VGC RMT: Charizard Tail X Room

[pakmon]

Hi there, welcome to my RMT!
I have made a team that is designed to work in against many types of teams and have answers to common pokemon, but I am trying to improve (Currently Battle Spot 1650 and Pokemon Showdown 1500). Perhaps my team has some problems, or am I just not that good at battling?

Either way, thanks in advance for your help and hope you enjoy this RMT.


Pros:
- Works well against many types of teams, including Rain, Sand, Sun, Trickroom
- Good type balance and coverage
- Sun Bluff and Charizard X

Cons:
- Too reliant on Tailwind (Slow and prone to hax, weak to Taunt)
- Only 2 Physical Attackers vs 4 Special Attackers
- Lacks some notable support options such as Intimidate and Taunt

Other Notes:
- I seem to have most trouble against Khan-Artist, Perish Song and fast Taunt such as Gengar/Thundurus-T


The Team:

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe -> 196 HP / 188 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Protect

The Star.
Lately I have taken a liking to Charizard-X and have been trying to make him work in a team.
Flare Blitz is mandatory and is what makes Charizard-X worth using, OHKO alot of common pokemon that don't resist it. Dragon Claw to pick off weakened foes.
DD was also too risky as Charizard needed all the turns it could get, so I decided to remove it and instead support Charizard with Tailwind and Trickroom,
this also gave me room to add Earthquake and a way to deal with Heatran.
For ev's, I decided to remove all bulk and go all out offense, ensuring OHKOs on most Sylveon, bulky Gardevoir, as Charizard often killed itself with recoil anyway. Max speed also lets it outspeed non-scarf Modest Hydregion. But I am looking for suggestions for a better spread.

EDIT: Changed to a bulkier spread to survive Adamant M.Kang Double-Edge. Still outspeeds Positve 70s and Neutral 80s (Bisharp, Breloom, Heatran, Mamoswine etc.).

Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Overheat
- Close Combat
- Feint

The M.Kang Check.
Infernape is awesome, providing great support while maintaining excellent damage output.. immune to burn.. Overheat dents anything that resists CC.. and Feint is, just wow.
Fake Out was originally why I picked him over Terrakion. Overheat and CC are pretty mandatory for coverage.
And finally, Feint, an amazingly useful move when threatening with Fake Out which often brings out Protects from the opponent.
Feint also allows me to double target without fear. At +2, Feint safely removes priority users who have been brought down to their sash (such as Breloom and Bisharp) and makes Sucker Punches fail.
The ev's give the highest chance to OHKO standard M.Kang, rest into S.Atk.
Focus Sash because even Suicune's Scald OHKOs, I would never use anything else.

Zapdos @ Life Orb -> Weakness Policy
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 148 SpD / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Tailwind

The Tailwind Setter.
Electric coverage has been very useful, with Talonflame and Suicune everywhere. I wanted a reliable Tailwind setter who can also do some damage. Zapdos does just that and is able to stick around for a long time with Roost. It also lets me to KO most Suicune with a double targeting, preventing my opponent from setting up their own tailwind.
Ev's survive +1 Hydreigon Draco Meteor, Jolly M.Kang Double-Edge, 3HKO from Lando-T Rockslide, outspeeds Tyranitar at +0 and Scarf Jolly Salamence at +2.
With a Life Orb, it OHKOs M.Salamence and Landorus-T, as well as Talonflame and non-bulky Charizard. Getting those KO's was worth losing a bit of bulk, especially with Roost recovery.

EDIT: Replaced Life Orb with WP. Zapdos attracts Icy Wind/Rock slides way too much. A +2 boost under Tailwind really put me at an advantage and can end games. Lack of LO recoil was also nice.

Swampert @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe -> 236 HP / 28 Def / 244 SpA
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam -> Protect
- Earth Power
- Wide Guard
- Scald

The Wide Guarder.
Rockslide was really effective on my team, especially when it flinches. I set out to look for an effective wide-guarder. In the past Aerodactyl was my go-to, but it was too frail for this team and worked better with Charizard-Y. I also tried Aegislash with little success. Finally I looked to Swampert who also provided much needed Ice Beam coverage. This is of-course Angel Miranda's special Swampert. Earth Power made alot of sense for this team as I desperately needed more ground coverage but neither Infernape nor Charizard can stay in on an Earthquake. My only gripe is having no protect and random things have a random grass attack. I used to have Protect over Scald, but OHKO on Talonflame was too important as my team lacks Rock Slide and random burns are awesome.
I think Swampert is to Charizard-X what Aerodactyl is to Charizard-Y (Well, minus the Tailwind), they just work very well together. Wide guard blocks Earth Quake, Rockslide, Hyper Voice. Earth Power for Heatran, M.Mawile, Ice Beam for Landorus, M.Salamence and Scald for Talonflame.
The ev's OHKO standard Terrakion and outspeeds Timid Thundurus at +2.

EDIT: Changed to a bulkier spread to survive Adamant M.Kang Double-Edge, replaced Ice Beam with Protect as Scald OHKOs Landorus-T anyway.

Cresselia @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 100 Def / 172 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room -> Magic Coat
- Psychic
- Ice Beam -> Icy Wind
- Helping Hand

The Lifesaver.
Cresselia can turn the battle around when things go out of hand, such as when the opponent sets up Tailwind or Trickroom. She is also really bulky, and gives me a safe option to switch out to.
Psychic deals with Gengar and M.Venusaur which have become quite popular and is otherwise a pain to deal with for this team. Ice Beam for extra coverage against Landorus and Co. Helping Hand for when Cresselia can't do much damage and because +1 Flare Blitz is no joke.
Ev's is of course, Cybertron's spread.

