Ladder Smogon Triples

[KyleCole]

Awesome metagame, I look forward to playing this more and learning more about it, thanks to TI for making this possible ^_^ (also has anybody figured out good tricks around swapping places with center pokemon? with wide guard that could be a nice way to deter many moves)

Assuming you want to move your middle pokemon to the side when you said this, there are 3 ways that you can use
1) just hit the shift button below your switch options and your whole team will move one place (left I think)
2) switch your middle out normally for a teammate, and the same turn use uturn/volt switch/baton pass on a side pokemon and go back into the pokemon that was your middle at the start of the turn. Also, if you use a slow volt/turn/pass mon like Musharna you can get a safe switch because your opponents have all attacked before the switch occurs
3) you can use the move ally switch, but most users are unviable pokemon (sorry kingler), I thin the only half decent user is latias

 

[Martin]

3) you can use the move ally switch, but most users are unviable pokemon (sorry kingler), I thin the only half decent user is latias

Garde is somewhat viable for this

 

[Jaguar360]

I've been having a blast playing Random Triples battles and, more recently, playing with the team I made on the Battle Spot Triples ladder, even though I've always have never been able to understand the complexities of Doubles and Triples. I think I have a decent understanding now, but I wanted to know if my team is any good.

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Mat Block
- Scald
- Blizzard
- U-turn

Talonflame @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Quick Guard
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn

Tornadus (M)
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Acrobatics
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Substitute

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Protect
- U-turn
- Knock Off

I've been especially successful with Gliscor and Hitmontop especially, and the rest of my team seems to pull their weight. Am I doing it right?

 

[aim]

Does anyone have a Smogon Triples team that i can use? :[

 

[I wuv you]

Does anyone have a Smogon Triples team that i can use? :[

I posted my team on page 2

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

Cofagrigus is good at Ally Switch, due to the fact that he's got two immunities.

Also, that team needs Tailwind and some way to deal with Trick Room, Jaguar360. It shouldn't be hard to fit Tailwind onto at least one of those pokes, though, since four members of your team learn it. If you're to stumble across a Trick Room team, though (and it's one of the best moves in the game, trust me) you can pretty much give up because there'll be almost nothing you can do about it. Priority Brave Bird maybe, but the rest of your team is screwed.

 

[The Pope]

I heavily play Triples, so I could help out in theory and team composition. I wrote a few articles on the matter a while back.

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

What triples did you play before now? The only triples I was ever able to play was Battle Spot, since nobody did anything else.

 

[The Pope]

That was about it. That and Battle Maison. Options haven't exactly been plentiful.

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

Hmm, alright.

Now, there's something that I've noticed recently, and I'm curious to see if anybody knows the answer to this. Back in Gen 5 Random Matchup, Dark Void was banned, I remember, or at least in Triples. Prior to its ban, I do recall people using Dark Void Smeargles, and they were quite a nuisance. However, here on Gen 6 Battle Spot, I've noticed that Dark Void isn't banned. This may because of the two new prankster safeguarding Pokémon they introduced, Meowstic and Klefki, I don't know, but I would imagine them not making the same mistake they made a while ago when they actually let it be usable back in Gen 5 Random Matchup. Does anybody know what the original reason for the ban was back in Gen 5 and why it's not banned now? All I can do is guess, but perhaps somebody knows the real reason.

 

[CactusCacti]

So I figured a fun little troll set to stop protect use and make the opponent grind their teeth a bit:


Zoroark @ Leftovers/Sitrus Berry
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Imprison
- Protect
- Dark Pulse
- Substitute

The idea is simple: Disguise it as something that allows it to survive enough to setup imprison. Do not place it in the middle.
Step two: Survive! Protect and Sub work wonderful here. Dark Pulse is a filler STAB for when needed.

Useful? Sometimes.
Fun? Hell yes.

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

It is true that Imprison Protect is always a great idea. However, I don't know, but is illusion broken when Zoroark is attacked and behind a sub? I know that using substitute doesn't break the Illusion, but if he's behind it and then attacked, does Illusion fade away or does he keep it? That may make substitute even more useful.

But really, though, does anybody know the Dark Void question I asked earlier?

 

[tofucocoa]

hi my internets poop right now and im tired so i'm just gonna c/p some stuff i already wrote about triples elsewhere.

despite being kinda new to triples, i do have years of experience with doubles, so i like to think i can at least hold my own. from the ~25 battles i've already done (i think i might be over 1600, which is nice), it seems like a lot of the big hits come from sylveon's and mega gardevoir's hyper voice. the official usage reflects this, too: http://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/battle/4/ , with hyper voice and gardevoirite being the most used move on both pokemon, along with the fact that they're both in the top 12. heatran and aegislash are probably in the top 12 to help check the two as well as to take on kangaskhan, which is obviously going to be high in usage wherever you go on battle spot. so far though, kang hasn't been /too/ impressive, at least in my opinion, but that might just be because i naturally carry 1-2 intimidators with me at all times and i've learned to respect it. also, hitmontop at #1 is pretty great, but if i had my way with the usage numbers, greninja would be nowhere on the top 12 and talonflame would be slightly lower.

