Taken over from Lasagne
There are a lot of new players coming into XY, and since Doubles is obviously such an awesome tier, a lot of them are attracted here. Doubles is arguably the hardest tier to teambuild for straight away, so many newer players go to RMTs, or ask friends for teams they can use. You can't just simply slap some big threats together and use the PS recommended spreads and hope you win. You also can't use the same mindset you may have brought over from singles with Doubles. You have to think differently when teambuilding, and this can be a daunting task for players just entering the metagame. This thread aims to collect good teams contributed by the Doubles community into one place, and create a place where an unexperienced player can simply dip in and pick a team to use. Obviously some teams will be better than others, and no team is perfect, but I want this to be a good database for people to pick up a team if they are struggling to build one themselves.
If you post a team, include a description (at least a paragraph long) of how the team works and descriptions of the team members.
Sample Teams:
There are a lot of new players coming into XY, and since Doubles is obviously such an awesome tier, a lot of them are attracted here. Doubles is arguably the hardest tier to teambuild for straight away, so many newer players go to RMTs, or ask friends for teams they can use. You can't just simply slap some big threats together and use the PS recommended spreads and hope you win. You also can't use the same mindset you may have brought over from singles with Doubles. You have to think differently when teambuilding, and this can be a daunting task for players just entering the metagame. This thread aims to collect good teams contributed by the Doubles community into one place, and create a place where an unexperienced player can simply dip in and pick a team to use. Obviously some teams will be better than others, and no team is perfect, but I want this to be a good database for people to pick up a team if they are struggling to build one themselves.
If you post a team, include a description (at least a paragraph long) of how the team works and descriptions of the team members.
Memoric's
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Togekiss @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Tailwind
- Follow Me
Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Protect
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
- Protect
Thundurus (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 8 SpA / 188 SpD / 32 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 224 Atk / 44 Def
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
Togekiss @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Tailwind
- Follow Me
Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Protect
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
- Protect
Thundurus (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 8 SpA / 188 SpD / 32 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 224 Atk / 44 Def
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
This team is built around the known Charizard-Y + Garchomp combination, one that applies a lot of offensive pressure through against the enemy in order to win. Behind them are teammates that help them set up, support them from threats, or just help out keeping up pressure. The team itself has nice synergy while having a simple way to work making it a very good starting team.
First up is Charizard-Y. Charizard is the first of the team's two main attackers, the other being Garchomp. The set itself is pretty standard as much as it goes: Heat Wave is a decently powerful move with STAB and Sun in the field, Solar Beam handles Water-types, and Protect is used for making key plays such as pivoting and the like. Fire Blast, though redundant with Heat Wave in terms of coverage, allows Charizard to hit a pokemon individually which is useful when picking off a threatening mon is needed or a Protect is predicted in order to deal more damage. Fire Blast also bypasses Wide Guard, picking off users such as Hitmontop and Aegislash for a clean KO. EVs are pretty straightforward: Max Speed, Max Special Attack, Timid = Win. Interesting to note is that Solar Power lets it take advantage of opponent's sun as with it, it becomes stronger than its Y Form.
Second is Garchomp. Garchomp is the second attacker of team, this time one with a set-up move in Swords Dance. Though setting up is generally frowned upon in a Doubles metagame, Garchomp has both the natural bulk and the teammates to make it possible. This set is mainly played as an attacker, only setting up in the right opportunities such as being with Follow Me support, threatening a switch, and so on. Swords Dance is for setting up and putting some offensive pressure and Earthquake is the STAB move that lets it apply solid damage to both opponents. Stone Edge gives it useful coverage that is also notable for smacking opposing Togekiss, and Protect for the plays. Lum Berry is used in order to cure status such as Burn or Sleep, letting Garchomp play a bit more cavalier against threats such as Amoonguss and Rotom-W. EVs are similar in Charizard's in that Max Attack, Max Speed, Jolly = Win.
Next is Togekiss. Togekiss is the team's key redirector, provider of the team's first form of Speed Control in Tailwind, and bulky member. Simply put, Togekiss' main objective is to create opportunities for teammates as much as possible. Follow Me is used to give teammates key oppurunities such as Garchomp setting up a Swords Dance, Breloom hitting a Spore, and letting a teammate get a KO cleanly. On the other hand, Tailwind is used in order to provide the team a very useful Speed advantage. This lets the team pressure faster key threats such as Terrakion, Thundurus, and Shaymin-S while also eliminating any threats of a Scarf user. Roost, while difficult to pull off, is very key in Togekiss' success but should only be used at proper times such as on something which it walls easily. Air Slash gives Togekiss an attacking option while also packing an annoying Flinch chance thanks to Serene Grace. This also gives it a somewhat unreliable way to "stun" an opponent's mon. The item, Safety Goggles, lets it take Spores without being affected while also letting it ignore Rage Powder when attacking. In addition, Safety Goggles also lets Togekiss ignore damage from weather such as Sand and Hail (lol), letting it redirect damage without the annoying chip damage from the said weathers. The stat spread give it as much Special bulk as possible, which is great paired with its good physically defensive typing.
After is Breloom. Breloom is chosen because of its ability to cover Charizard, to check things with Spore, and to check Sand. Breloom serves as the team's check to opposing weather setters such as Politoed and Tyranitar. It also serves as the only Pokemon with a Priority attack in the team which at times can be key. Spore is the main selling point as with it we can put problematic Pokemon out of commission for a time, which makes it dangerous and fun under Tailwind conditions. Bullet Seed hits hard from Breloom and hits Rotom-W for the main duo. Mach Punch snipes Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Kangaskhan and is a good move to have when I need a finisher. Again, Protect is there for the plays. With its Focus Sash, Breloom can serve as an emergency check for anything as long as it's intact. The EVs and Nature are for maximum damage output.