EDIT: Replace Trick Room with Icy Wind which allowed me to put Magic Coat to counter Thundurus-T's Taunt and Dark Void Smeargle.

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 188 SpA / 68 Spe -> 252 HP / 76 Def / 124 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature -> Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect

The Bluff.
Venusaur lets me bluff the Charizard-Y + Venusaur combo which makes it easier to predict what my opponents leads will be. In reality, I never go into battle with the duo. Venusaur also works well against teams that Charizard-X struggles with, including Rain, Sand and Trickroom to an extent, while Charizard-X works well against Sun, steel types and Heatran.
Giga Drain is mandatory for bulky sets and works incredibly well, Sludge Bomb is just standard. For the third slot, I have tested a variety of moves, including Sunny Day, Worry Seed, Roar, Sleep Powder. In the end most of the moves were too situational and Sleep Powder was too risky for me, while Leech Seed was always useful and allowed Venusaur to damage things that it wouldn't be able to do much to otherwise.
The ev's 2HKO 252 / 148+ Rotom-W through sitrus berry and outspeeds most defensive Rotom-W at +0 and up to M.Sceptile at +2.

EDIT: Changed to a bulkier spread for better use of Leech Seed/Protect.


Common Leads:

+

Infernape counters slower opposing Fake Out support and gives Zapdos an easier time to set up Tailwind (e.g. M.Kang).

+

Swampert stops Rockslide flinches so Zapdos can setup Tailwind (e.g. Landorus-T, Terrakion).

+

If I am against a very fast opposing team, I will instead setup Trickroom and start putting holes in their team.

 

[Unsee]

Why would you out 252 Spe on Zard-X if it is a Trick Roomer? There are lots of mons slower than Charizard... I'd recommend 0 Spe EVs AND IVs if you want to concentrate on it being a T-Roomer.

 

[pakmon]

I use Trick Room conservatively, such as when I know the opposing team will outspeed me (such as if they are under tailwind).
A lot of common pokemon also outspeed Charizard naturally, such as Kangaskhan, Terrakion, Latios, Thundurus, Gengar, M.Salamence, Scarf Landorus, Garchomp etc.
Most importantly, it is there for a way to reverse Trick Room.

Although I am looking at reducing Charizard's speed for a bulkier build.

 

[Steven Stone]

I use Trick Room conservatively, such as when I know the opposing team will outspeed me (such as if they are under tailwind).
A lot of common pokemon also outspeed Charizard naturally, such as Kangaskhan, Terrakion, Latios, Thundurus, Gengar, M.Salamence, Scarf Landorus, Garchomp etc.
Most importantly, it is there for a way to reverse Trick Room.

Although I am looking at reducing Charizard's speed for a bulkier build.

I think TR here should fit another role: Countering other TR teams. Seeing how fast your team is, i think TR will put your team to an unadvantage. To counter Tailwind, you have your own Tailwind setter that handles other common Tailwind setters like Whimsicott, Talonflame and Crobat. If Trick Room is used under Trick room, it will negate TR effects and make the dimensions back to normal. I like TR setters on fast teams due to this little bit of data. If you think is too risky, i reccomend using Icy Wind/Thunder Wave>Trick Room. Cress has a really good speed controlling movepool so use that at your own advantage. Bluffing Zard Y+Venusaur combo is pretty good, but your team is considerable weak to Zapdos+Amoonguss+Terrakion.
Aegislash also threatens your team, so i'd look for more options to check/counter it (seeing how common Intimidate is, you can't rely 100% of the time on Flare Blitz, and Overheat from Infernape can't OHKO either)
Have you considered Encore>Feint in Infernape? Is just amazing support as Infernape is pretty fast and can Encore stuff onto moves like Protect, Tailwind, TR, etc.

 

[pakmon]

I think TR here should fit another role: Countering other TR teams. Seeing how fast your team is, i think TR will put your team to an unadvantage. To counter Tailwind, you have your own Tailwind setter that handles other common Tailwind setters like Whimsicott, Talonflame and Crobat. If Trick Room is used under Trick room, it will negate TR effects and make the dimensions back to normal. I like TR setters on fast teams due to this little bit of data. If you think is too risky, i reccomend using Icy Wind/Thunder Wave>Trick Room. Cress has a really good speed controlling movepool so use that at your own advantage. Bluffing Zard Y+Venusaur combo is pretty good, but your team is considerable weak to Zapdos+Amoonguss+Terrakion.
Aegislash also threatens your team, so i'd look for more options to check/counter it (seeing how common Intimidate is, you can't rely 100% of the time on Flare Blitz, and Overheat from Infernape can't OHKO either)
Have you considered Encore>Feint in Infernape? Is just amazing support as Infernape is pretty fast and can Encore stuff onto moves like Protect, Tailwind, TR, etc.

I did do some testing with removing Trick Room and it worked quite well: Ice Beam->Icy Wind and Trick Room->Magic Coat (for taunt/dark void).
While i do loath Aegislash, M.Venusaur and Cresselia both handle Zapdos+Amoonguss+Terrakion pretty well.
Yes I have considered Encore before trying Feint. While encoring a Protect or Trick Room was great, I didn't find many opportunities to do that. It was also rare to encore a Tailwind as Infernape would be slower at the point unless I also setup Tailwind at the same time.
Anyway, I have been testing Scrafty over Infernape so I can hit ghost types better and incorporate Intimidate.