speaking of respect, i gotta give credit to the occasional mat block greninja and beat up+justified teams that occasionally pull a fast one on me. you seriously can't misstep against these teams, or you WILL be swiftly 6-0'd. of course, they can be easily disrupted (fake out and follow me), but they certainly command some degree of respect from me. not that i won't get salty when i fall for it (i did NOT see scarf zard+justified megaluke coming), but you know.

on a more serious note, trick room is more deadly than ever. in doubles, you kinda had to balance support with power, not allowing yourself to be too bulky to the point where you couldn't actually do anything, but bulky enough to set it up in the first place. in triples, you can keep one of the setters tucked away in a corner, have some setup in the middle or on the side, and have a powerhouse in the middle. you can even use TWO helping hands to boost your attacks to insane levels, particularly the aforementioned sylveon and eruptran (who can also make use of flash fire to make it even more ridiculous). it's been my experience in doubles that some things can't be as powerful as you want and sometimes you can't boost that mon's power effectively outside of helping hand or swagger+lum without taking more than one turn to do so, and i live by the philosophy that if you can't do it in one turn it's not worth doing. in triples, you can get all that power in one turn, which practically makes me salivate to think about, granted, you have to be in the center to receive multiple support moves, but trick room is definitely a playstyle that enjoys this option.

other aspects i think are rather interesting include the shift mechanic and moves that can hit the entire field. the shift mechanic can actually be useful to tuck a pokemon away in a corner (which will probably be your big bruiser) for some degree of protection, though this does go off the ordinary turn order, i.e. shifting has +0 priority like the vast majority of moves. ally switch is a buffed version of this, though i will say that it isn't as impressive as i would like, but this might be because i was trying it on hawlucha, which was much more useful for using sky drop anyway. speaking of which, sky drop is one of the many moves that can hit far corners. this is probably one of the reasons why talonflame is so used (brave bird and a bunch of other flying moves are on the list http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Triple_Battle#Effect_on_moves ) since it has some degree of safety in a corner as opposed to other formats where it's liable to be hard countered by rotom and rock types. sky drop has been pretty great for board positioning too, but sky drop in general is a pretty great move so yeah. i'm sort of curious as to why wide guard+sky drop aerodactyl hasn't shown up yet.

also: the 'team' i'm using right now is

volcarona @ coba berry
modest
rage powder/overheat/bug buzz/protect

mawile @ mawilite
adamant
play rough/iron head/sucker punch

landog @ choice scarf
adamant
EQ/rock slide/knock off/u-turn

cresselia @ sitrus berry
sassy
trick room/helping hand/ice beam/psyshock

hitmontop @ rocky helmet (probably gonna change to lum or somethin)
adamant
close combat/helping hand/wide guard/fake out

hydreigon @ choice specs
modest
dmeteor/fire blast/dark pulse/dragon pulse

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

You certainly are right with what you've said, but is your team meant to actually get up Trick Room, or are you carrying it simply to stop others from using it (by returning the dimensions back to normal)? Half your team can do much better in a tailwind (which I always highly recommend), but you've also got Mawile on it, which can benefit in Trick Room, of course. However, I must say that it's always extremely risky to run choice items in triples, since switching doesn't happen as often as in singles. Of course they can pay off when you get the KO or outspeed what you need to, but if the opponent gets up a tailwind, then your choice scarf will be virtually useless and only hinder you since they'll probably all outspeed you (tailwind multiplies speed by 2) and your speed will only be at 1.5x. Just be sure to consider tailwind teams. Of course, you do have trick room, which can make their tailwind hinder them, but still, I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend the scarf on Landorus, even if several other people have done it.

 

[tofucocoa]

You certainly are right with what you've said, but is your team meant to actually get up Trick Room, or are you carrying it simply to stop others from using it (by returning the dimensions back to normal)?

scarf landog is crucial for my fast mode lead (hydrei+landog+cress), which pretty much wins in two turns against noobs on battle spot, and against more serious players i can use it to clean up in a corner with cress in the middle. my TR mode can quickly shut down fast tailwind teams or frailer teams that seem to be relatively common on battle spot, but i don't need it for every game so it's just another trick up my sleeve. it /can/ reverse other people's trick room (and knowing when to reverse your own trick room is key to getting the most out of semi trick room in general, mostly so you don't get pooped on by amoonguss and/or sylveon), but i haven't really done that yet. the one team i wanted to reverse trick room on was smart enough to set it right back up (the guy used it on the same turn I did, which takes some major balls and i applaud him/her, especially since i didn't reveal it yet), but i've only done about 20 battles in this season so there's probably plenty of time to do so later.

ps: i'm the best @ trick room B)

e: also i would like to point out that my team has achieved the legendary triple intimidate

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

You're aware that people use Defiant Tornadus and Thundurus all the time, right? Triple Intimidate could really screw you over if you're not careful when you run into one of them. Physical Electric moves are very very helpful for things like Suicune, and Sky Drop is also useful on those guys. Not only that, but Tornadus gets Tailwind, making him even more useful, but without the electric attacks.