The fifth member of the team is Thundurus. It's chosen for his fast Prankster Taunts to stop Pokemon from setting up with moves such as Trick Room, Tailwind, etc., and check faster Pokemon such as Keldeo, Latios, and Shaymin-Sky with Prankster Thunder Wave. The ability to check Flying-types and Rain is also notable and is well noted. Thunderbolt and Hidden Power [Ice] have great coverage together so they are used as the attacking moves of the set, hitting Politoed, Talonflame, and Landorus-T. The spread is Arcticblast's as posted on the Thundurus thread, and supposedly lives a Modest Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast while outspeeding all Mega Tyranitar. Sitrus Berry gives it a burst of vitality which is useful for staying longer in the field after taking hits.
The last member is Scrafty. Scrafty brings the team very significant support in Fake Out and Intimidate, with Knock Off being the icing in the cake. Scrafty works as a bulky Pivot that can switch in on most attacks while annoying the opponent with both Intimidate and Fake Out. The moves are fairly straightforward; Fake Out is to disrupt the opponent, Drain Punch is STAB and gives the nifty perk of recovery on an Assault Vest, Knock Off is STAB that can remove items such as Sitrus Berry and Choice Scarf and hits Cresselia for super effective damage, and Ice Punch is to hit Ice-weak Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T hard. Assault Vest is gives it really useful bulk which helps it in spreading around disruption. In particular, the spread lives a Life Orb Secret Sword from Keldeo and 2 Heat Wave from Mega Charizard Y.
First up is Charizard-Y. Charizard is the first of the team's two main attackers, the other being Garchomp. The set itself is pretty standard as much as it goes: Heat Wave is a decently powerful move with STAB and Sun in the field, Solar Beam handles Water-types, and Protect is used for making key plays such as pivoting and the like. Fire Blast, though redundant with Heat Wave in terms of coverage, allows Charizard to hit a pokemon individually which is useful when picking off a threatening mon is needed or a Protect is predicted in order to deal more damage. Fire Blast also bypasses Wide Guard, picking off users such as Hitmontop and Aegislash for a clean KO. EVs are pretty straightforward: Max Speed, Max Special Attack, Timid = Win. Interesting to note is that Solar Power lets it take advantage of opponent's sun as with it, it becomes stronger than its Y Form.
Second is Garchomp. Garchomp is the second attacker of team, this time one with a set-up move in Swords Dance. Though setting up is generally frowned upon in a Doubles metagame, Garchomp has both the natural bulk and the teammates to make it possible. This set is mainly played as an attacker, only setting up in the right opportunities such as being with Follow Me support, threatening a switch, and so on. Swords Dance is for setting up and putting some offensive pressure and Earthquake is the STAB move that lets it apply solid damage to both opponents. Stone Edge gives it useful coverage that is also notable for smacking opposing Togekiss, and Protect for the plays. Lum Berry is used in order to cure status such as Burn or Sleep, letting Garchomp play a bit more cavalier against threats such as Amoonguss and Rotom-W. EVs are similar in Charizard's in that Max Attack, Max Speed, Jolly = Win.
Next is Togekiss. Togekiss is the team's key redirector, provider of the team's first form of Speed Control in Tailwind, and bulky member. Simply put, Togekiss' main objective is to create opportunities for teammates as much as possible. Follow Me is used to give teammates key oppurunities such as Garchomp setting up a Swords Dance, Breloom hitting a Spore, and letting a teammate get a KO cleanly. On the other hand, Tailwind is used in order to provide the team a very useful Speed advantage. This lets the team pressure faster key threats such as Terrakion, Thundurus, and Shaymin-S while also eliminating any threats of a Scarf user. Roost, while difficult to pull off, is very key in Togekiss' success but should only be used at proper times such as on something which it walls easily. Air Slash gives Togekiss an attacking option while also packing an annoying Flinch chance thanks to Serene Grace. This also gives it a somewhat unreliable way to "stun" an opponent's mon. The item, Safety Goggles, lets it take Spores without being affected while also letting it ignore Rage Powder when attacking. In addition, Safety Goggles also lets Togekiss ignore damage from weather such as Sand and Hail (lol), letting it redirect damage without the annoying chip damage from the said weathers. The stat spread give it as much Special bulk as possible, which is great paired with its good physically defensive typing.
After is Breloom. Breloom is chosen because of its ability to cover Charizard, to check things with Spore, and to check Sand. Breloom serves as the team's check to opposing weather setters such as Politoed and Tyranitar. It also serves as the only Pokemon with a Priority attack in the team which at times can be key. Spore is the main selling point as with it we can put problematic Pokemon out of commission for a time, which makes it dangerous and fun under Tailwind conditions. Bullet Seed hits hard from Breloom and hits Rotom-W for the main duo. Mach Punch snipes Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Kangaskhan and is a good move to have when I need a finisher. Again, Protect is there for the plays. With its Focus Sash, Breloom can serve as an emergency check for anything as long as it's intact. The EVs and Nature are for maximum damage output.
The fifth member of the team is Thundurus. It's chosen for his fast Prankster Taunts to stop Pokemon from setting up with moves such as Trick Room, Tailwind, etc., and check faster Pokemon such as Keldeo, Latios, and Shaymin-Sky with Prankster Thunder Wave. The ability to check Flying-types and Rain is also notable and is well noted. Thunderbolt and Hidden Power [Ice] have great coverage together so they are used as the attacking moves of the set, hitting Politoed, Talonflame, and Landorus-T. The spread is Arcticblast's as posted on the Thundurus thread, and supposedly lives a Modest Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast while outspeeding all Mega Tyranitar. Sitrus Berry gives it a burst of vitality which is useful for staying longer in the field after taking hits.
