XY Doubles Standard af: A Doubles rain team and 1.067k

Ununhexium

I closed my eyes and I slipped away...
is a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Smogon Media Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Hello everybody!! This is my first ever Doubles RMT (and my 1.067k. I would have done a 1k but I was just really lazy). This team I built with Pwnemon for Battling 101 and I've had decent success on the ladder with it. But yeah, this is a 1.067k post but feel free to rate :)

Basically, we started with the simple rain structure: Politoed, bulky Grass-type, bulky and strong Steel-type, fast Electric-type, Intimidate user, and filler. I decided I wanted to use AV Ludicolo, so we built the team around that. Originally, I had thrown out some ideas with Mega Manectric and stuff, but it was eventually scrapped in favor of better ideas.

THE TEAM



IN DEPTH


Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Helping Hand
- Protect

This is probably the single most standard Politoed set in existence. Its main goal is to be able to set up rain at least twice a battle for the rest of my team to abuse, and the given EVs allow for that to happen. Scald is a basic STAB move and hits decently hard in the rain, even without Special Attack investment. Icy Wind REALLY comes in handy sometimes as it is my only form of Speed control. I often find myself spamming it to annoy my opponent (it works :P). Helping hand is one of my favorite moves to use as I can just boost the power of a move to very high levels. It works especially well when spamming Rock Slide with Terrakion. Protect is really just an awesome move in Doubles to scout moves, annoy opponents, stall for Leftovers (and sometimes burn damage), mess up opposing strategies, the list goes on.


Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fake Out
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

Who doesn't love dancing Mexican pineapple ducks? I personally do, and Ludicolo's access to Swift Swim and a Water-type STAB makes it an obvious choice for a rain team. Fake Out is awesome. It disrupts opponents and can break Focus Sashes. I won quite a few games through a well-timed Fake Out. Hydro Pump is Ludicolo's most powerful STAB and absolutely SMASHES stuff in the rain. Giga Drain is another STAB move that works well with Assault Vest as it increases its longevity. It's also just fun to spam sometimes to annoy opponents with recovery and good special bulk. Ice Beam is a good coverage move and I often find it to be EXTREMELY helpful. BE AFRAID


Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Protect
- Hydro Pump

Salamence is basically my all-purpose switch-in to, well, just about anything. It originally was my Intimidate user, but it is really much more than that. Draco Meteor is your nuke move and it smashes whatever doesn't resist it. It also works well with Politoed's Helping Hand for MORE NUKING POWER YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I don't really have much justification for Fire Blast other than it is on the analysis and hits Scizor / Ferrothorn harder than anything else :/. Protect has already been discussed, so feel free to read up on it. Hydro Pump is a spammable, rain-boosted move that's fun for the whole family! It also hits Heatran super effectively, as it resists both Draco Meteor and Fire Blast.


Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 40 Def / 36 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Protect

Mega Mawile is just awesome. It has Intimidate (double Intimidate users yay), decent bulk, and one mofo of an Attack stat. It is another Pokemon in my big party of nukes. Play Rough is its most powerful STAB move and has good coverage. This is another Pokemon that works well with Politoed as Helping Hand = more nuke power, and we all just love nuking power. Sucker Punch is an awesome priority moves that gets good coverage alongside Play Rough. Iron Head was the last move I decided to put on this set. It was between Iron Head, Swords Dance, and Substitute. I chose Iron Head because yolo and more damage against Fairies. Protect is protect. Nuff said.


Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Focus Blast

Thundurus-Therian fit the role of fast and powerful Electric-type. Basically, Pwnemon told me to use HP Flying so I just went with it. This guy is an awesome team player. HP Flying makes it easier to deal with opposing Grass-types basically anything Thunder doesn't hit. Thunder is basically this Pokemon's nuke move, and it hits REALLY hard with that awesome Special Attack and Choice Specs. Volt Switch is good for getting in the correct Pokemon at the right time. Focus Blast is a decent coverage move, though I don't find myself using it very often. Volt Absorb is fun as it allows you to come in for free on Electric-type attacks and works well with Politoed.


Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Taunt
- Quick Guard

Terrakion is fast, strong, and has Rock Slide. This guy basically rounds off my team as a fast hard hitter that has spread and a bit of support. Close Combat is an awesome STAB move that really hurts anything that doesn't resist it. Basically, it's just a kbye move that mashes stuff. Rock Slide is a nice spread move that works nicely with Terrakion's high Attack, Speed, and Rock-type STAB. It also has a nifty 30% chance to flinch which is always nice. Taunt was chosen over Protect as my team is sort of weak to Trick Room, and it is never good to be weak to a common strategy. Quick Guard is a fun move that blocks priority. This basically means it blocks every move that has priority bar Weavile's Fake Out and Ludicolo's Fake Out in the rain.