 

[realiti]

You're aware that people use Defiant Tornadus and Thundurus all the time, right? Triple Intimidate could really screw you over if you're not careful when you run into one of them. Physical Electric moves are very very helpful for things like Suicune, and Sky Drop is also useful on those guys. Not only that, but Tornadus gets Tailwind, making him even more useful, but without the electric attacks.

not really, defiant is pretty uncommon on these pokemon. prankster is almost always used due to the sheer utility it provides to your team (prankster twave and tailwind)

and yes, lucariojr is a very good TR user and knows what he is doing

 

[Nog]

been using a trap volt turn team with aromatisse and it's working pretty well. What have you guys seen that works in doubles that doesn't work well in triples??

 

[Bidoofs Crazy Videos]

You must not be playing the Battle Spot I play. Nobody uses Prankster on Thundurus or Tornadus anymore (certainly not from my experiences), especially now that Intimidate is even more common than it used to be. Every single Thundurus I run into is Defiant, every last one of them, especially with that Sky Drop Wild Charge and Brick Break.

 

[tofucocoa]

yeah, those are huge threats, but are usually frail enough for me to ohko/play around with trick room. i can't/don't really want to change the team around too much just to check a handfull of mons, so it's up to me to play around them properly. also, i think competetive milotic would be the mon to look out for on this team, since volc can't redirect its water attacks effectively and i can't ohko it without my two big nukes (dmeteor and HH play rough). minor things i would probably do though would be to change u-turn to stone edge on landog since i don't really use u-turn that much anyway unless i'm trying to sac it inside of trick room and maybe switch to life orb on hydreigon for maneuverability's sake, although locking myself into a pulse move rarely gets me into trouble.

E: also, 79% of the tornadus used prankster and 60% used defiant on thundurus last season. i think my team can handle thund better than tornadus. also, i'm pretty sure i implied that this was something i didn't spend much time building, but it's been doing well so far and seems pretty balanced (or at least it matches my playstyle). i don't feel like explaining/defending the team further, so can we move on to another topic plz? the aforementioned torn/thund stats for instance?

ALSO: here's the global link stats on each pokeman if you guys haven't seen it already: http://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/battle/4/

 

[Mymble]

Been playing triples a lot recently and am just sharing my opinions on a few things. Taunt on Tyranitar is really good for catching Trick Room and slower Tailwinds, from the likes of Suicune (a Speed creep). Between all the Wide Guard and Intimidate I've begun to prefer Stone Edge over Rock Slide on Tyranitar, even with the loss of the 81% chance to get one flinch (if against three targets with accuracy included). Mainly because even with a negative nature Stone Edge OHKOes Tornadus/Thundurus and Charizard after Intimidate. The Tyranitar set Plays well with Mega Gardevoir for KOing Fighting-types and Aegislash providing Wide Guard support and being bulky and powerful. The core has pretty much been carrying the team which is currently doing p good. I legit can't be bothered to write more now.

core

Aegislash @ Kasib Berry / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SpA / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Dark Pulse / Fire Blast
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
- Protect

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpA (you can use a, and I would even recommend a, speedier spread)
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Trick Room
- Protect

edit: I think way too many Thundurus are opting for defiant, simply because of how ridiculously speed orientated the meta is, passing on priority Thunder Wave simply doesn't seem worth it. This is in part because it is pretty much the only Prankster Pokemon with Thunder Wave to have any offensive presence. On top of that Taunt is really nice for stomping on both Trick Room, Tailwind, and Aegislash. While Defiant has a definite niche, in general I think the loss of utility isn't worth it. No Flying Gem for Tornadus hurts Defiant's niche, Prankster Tailwind and Taunt is really good.

 

[meowmixmax]

This seems looks really fun, some moves like Snarl, Mud Sport, and Water Sport seem like they could be really viable in this meta. Does Parting Shot hit all 3 opponents if used from the center?

 

[PokemonMasterDebater]

This seems looks really fun, some moves like Snarl, Mud Sport, and Water Sport seem like they could be really viable in this meta. Does Parting Shot hit all 3 opponents if used from the center?

And both your allies, yes.

 

[Ingo]

Finally my favorite of all the battle styles has been added ;_;. I can now see the interesting ways the meta game can shape it.

I've been playing triples the most for 3 years now so if anyone has any questions I may be able to answer them heh.

 

[Level 51]

The Immortal told me to bump this so uhh here we go im making a post

so far, we've noticed that perish song is WAY stronger in triples than in doubles, because you have more slots to fake out / redirect while your shadow tagger or perish songer or whatever can camp happily. also, since there are three pokemon out at a time, you only need to pull off one perish trap and one perish song (w/o trap). since this is SMOGON TRIPLES, ie SMOGON-MANAGED TRIPLES, how would you guys feel about a perish song ban?