The last member is Scrafty. Scrafty brings the team very significant support in Fake Out and Intimidate, with Knock Off being the icing in the cake. Scrafty works as a bulky Pivot that can switch in on most attacks while annoying the opponent with both Intimidate and Fake Out. The moves are fairly straightforward; Fake Out is to disrupt the opponent, Drain Punch is STAB and gives the nifty perk of recovery on an Assault Vest, Knock Off is STAB that can remove items such as Sitrus Berry and Choice Scarf and hits Cresselia for super effective damage, and Ice Punch is to hit Ice-weak Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T hard. Assault Vest is gives it really useful bulk which helps it in spreading around disruption. In particular, the spread lives a Life Orb Secret Sword from Keldeo and 2 Heat Wave from Mega Charizard Y.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Quick Guard
- Protect
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
- Fire Blast
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
- Iron Head
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 96 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 1 Spd
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect
- Giga Drain
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 132 SAtk / 252 HP / 48 Spe / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Electroweb
- Protect
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Quick Guard
- Protect
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spe / 252 SpA
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
- Fire Blast
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
- Iron Head
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 96 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 1 Spd
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect
- Giga Drain
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 132 SAtk / 252 HP / 48 Spe / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Electroweb
- Protect
This team is simple to use and great for introducing newer players into the Doubles metagame because it showcases a lot of common Doubles threats and works well with many different playstyles. The Focus Sash use allows people to makes mistakes, it allows people to play recklessly, and also rewards for a more careful playstyle as well.
Terrakion provides Speed, power, and spread for the team. Close Combat smashes Mega Kang, Dark-types, and Steel-types that give Mega Gengar trouble. Rock Slide hits Flying-types and Fire-types (specifically, Charizard Y) for a lot of damage. Terrakion can handle a lot of the tier's threats quickly and reliably. Quick Guard helps protect the team against priority, which is annoying. With Focus Sash, it helps check Hyper Offense and any sort of strategy that depends on boosting their offensive capability (be it HO, Tailwind, TR, etc) It also makes Terrakion a reliable panic button to take down threats when necessary. Synergy-wise, Terrakion tackles Steel-, Rock-, and Ice-types and checks / counters Fire-types such as Heatran, Char Y, Char X, and Talonflame. Quick Guard is extremely useful because many members of the team (especially Mega Gengar) appreciate not having to worry about being hit first. It socks Mega Kangaskhan too, which is awesome because fuck that thing.
Salamence brings multiple things to the table that Latios does not. First is Intimidate- with Mega Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, it can very quickly neuter physical attackers. The second is Salamence's powerful Fire Blast, which is perfect for roasting Steel-types that the team occasionally has trouble with. Salamence also has Tailwind and a very powerful Draco Meteor, letting it hit hard and set up for the team. Its resistance to Water- and Fire-type attacks makes it the designated offensive Rain and Sun counter on the team. Whenever I need something to take a physical hit, I usually throw in Salamence as long as the predicted move isn't going to hit super effectively, because Intimidate helps even if I predict wrong and the opponent targets my other Pokemon. With Fire Blast, Salamence nabs some crucial KOs, especially against unsuspecting Steel-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor. Draco hits everything hard in general, making Salamence a great hit and run attacker.
Gengar is offensive glue. It traps and kills / weakens things that I need removed, and then disappears just as quickly. Gengar and Amoonguss easily leap in to trap and kill Fairy-types, which the rest of the team struggles against. Once its job is done, Terrakion and Salamence can easily spam their STAB attacks. With Will-O-Wisp, Gengar traps and cripples a lot of physical attackers too. It's a great anti-lead, punishing for Fake Out very efficiently. It works against Trick Room, too, as Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball hurt Fairy / Ghost / Psychic types a lot. Gengar also revenge kills a lot of things. 252 Timid lets it ouspeed max Speed Shaymin-S and everything below it, checking things like Lati@s and Greninja comfortably. Unfortunately, it's weaker than it looks, so it usually requires either Bisharp or Terrakion to finish off kills that it itself can't complete. However, its main job is to trap and kill Fairy-types, deter Trick Room, and cripple whatever physical attackers it can, and it does that job very well.
Bisharp finishes off the offensive part of the team. It works superbly with Mega Gengar with its Sucker Punch priority, which helps it check Landorus-T which like to switch in. Its Sucker Punch is crucial for the team, as it and Amoonguss help counter Trick Room should it be set up. Bisharp works well with Terrakion and Salamence too, providing a Flying spam check, an immunity to Psychic, and a resistance to Dark and Ghost. Knock Off and Iron Head are obligatory STAB attack that both hit very hard. Iron Head nails Rock-, Ice-, and Fairy-types, so Bisharp works well in countering things like Sylveon or Tyranitar whenever Mega Gengar can't redirect its attention. Bisharp's Defiant makes it a major asset against Intimidate spam teams, and by deterring Landorus-T it makes Terrakion's job a lot easier. Bisharp is in fact extremely anti meta, so I slapped a Focus Sash on it too to help it survive attacks and hit back both with a strong STAB attack and then again next turn with a Sucker Punch before it goes down. Knock Off is great for countering Trick Room.
Amoonguss provides the team with quintessential support. Rage Powder is one of the best moves in the metagame, and helps keep my frail (Mega Gengar) and Focus Sashed Pokemon alive for a much longer amount of time. By the time the opponent gets through Amoonguss, Intimidate, burns, AND two Focus Sash users, they're already weakened enough to be cleaned up. I chose Amoonguss instead of Togekiss because Spore is not only useful for countering Trick Room but also for making openings for setting up. The EVs jack up its special bulk so it can shrug off attacks that Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp cannot weaken. Amoonguss's Grass-type Giga Drain is also extremely clutch, otherwise Ground-types that could get past Rotom-W would have their way with the team. Amoonguss helps neuter Rain, or at least sit there long enough until the Rain goes away. Honestly you could probably use Togekiss here instead, but I like the Spore support. The EV spread was suggested by KyleCole. I added 1 Speed IV so that Amoonguss would outpace the other base 30 Speed Trick Roomers outside of Trick Room, and be almost as fast inside of it (I'm not one to meddle with Speed ties, so I decided why not better them outside of TR?)
