. With Wide Guard, it can support Tyranitar, Heatran, Skymin, Garchomp, and Azumarill by cockblocking Earthquakes, Heat Waves, Rock Slides, Blizzards, and Discharges for as long as I need it to. This in particularly helps keep Heatran and Skymin around for longer periods of time to deal even heavier damage, since most of their checks and counters rely on spread moves in order to beat them and will be unable to with Wide Guard protection.

Da Funk (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SAtk / 72 Spd
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power

Heatran was the first Pokemon that joined the team- and arguably one of the most reliable. With Substitute, Heatran can use its variety of resistances to stick around for long periods of time, and with its high offensive power and ability to blast huge holes into opposing defenses, it maintains early offensive momentum by making it difficult for my opponent to abuse hyper offense and glass cannons that my own team is slightly weaker to. It has plenty of opportunities to set up, as well. I like to lead TranTop, so Fake Out can buy a turn for Substitute early on, or Wide Guard, since Earthquake is so common and so dangerous but also the only thing most opponents carry that can hurt Heatran. Once its got its Substitute up, it can fire off powerful Heat Waves and Earth Powers, steadily ripping off chunks of the opposing team.

Heatran's type coverage is extremely essential for this team's success, taking out dreaded Steel-types such as Aegislash or Mega Mawile. It's a great multipurpose check to a lot of metagame threats, and with Substitute, and can often be guaranteed multiple hits against the opponent. It's great against Sun teams, Grass-types, and has good synergy with the rest of the team, making it a very valuable member.

Seriously, SubTran is a monster.

Aerodynamic (Shaymin-Sky) @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Protect

Skymin provides speed, power, and coverage to the team, and is definitely an underrated threat in the metagame. Even Modest 252 Spe can easily outpace 110s and tie with 111s, making Skymin a very valuable early game asset when it comes to dishing out powerful attacks at my opponents. Modest LO Seed Flare is the strongest attack on the team, and surely OHKOs almost everything weak to it. With its almost certain Special Defense drop side effect, it lets Skymin 2HKO almost anything that doesn't resist the move- Cresselia, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Kangaskhan, to name a few. Air Slash is also really useful, warding off annoying Fighting-types and buying momentum with its nice flinch chance. Earth Power is a silver bullet for Heatran, and often catches them off guard for an easy OHKO. It's also useful against other Steel-types such as Mega Mawile or Bisharp, though for the latter, a special defense drop could make things real dirty. Protect is there to scout things, as Skymin isn't too bulky.

Skymin's extreme offense helps the team muscle past a lot of threats it would otherwise have trouble with. Its Speed, power, and reliable coverage lets me use it to take down almost any singular opponent I need it to remove, greatly decreasing the amount of threats the rest of the team has to handle. Its powerful Seed Flare helps remove walls that the rest of the team would otherwise have a lot of trouble handling, and is great for warding off Intimidaters. It has great synergy with the rest of the team.

Voyager (Azumarill) (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Protect

Priority is a must on all solid Doubles teams, and Azumarill is here to provide just that. Its priority Aqua Jet is really helpful against all sorts of weather teams, especially against Sand, where fast Water-type attacks really come in handy. As a semi-bulky Water-type and Fairy-type, it provides a slew of useful resistances for the team as well, including a solid answer to Fighting-types and Dark-types. It's a great metagame check, especially since it can lure in Intimidaters and remove them quickly. Since almost all teams carry multiple Pokemon weak to Azumarill's STABs, it's a great wallbreaker and works well in tandem with the other powerful spread attackers on the team. With Protect, it can stall down on the opponent as well as make itself viable for partnership with Garchomp without forcing it out of its EQ.

To be honest, there really isn't much more to Azumarill than that; like Skymin, its primary job is to remove bulky mons and offensive threats and revenge kill, so it's fairly straightforward.

Derezzed (Garchomp) @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Protect

As the Mega Pokemon of the team, Garchomp's job is quite simple- to clean up. Most of the time, I don't even have to use it, since smart switching with the first four Pokemon is more than enough to handle most opponents. Dragon-types have been nerfed a bit with the transition, but Garchomp is still as great as it used to be because it relies more on its Earthquake than its Dragon-type attacks. I like to play Garchomp very flexibly, taking full advantage of its normal form before I Mega Evolve it.