Rotom-W is the designated Water-type for the team. It's my best counter to Heatran and Talonflame, two Fire-types that would spell major trouble for the rest of the team. Hydro Pump is great, and really powerful, hitting almost every non resistant opponent for a 2HKO. Electroweb is the last offensive move on the set for Speed control, since Will-O-Wisp is already there and TWave would clash with WoW and Spore. Electroweb is nice because it's the only other spread attack on the team and makes Rotom-W great at providing offensive support. Things like Zard Y lose if they switch into Electroweb because Rotom-W can outspeed next turn and OHKO. Electroweb also lets Mega Gengar outspeed things like Venusaur in Sun and Ludicolo / Kingdra in Rain!! Rotom-W is just so useful because a lot of teams are susceptible to it. It works well with Bisharp to punish active Landorus-T's, and provides powerful type coverage for the other sweepers. Electroweb is also extremely useful in aiding Mega Gengar and Bisharp, both of which become able to cover an entirely new Speed tier after the support. Plus, it provides bulk, another immunity to Ground-, and all of the benefits of the typical bulky Water-type. The EV spread is tailored exactly to what I need Rotom-W to do. It has enough speed to outspeed 252+ base 100 Speed Pokemon after they get hit by Electroweb, letting Rotom-W check Mega Zard Y, Salamence, Mega Kang, and much more. The SpA EVs let Rotom-W always KO Mega Zard Y with an Electroweb + Thunderbolt combination. HP is then maximized and the rest of the IVs + nature went into SpD. This set always survives Solarbeam and outspeeds and KOs Zard Y with Electroweb + TBolt combination, letting Rotom-W always win 1 v 1 (unless hax.) It also lets rotom outspeed 252 Adamant base 70 Speeds (Breloom, Bisharp) and OHKO 4 HP Landorus-T / Talonflame.
Just a note: this is a laddering team, and is not that suitable for tournament play. It emphasizes counters to Trick Room more than to weather effects (though it has enough of the latter). The former is rarely seen in tournament play; this, Pokemon like Amoonguss would better be replaced by Togekiss or something with better type synergy. The team will give you an accurate view of what Doubles is like and secure a high spot on the ladder, but it won't work as well in tournaments.
Terrakion provides Speed, power, and spread for the team. Close Combat smashes Mega Kang, Dark-types, and Steel-types that give Mega Gengar trouble. Rock Slide hits Flying-types and Fire-types (specifically, Charizard Y) for a lot of damage. Terrakion can handle a lot of the tier's threats quickly and reliably. Quick Guard helps protect the team against priority, which is annoying. With Focus Sash, it helps check Hyper Offense and any sort of strategy that depends on boosting their offensive capability (be it HO, Tailwind, TR, etc) It also makes Terrakion a reliable panic button to take down threats when necessary. Synergy-wise, Terrakion tackles Steel-, Rock-, and Ice-types and checks / counters Fire-types such as Heatran, Char Y, Char X, and Talonflame. Quick Guard is extremely useful because many members of the team (especially Mega Gengar) appreciate not having to worry about being hit first. It socks Mega Kangaskhan too, which is awesome because fuck that thing.
Salamence brings multiple things to the table that Latios does not. First is Intimidate- with Mega Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, it can very quickly neuter physical attackers. The second is Salamence's powerful Fire Blast, which is perfect for roasting Steel-types that the team occasionally has trouble with. Salamence also has Tailwind and a very powerful Draco Meteor, letting it hit hard and set up for the team. Its resistance to Water- and Fire-type attacks makes it the designated offensive Rain and Sun counter on the team. Whenever I need something to take a physical hit, I usually throw in Salamence as long as the predicted move isn't going to hit super effectively, because Intimidate helps even if I predict wrong and the opponent targets my other Pokemon. With Fire Blast, Salamence nabs some crucial KOs, especially against unsuspecting Steel-types like Mega Mawile and Mega Scizor. Draco hits everything hard in general, making Salamence a great hit and run attacker.
Gengar is offensive glue. It traps and kills / weakens things that I need removed, and then disappears just as quickly. Gengar and Amoonguss easily leap in to trap and kill Fairy-types, which the rest of the team struggles against. Once its job is done, Terrakion and Salamence can easily spam their STAB attacks. With Will-O-Wisp, Gengar traps and cripples a lot of physical attackers too. It's a great anti-lead, punishing for Fake Out very efficiently. It works against Trick Room, too, as Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball hurt Fairy / Ghost / Psychic types a lot. Gengar also revenge kills a lot of things. 252 Timid lets it ouspeed max Speed Shaymin-S and everything below it, checking things like Lati@s and Greninja comfortably. Unfortunately, it's weaker than it looks, so it usually requires either Bisharp or Terrakion to finish off kills that it itself can't complete. However, its main job is to trap and kill Fairy-types, deter Trick Room, and cripple whatever physical attackers it can, and it does that job very well.
Bisharp finishes off the offensive part of the team. It works superbly with Mega Gengar with its Sucker Punch priority, which helps it check Landorus-T which like to switch in. Its Sucker Punch is crucial for the team, as it and Amoonguss help counter Trick Room should it be set up. Bisharp works well with Terrakion and Salamence too, providing a Flying spam check, an immunity to Psychic, and a resistance to Dark and Ghost. Knock Off and Iron Head are obligatory STAB attack that both hit very hard. Iron Head nails Rock-, Ice-, and Fairy-types, so Bisharp works well in countering things like Sylveon or Tyranitar whenever Mega Gengar can't redirect its attention. Bisharp's Defiant makes it a major asset against Intimidate spam teams, and by deterring Landorus-T it makes Terrakion's job a lot easier. Bisharp is in fact extremely anti meta, so I slapped a Focus Sash on it too to help it survive attacks and hit back both with a strong STAB attack and then again next turn with a Sucker Punch before it goes down. Knock Off is great for countering Trick Room.
Amoonguss provides the team with quintessential support. Rage Powder is one of the best moves in the metagame, and helps keep my frail (Mega Gengar) and Focus Sashed Pokemon alive for a much longer amount of time. By the time the opponent gets through Amoonguss, Intimidate, burns, AND two Focus Sash users, they're already weakened enough to be cleaned up. I chose Amoonguss instead of Togekiss because Spore is not only useful for countering Trick Room but also for making openings for setting up. The EVs jack up its special bulk so it can shrug off attacks that Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp cannot weaken. Amoonguss's Grass-type Giga Drain is also extremely clutch, otherwise Ground-types that could get past Rotom-W would have their way with the team. Amoonguss helps neuter Rain, or at least sit there long enough until the Rain goes away. Honestly you could probably use Togekiss here instead, but I like the Spore support. The EV spread was suggested by KyleCole. I added 1 Speed IV so that Amoonguss would outpace the other base 30 Speed Trick Roomers outside of Trick Room, and be almost as fast inside of it (I'm not one to meddle with Speed ties, so I decided why not better them outside of TR?)
Rotom-W is the designated Water-type for the team. It's my best counter to Heatran and Talonflame, two Fire-types that would spell major trouble for the rest of the team. Hydro Pump is great, and really powerful, hitting almost every non resistant opponent for a 2HKO. Electroweb is the last offensive move on the set for Speed control, since Will-O-Wisp is already there and TWave would clash with WoW and Spore. Electroweb is nice because it's the only other spread attack on the team and makes Rotom-W great at providing offensive support. Things like Zard Y lose if they switch into Electroweb because Rotom-W can outspeed next turn and OHKO. Electroweb also lets Mega Gengar outspeed things like Venusaur in Sun and Ludicolo / Kingdra in Rain!! Rotom-W is just so useful because a lot of teams are susceptible to it. It works well with Bisharp to punish active Landorus-T's, and provides powerful type coverage for the other sweepers. Electroweb is also extremely useful in aiding Mega Gengar and Bisharp, both of which become able to cover an entirely new Speed tier after the support. Plus, it provides bulk, another immunity to Ground-, and all of the benefits of the typical bulky Water-type. The EV spread is tailored exactly to what I need Rotom-W to do. It has enough speed to outspeed 252+ base 100 Speed Pokemon after they get hit by Electroweb, letting Rotom-W check Mega Zard Y, Salamence, Mega Kang, and much more. The SpA EVs let Rotom-W always KO Mega Zard Y with an Electroweb + Thunderbolt combination. HP is then maximized and the rest of the IVs + nature went into SpD. This set always survives Solarbeam and outspeeds and KOs Zard Y with Electroweb + TBolt combination, letting Rotom-W always win 1 v 1 (unless hax.) It also lets rotom outspeed 252 Adamant base 70 Speeds (Breloom, Bisharp) and OHKO 4 HP Landorus-T / Talonflame.
Just a note: this is a laddering team, and is not that suitable for tournament play. It emphasizes counters to Trick Room more than to weather effects (though it has enough of the latter). The former is rarely seen in tournament play; this, Pokemon like Amoonguss would better be replaced by Togekiss or something with better type synergy. The team will give you an accurate view of what Doubles is like and secure a high spot on the ladder, but it won't work as well in tournaments.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- SolarBeam
- Focus Blast
- Protect
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 SpA / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- SolarBeam
- Focus Blast
- Protect
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 124 SpA / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
The original goal of this team was to offer Mega Charizard Y plenty of Speed Control so it could sweep with Heat Wave. However, through practice, Ferrothorn proved to be the center of attention. Alone it walls a gigantic portion of the metagame, and with all of its partners removing its counters, it is typically the MVP.
The current Ferrothorn spread allows it to KO standard Rotom-W, who is a major pain to this team (Lum lets it take a Will-O-Wisp first). Thunder Wave allows it to support its partners (who are all generally slow without it) while punishing any of the annoying Fire-types that always switch into it. It doesn't need Gyro Ball to counter Sylveon and Gardevoir, and its teammates can manipulate a paralyzed Togekiss pretty easily. Leech Seed deals consistent damage and recovery, and it lets Ferrothorn easily stall out Trick Room, which can get annoying otherwise. Ferrothorn also completely donks Rain/Sand teams, making it easier for Mega Charizard Y to deal damage.
Mega Charizard Y is an attention whore that is ridiculously prepared for in this meta. However, it takes out the Grass-types that Ferrothorn can't touch and if enough opposing Pokemon do get paralyzed/Tailwind gets up, it can deal a lot of damage with Heat Wave. It's also nice to to have a weather neutralizer, now that weather dependent teams are getting popular again. I have Focus Blast>Overheat because I like multiple ways to hit Heatran, who scares Ferrothorn.
Latios is bae. It completely destroys Fighting-types such as Terrakion and Conkeldurr that scare Ferrothorn and this team otherwise, hits everything like a truck with Life Orb Draco Meteor, and offers Tailwind support (so I can outspeed T-Wave immune stuff). Pretty standard set; Latios is on practically every team I make lol.
Rotom-W is my main Heatran/Talonflame counter, supporting Ferrothorn even further. It also offers more Thunder Wave support and offers nice chip damage with its STAB attacks. Another standard supporting Pokemon.