I usually use regular Garchomp to check faster threats, such as Mega Char Y or Jirachi. As the second fastest Pokemon on the team, it helps cover the important and necessary 80-100 speed tier that the rest of the team (bar Skymin) couldn't handle as efficiently. Its relatively quick Stone Edge is great for nailing Flying-types, and Rough Skin can be useful to help chip off some damage from weaker physical attackers.

Once faster threats are removed, Mega Garchomp steps in to deal heavy damage. Because of the way Speed is determined per turn, I always have one turn where I can abuse the Speed of normal Garchomp but the power of Mega Garchomp, giving me a useful maneuver to surprise my opponents. Mega Garchomp's Earthquake is a very powerful spread move, and is great for dealing lots of damage and forcing my opponents to stay on their toes. With a Sandstorm boost, it can easily 2HKO a lot of the neutral metagame, and is a very spammable move when paired with Skymin or a Protect Pokemon. Draco Meteor is here specifically for Landorus-T and other specially frailer Pokemon that think they can handle an EQ or Outrage. Mega Garchomp's Special Attack is pretty good (120) making it a very feasible way to take down Landorus-T (which is 2HKOd.) It's also great against Intimidaters, who think they can take it down just because Garchomp's Attack stat is at -1. Finally, Protect is to scout for things and buy time.

Robot Rock (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Crunch
- Stealth Rock

Tyranitar is the main tank of the team and provides it with a great asset against Sun, Hail, and nonweather teams. Its resistance to Fire, Psychic, and Flying make it a great multipurpose check, and its Sandstorm is really useful for wearing opponents down, killing them twice as fast as it would in Singles. Crunch is really useful for Psychic / Ghost-types such as Lati@s, Cresselia, and Aegislash that would limit Hitmontop's flexibility. Its Rock Slide also beats down on Flying and Fire-types, giving Skymin a lot more breathing room as well. Stealth Rock might seem odd on here, but it is occasionally useful to help further guard against Sun teams and rampant Flying-types. I have also considered Roar for this slot but I rarely get put in the position where either are super necessary so I've just left it as is.

To be honest, Tyranitar's Sand is really only to help Garchomp, guard against opposing weather, and give Tyranitar itself the SpDef boost that lets me use it as a reliable special tank. In terms of synergy, it helps lure in physical attackers for Hitmontop to Intimidate and Intimidaters for Skymin / Azumarill to KO. Like with Garchomp's case, I don't always need to bring Tyranitar in anyway, and usually only do to counter opposing weather or Psychic / Fire / Flying-types that are being annoying, as the rest of the team can function perfectly well without Sand up.

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So that's the team. It's been fairly successful; I'm currently laddering with it on the suspect ladder with a streak of 8-0 (and going) and it has hit some significant peaks, such as 1550 Elo or #15 on the ladder. Overall, it's a really solid and fun team to play with, and can fit to suit many different playstyles based on the player's needs. It's been a great team to test the tier out with! If you've enjoyed this RMT, please like it or leave a comment! Thanks for reading~

How to Play with the Team (If you're interested in borrowing it)

The general strategy of this team is to open up with the offensive from Heatran / Skymin, with Hitmontop to check physical attackers and Azumarill to check glass cannons and weakened opponents. I always lead with Hitmontop + Heatran / Skymin, depending on the opponent's team (bulkier / Sun teams open Heatran, balanced teams open Skymin)

Once the opponent is adequately weakened, Garchomp can be brought in to clean up. Skymin and Azumarill should be kept mobile to deal as much damage as possible, and Heatran can be played a little more recklessly, unless an OHKO is predicted.

Notable pairups:
Top + Tran (lead)
Top provides Fake Out so Heatran can Substitute. Once Tran successfully gets Sub up, just fire off Heat Waves until things die. Top should stay in only if it can KO something; if not, pivot to another teammember. Top's wide guard helps Heatran and protects against EQs and Surfs.

Top + Skymin (lead)
Top Fake Out while Skymin attempts to OHKO or severely cripple something. Good for grabbing momentum quickly against balanced teams that can't take Skymin's onslaught. Top then switch to Ttar or Heatran to ward off Flying / Fire types while Skymin guards against Fighting / Water.