Mamoswine is the safety net for this team. It generally only comes out later game when I mess up and find myself being swept by stupid stuff, as it can take any hit with Focus Sash and respond with a STAB Earthquake. I also use Mamoswine because I need a foolproof way to take out Shaymin-S and Thundurus which are the biggest butts in the Doubles metagame .Rock Slide has cool coverage and it is fun to hit Flying-type switch-ins. Jolly is to outspeed Jolly Breloom's Mach Punch; I know I could shift some Speed EVs into bulk still, but I never got around to it.
Scrafty offers the general Doubles utility, with Intimidate and Fake Out support. Intimidate is da bes because I don't have any Will-O-Wisp users, as I don't want to conflict with Thunder Wave. Be careful, this team is semi-weak to other Assault Vest Scrafty lol, so typically I take care of it by switching my Scrafty in after and always keeping the advantage with my Intimidate. With Assault Vest, I can counter hipster stuff like HP Fire Latios that would otherwise take this team by surprise. Knock Off and Drain Punch are two cool moves to have support the team (and itself) excellently. I like Stone Edge because I really hate Thundurus.
The current Ferrothorn spread allows it to KO standard Rotom-W, who is a major pain to this team (Lum lets it take a Will-O-Wisp first). Thunder Wave allows it to support its partners (who are all generally slow without it) while punishing any of the annoying Fire-types that always switch into it. It doesn't need Gyro Ball to counter Sylveon and Gardevoir, and its teammates can manipulate a paralyzed Togekiss pretty easily. Leech Seed deals consistent damage and recovery, and it lets Ferrothorn easily stall out Trick Room, which can get annoying otherwise. Ferrothorn also completely donks Rain/Sand teams, making it easier for Mega Charizard Y to deal damage.
Mega Charizard Y is an attention whore that is ridiculously prepared for in this meta. However, it takes out the Grass-types that Ferrothorn can't touch and if enough opposing Pokemon do get paralyzed/Tailwind gets up, it can deal a lot of damage with Heat Wave. It's also nice to to have a weather neutralizer, now that weather dependent teams are getting popular again. I have Focus Blast>Overheat because I like multiple ways to hit Heatran, who scares Ferrothorn.
Latios is bae. It completely destroys Fighting-types such as Terrakion and Conkeldurr that scare Ferrothorn and this team otherwise, hits everything like a truck with Life Orb Draco Meteor, and offers Tailwind support (so I can outspeed T-Wave immune stuff). Pretty standard set; Latios is on practically every team I make lol.
Rotom-W is my main Heatran/Talonflame counter, supporting Ferrothorn even further. It also offers more Thunder Wave support and offers nice chip damage with its STAB attacks. Another standard supporting Pokemon.
Mamoswine is the safety net for this team. It generally only comes out later game when I mess up and find myself being swept by stupid stuff, as it can take any hit with Focus Sash and respond with a STAB Earthquake. I also use Mamoswine because I need a foolproof way to take out Shaymin-S and Thundurus which are the biggest butts in the Doubles metagame .Rock Slide has cool coverage and it is fun to hit Flying-type switch-ins. Jolly is to outspeed Jolly Breloom's Mach Punch; I know I could shift some Speed EVs into bulk still, but I never got around to it.
Scrafty offers the general Doubles utility, with Intimidate and Fake Out support. Intimidate is da bes because I don't have any Will-O-Wisp users, as I don't want to conflict with Thunder Wave. Be careful, this team is semi-weak to other Assault Vest Scrafty lol, so typically I take care of it by switching my Scrafty in after and always keeping the advantage with my Intimidate. With Assault Vest, I can counter hipster stuff like HP Fire Latios that would otherwise take this team by surprise. Knock Off and Drain Punch are two cool moves to have support the team (and itself) excellently. I like Stone Edge because I really hate Thundurus.
Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Quick Guard
- Protect
Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 184 SpA / 20 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 16 HP / 248 Atk / 124 Def / 12 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
Ability: Justified
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Quick Guard
- Protect
Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 184 SpA / 20 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 16 HP / 248 Atk / 124 Def / 12 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 24 HP / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Quick Guard
- Protect
Everyone's favorite pony makes an appearance. This is more or less the standard Keldeo set, tho I opted to sacrifice some power for some bulk (as well as a LO number HP stat).
Needless to say Keldeo is amazing in the current metagame, hitting Kangaskhan, Heatran, Landorus-T, Rotom-H, Bisharp, and countless others for OHKOs thanks to its handy LO.
Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 184 SpA / 20 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Rotom-H + Keldeo is a favorite core of mine, as the two have excellent synergy (it also turns out they work well with Hydraslash too). Rotom-H helps counter Grass-types and Flying-types (specifically Talonburd) for Keldeo, while Keldeo returns the favor as a counter to Rock-types and a switch in to bulky Waters. Ofc this core struggles against rain and Rotom-W, and this is where Hydreigon comes in.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect
Originally a Specs set, I swapped to LO in order to better work around Hyper Voice spam. LO Draco Meteor does a chunk to anything (very notably Rotom-W). Earth Power hits Heatran for the OHKO (baring Shuca Berry), and Dark Pulse is great for clearing out Ghost-types for my Kangaskhan.
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 16 HP / 248 Atk / 124 Def / 12 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
A nice n' bulky PuP Kangaskhan set. While this team has worked fine with Jolly Kangaskhan, I saw no big need for the speed since I have a Kangaskhan switch in (Aegi) and Keldeo to handle mirror matchups. While Protect could work here, Fake Out was too good a tool to pass up as it was extremely helpful in helping Aegislash get a Substitute up.
The spread allows Kangaskhan to take a -1 LO Terrakion CC (basically lives if Lando-T comes in; you may ask why I'd ever do that with Aegislash around, and its simply the fact that if I get to +2 I'd like to have the option of enduring CC and getting heavy damage off rather than having to sacrifice my Attack boosts then and there), while beating Jolly Breloom. It also can tank a LO Ludicolo Hydro Pump in the rain, which has a very slight chance (aka 6.3%) to OHKO a 4 HP Kangaskhan. My general point with this set is to tell everyone who runs 252 HP / 252 Atk to stop using those EVs and start running this spread (also partial credit to KyleCole for the spread ;]).
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield
The king itself. Aegislash has single-handedly brought back games for me simply because if you can set up a proper endgame and get a Substitute up with it, the opposition has a lot of trouble breaking through it (it is a shield, after all). It also is a hard wall to Kangaskhan (especially w/ Drain Punch + Ice Punch sets on the rise which have more trouble touching it than the Sucker Punch sets), and completes the Hydraslash core (which is Hydreigon + Aegislash if you haven't caught on yet). The set is completely standard so there isn't much else to say about it.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
Scarf Lando-T is here (just as it is everywhere). Its main function on the team is to act as a Heatran (and CharY I suppose) counter (yes I have two already but getting Heatran out of the way is essential for Substitute Aegislash which is why I am going to such measures to beat it), though Rock Slides and Intimidate are always useful assets to have. I didn't really have much need for additional Dark and Fighting coverage on the team, so I just ran Stone Edge + Rock Slide as one or the other can be better depending on the situation I am in.
Level 51's
Fairy 'Nuff (Togekiss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Follow Me
- Tailwind
- Air Slash
- Protect
re(pulse)ive (Blastoise) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Aura Sphere
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Mole Theory (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drill Run
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Protect
Checkm80 (Bisharp) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Protect
FortreeBraveBirds (Talonflame) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Brave Bird
- Overheat
- Tailwind
- Protect
Psilocybin (Amoonguss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Follow Me
- Tailwind
- Air Slash
- Protect
re(pulse)ive (Blastoise) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Aura Sphere
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Mole Theory (Excadrill) @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drill Run
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Protect
Checkm80 (Bisharp) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Protect
FortreeBraveBirds (Talonflame) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Brave Bird
- Overheat
- Tailwind
- Protect
Psilocybin (Amoonguss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Protect
This was one of my better teams for the year, and it nabbed me literally my only win in the Doubles Major (which you can see in the Replays section down at the bottom of the In-Depth tab) and also let TalkTakesTime go 33-4 on the ladder! While this team is heavily modelled after R Inanimate's heavy-hitter + redirection style (hence the name!), it was actually loosely based on DrFidget's VGC '12 Ft. Wayne team (I highly recommend reading this, it's a pretty cool team). When I say loosely based on, I mean that it has since been heavily modified beyond recognition, but it was that team that reinforced an earlier idea I had had to use Blastoise.
Originally a Crobat in the aforementioned team, I found Togekiss to be one of the best possible Pokemon to place alongside Blastoise. Not only could it Tailwind to allow Blastoise to outrun most of the metagame and Water Spout its way through everything, but it could also sit alongside Blastoise and use Follow Me as it was doing so. In short, I found Togekiss to be almost the optimal partner for Blastoise in this format.
The legendary Fastoise. This time, I opted for a Water Spout Blastoise, favouring the sheer power it could provide for me. Therefore, I knew that I had to build the rest of the team carefully in order to support Blastoise very well, especially with the presence of such strong priority moves as Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Talonflame's Brave Bird, and Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out and Sucker Punch. I also opted for Timid Blastoise this time, believing that Water Spout really had enough power to take out big chunks of HP anyway, and reasoning that the extra speed would probably come in handy sometime (and it did, especially when Tailwind wasn't up).
To replace the Mamoswine in the original team, I brought in a Ground-type Pokemon which was just as hard-hitting and also benefitted tremendously from Tailwind. Furthermore, Mold Breaker Excadrill was also amazing at removing the pesky Rotom-Ws which got in the way of Blastoise's Water Spout fun. Excadrill is also just an all-around strongmon, even outside of Tailwind, so I like it a lot because of that *-*
Amoonguss takes the place of a Virizion from the original team to lend some help against all the Water-types that make life hard for Blastoise and Excadrill, usually forcing them out with its mere presence. Rage Powder is another great move to be spammed while sitting next to Blastoise, and my only complaint about Amoonguss thus far is that it doesn't have a lot of offensive presence on the field most of the time.
Bisharp replaced a Houndoom from the original team, and I haven't really regretted that decision since. Bisharp is another extremely good Pokemon in the current meta, especially with Intimidate flying around everywhere. Furthermore, Sucker Punch is really strong for a priority move, and helps this team get somewhere offensively without Tailwind needing to be up all the time. Bisharp also provided much-needed Dark-type coverage to bust all the bulky Psychic-types in the tier like Gothitelle and Cresselia, and also discouraged Landorus-T from coming in to ruin Blastoise's day.
Talonflame filled up a last empty slot vacated by a Cofagrigus I wasn't too keen on using and was real fun to play most of the time. Since I needed some very useful Fire STAB, I chose Overheat Talonflame to get at Ferrothorn and Scizor (especially Ferrothorn) without spiking itself to death on Iron Barbs. Brave Bird was strong as usual, and while I was sometimes disappointed at Talonflame's damage output in the absence of Life Orb or Choice Band, most of the time it was able to show its usefulness at least by setting up priority Tailwind.
Replays:
vs Space Cowboy II (1400 Elo) — Ladder Battle
vs LzrGunPewPew — Doubles Major, Round 3
Originally a Crobat in the aforementioned team, I found Togekiss to be one of the best possible Pokemon to place alongside Blastoise. Not only could it Tailwind to allow Blastoise to outrun most of the metagame and Water Spout its way through everything, but it could also sit alongside Blastoise and use Follow Me as it was doing so. In short, I found Togekiss to be almost the optimal partner for Blastoise in this format.