Skymin + Chomp (offense)
Duo work together very well. Skymin OHKOs Intimidaters, while Chomp nails Steel, Flying, and Fire types. Chomp is free to fire off as many EQs as it needs to, and Skymin loves to smack the physical walls Chomp lures in.

Azumarill + Garchomp (offense)
Azu has protect for Chomp's EQ, and nails Intimidaters. Garchomp's EQ guards against Steels and Poisons, while Azumarill can nail physical walls hard.

Azumarill + Heatran (offense)
Heatran hits Steel types and Grass types, while Azumarill guards against ground-types and Fighting-types. Also a great wallbreaking core, making it a good anti-TR strategy.

Azumarill + Skymin (offense)
Azumarill's priority hits faster frailer glass cannons that Skymin hates, while Skymin removes Grass and Water-types. Good strategy against Sand, and grabs a lot of momentum if you can get them both in safely against two opponents they can take down.

TTar + Top (defense)
TTar's constant Rock Slides ward of Flying-types, and its Crunch keeps Ghost / Psychics away. Top Fake Outs things and CCs Steel-types. A bit weak to Dazzling Gleam; in that case, switch Top to Heatran and set up.

TTar + Chomp (balanced)
TTar's Sand gives Chomp a boost. Protect guards against EQ. With TTar smacking Flyers and Levitators, Chomp's EQ are free to wreck opponents.

Weaknesses

Rotom and Thundurus I are both really annoying, as they hit most of the team hard and can't be hit by EQ. Thundurus's Speed and Hidden Power Ice make playing Skymin and Garchomp a risky gamble, and fuck Prio Twave. Rotom spreads burns and beats Heatran, but can be checked by Skymin or just worn down.

Dual Intimidate teams are kind of a hassle simply because Skymin and Azumarill lack spread moves and can't reliably do as much damage if I constantly have to predict. Against these teams, a Seed Flare miss could easily result in a loss, so I have to play really cautiously.

Surprisingly, Pixilate Hyper Voice can be annoying because three of my Pokemon are weak to it. Heatran helps a bit, but well played Pixilate abuse always comes with Heatran checks.

Importable

Technologic (Hitmontop) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Atk / 60 Def / 60 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Close Combat

Da Funk (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SAtk / 72 Spd
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power

Aerodynamic (Shaymin-Sky) @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Protect

Voyager (Azumarill) (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Protect

Derezzed (Garchomp) @ Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Robot Rock (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Crunch
- Stealth Rock

 

[BLOOD TOTEM]

Electrolyte you have a really cool team mad props for the Skymin, that guy's a qt and a straight up baller.
I'm going to suggest a two things that I think will help the overall synergy of your team, as well as the way it handles certain threats.
First up is a change of Mega. In my opinion Garchompite isn't doing much for your team bar lowing it's overall speed and providing some unnecessary mixed attacking abilities. I'd just change it to the standard Life Orb offensive set. (Or Yache Berry if you're feeling defensive)
Garchomp @ Life Orb / Yache Berry
Ability: Rough Skin / Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
- Protect

Next up I'd replace Azumarril for our lord and savior, Mega Mawile. I think MMaw is a really nice fit on your team, it provides an extra Intimidate to help handle some of the more troublesome physical threats whilst also adding bringing a more powerful priority move in the form of Huge Power Sucker Punch. It maintains a strong Fairy-type STAB which helps you handle Conkeldurr and friends and has some respectable bulk that helps it function against faster teams. The set bellow allows you to outspeed most Tyranitar spreads as well as 8Spe Scizor. The extra speed will catch quite a lot of Pokemon that expect Mawile to be that little bit slower out and is useful to have. The remaining EVs are pumped into Attack to help MMaw increase it's damage output and HP to boost up the bulk.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Fang
- Protect

The introduction of MMAw opens up something of an Earthquake weakness which is where the final suggestion comes in. Putting Ice Beam and a Shuca Berry onto Tyranitar's set allows it to effectively fend off annoying Pokemon like Garchomp and Landorus-T. They are both lulled into a false sense of security and Tyranitar can then pick them off with Ice Beam. The investment given is not quite enough to OHKO them but they can't switch into a Rock Slide and take the Ice Beam.
Tyranitar @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252HP / 68 SAtk / 212 Atk
Hasty Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Protect

I hope my advice helps, it's nice to see such a well rounded team on this forum :)