The legendary Fastoise. This time, I opted for a Water Spout Blastoise, favouring the sheer power it could provide for me. Therefore, I knew that I had to build the rest of the team carefully in order to support Blastoise very well, especially with the presence of such strong priority moves as Bisharp's Sucker Punch, Talonflame's Brave Bird, and Mega Kangaskhan's Fake Out and Sucker Punch. I also opted for Timid Blastoise this time, believing that Water Spout really had enough power to take out big chunks of HP anyway, and reasoning that the extra speed would probably come in handy sometime (and it did, especially when Tailwind wasn't up).
To replace the Mamoswine in the original team, I brought in a Ground-type Pokemon which was just as hard-hitting and also benefitted tremendously from Tailwind. Furthermore, Mold Breaker Excadrill was also amazing at removing the pesky Rotom-Ws which got in the way of Blastoise's Water Spout fun. Excadrill is also just an all-around strongmon, even outside of Tailwind, so I like it a lot because of that *-*
Amoonguss takes the place of a Virizion from the original team to lend some help against all the Water-types that make life hard for Blastoise and Excadrill, usually forcing them out with its mere presence. Rage Powder is another great move to be spammed while sitting next to Blastoise, and my only complaint about Amoonguss thus far is that it doesn't have a lot of offensive presence on the field most of the time.
Bisharp replaced a Houndoom from the original team, and I haven't really regretted that decision since. Bisharp is another extremely good Pokemon in the current meta, especially with Intimidate flying around everywhere. Furthermore, Sucker Punch is really strong for a priority move, and helps this team get somewhere offensively without Tailwind needing to be up all the time. Bisharp also provided much-needed Dark-type coverage to bust all the bulky Psychic-types in the tier like Gothitelle and Cresselia, and also discouraged Landorus-T from coming in to ruin Blastoise's day.
Talonflame filled up a last empty slot vacated by a Cofagrigus I wasn't too keen on using and was real fun to play most of the time. Since I needed some very useful Fire STAB, I chose Overheat Talonflame to get at Ferrothorn and Scizor (especially Ferrothorn) without spiking itself to death on Iron Barbs. Brave Bird was strong as usual, and while I was sometimes disappointed at Talonflame's damage output in the absence of Life Orb or Choice Band, most of the time it was able to show its usefulness at least by setting up priority Tailwind.
Replays:
vs Space Cowboy II (1400 Elo) — Ladder Battle
vs LzrGunPewPew — Doubles Major, Round 3
srk1214's
Gengar (M) @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
Jirachi @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 200 HP / 172 Atk / 120 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Follow Me
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Helping Hand
Kyurem-Black @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Perish Song
- Protect
Ludicolo (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
Jirachi @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 200 HP / 172 Atk / 120 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Follow Me
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Helping Hand
Kyurem-Black @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Politoed (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Perish Song
- Protect
Ludicolo (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
Rain has been a rising playstyle for a while and you barely even see Sun anymore, while Sand is kinda bad. So keeping Toed's Rain up is really quite easy. This means that Ludicolo gets to be a monster most of the time. Ludicolo just does what Ludicolo does well and that's it.
But the real key to the team is Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag to remove annoying opposing mons, particularly when paired with Politoed's Perish Song. SubTect Wisp Mega Gengar can destroy so many Pokemon in this meta, it's not even funny. One of the few common mons that doesn't mind it much is Heatran, but Heatran isn't doing anything in this team matchup, since Rain just wrecks it in general.
Kyub performs great with the help of Mega Gengar because you can get it free Subs pretty easily on mons like Rotom-W and Amoonguss, while keeping the foe from bringing in things like Terrakion or Latios.
While KyuB loves getting set up, it's a shame that Fairies can kill through Sub with Hyper Voice. Jirachi helps to take on Fairies with its Iron Head, redirects unwanted attacks from whomever its partner is, and can provide much needed speed control in T-Wave.
Scarf Landoge is good on pretty much every team, but here it's particularly useful for unexpectedly getting in Mega Gengar to trap an opponent. Explosion is really nice for that same reason since you can take down weakened foes and get in Gengar for free on the other side of the field, or if it's already in, get a free Sub as you boom.
Really, as I said above the key is just using Mega Gengar well. Even the mere threat of Perish Songs from Toed can force the opp to play defensively. Against bulkier teams, like Pwnemon's famous "special," you don't even have to predict all that hard. Wins are practically formulaic. It's against HO type teams you have to be careful, particularly if Ludicolo doesn't pull its weight.
But the real key to the team is Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag to remove annoying opposing mons, particularly when paired with Politoed's Perish Song. SubTect Wisp Mega Gengar can destroy so many Pokemon in this meta, it's not even funny. One of the few common mons that doesn't mind it much is Heatran, but Heatran isn't doing anything in this team matchup, since Rain just wrecks it in general.
Kyub performs great with the help of Mega Gengar because you can get it free Subs pretty easily on mons like Rotom-W and Amoonguss, while keeping the foe from bringing in things like Terrakion or Latios.
While KyuB loves getting set up, it's a shame that Fairies can kill through Sub with Hyper Voice. Jirachi helps to take on Fairies with its Iron Head, redirects unwanted attacks from whomever its partner is, and can provide much needed speed control in T-Wave.
Scarf Landoge is good on pretty much every team, but here it's particularly useful for unexpectedly getting in Mega Gengar to trap an opponent. Explosion is really nice for that same reason since you can take down weakened foes and get in Gengar for free on the other side of the field, or if it's already in, get a free Sub as you boom.
Really, as I said above the key is just using Mega Gengar well. Even the mere threat of Perish Songs from Toed can force the opp to play defensively. Against bulkier teams, like Pwnemon's famous "special," you don't even have to predict all that hard. Wins are practically formulaic. It's against HO type teams you have to be careful, particularly if Ludicolo doesn't pull its weight.
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