Well that's my team. I have had decent success with it, and now time for shoutouts!!

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
RotomPoison You are literally my twin. We have the same name, same favorite Pokemon, and similar interests. I messed up pretty bad when I first met you, but I think we're over that now and we are basically best friends. I hope you can get the hang of Doubles because I want to battle you AND CRUSH YOU HORRIBLY WITH THIS TEAM MWAHAHAHAHA!!! Anyways, you're a pretty cool dude and you need to teach me Ubers sometime. Also, CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!

Minus Wow. You're not getting a shoutout, and that really hasn't changed. Seriously why the fuck does it bug you so much?*

Sapphire. You're one of my best friends on Smogon even though you stole Amoonguss you meanie >:( (jk I don't mind because I was banned)

GatoDelFuego You were my grammar mentor for a while and you're easily one of the coolest people on these forums. If you care, I am reapplying at the end of the month :)

kokoloko I know you hate tags and you probably don't care anyways, but you lead the best singles format :)

-Flygon- You're pretty funny and, like me, make a ton of bad jokes. I remember we Skyped one time and you thought I sounded like a 10 year old lol. Also, I need to try dill pickle salt on my popcorn sometime y/y

Cacturne I remember when you were killerkingler and you followed my and I was like "what" because I had never really seen you and you followed my. Well, now you're one of my friends and I am better at Firebot than you y/y

Captain Amurica I don't know you that well but you're pretty cool :)

DetroitLolcat How could I forget my lime twin? You were the topic leader of my first ever CAP and that was pretty awesome! Also, you got mods so that means you can infract me now (please don't) so congrats. Also, I know the pains of dual wielding

fleurdyleurse You were my original GP buddy and you make analyses sound good :). In good time I will out GP you (and hopefully I can stop getting myself banned from #grammar)

horyzhnz I still don't get how you got onto the GP team with that awful spelling xD You're pretty cool and you were the first person to EVER GP one of my analyses

Magnemite You;re pretty cool and you run out secret IRC channel which is always a good time. You're always a cool person to talk to :)

Pwnemon I'm not sure where you stand on tagging so I won't. You're my Doubles tutor and you guided me when building this team. Even if you constantly tool on me, you're cool. Get TL imo

Th!nkPi I need to do more writing with you y/y. Anyways, you write good poetry and stuff and you're cool so yay shoutout

LightningLuxray You're always nice to talk to and you play Doubles so :)

*haha Minus we have a funny inside joke and you're pretty cool. You were probably my first decent friend on Smogon and you should spam GP stuff until you get media contribs y/y.


Well that's it!! Thank you all for reading and feel free to rate!!
DISCLAIMER: Sorry for my excessive use of smilies and caps ok good
 
I can teach you Ubers anytime dw. Maybe if you stopped spamming you wouldn't be everyone's favorite banned deucer? Once LightningLuxray finishes teaching me we will battle, and then I will teach you Ubers. I like the team though just because I like rain in doubles in general. The only huge problem I see right now is Terrakion is all you have for Charizard Y, considering he beats Toed in a lead matchup, so you should find a better lure than that since Terrakion isn't the best lead on a rain team.
 

Ununhexium

I closed my eyes and I slipped away...
is a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Smogon Media Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
I can teach you Ubers anytime dw. Maybe if you stopped spamming you wouldn't be everyone's favorite banned deucer? Once LightningLuxray finishes teaching me we will battle, and then I will teach you Ubers. I like the team though just because I like rain in doubles in general. The only huge problem I see right now is Terrakion is all you have for Charizard Y, considering he beats Toed in a lead matchup, so you should find a better lure than that since Terrakion isn't the best lead on a rain team.
252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Volt Switch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 330-390 (110.7 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

also, Politoed is slower than Charizard so rain will go up
 
252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Volt Switch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 330-390 (110.7 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

also, Politoed is slower than Charizard so rain will go up
Well obviously I can't read, and that really hasn't changed. In a lead matchup, Charizard mega evolves after rain activates. tbh i just wanted to say thanks for the shoutout n_n
 
It's about time you lazy fuck! (jk jk) Well congrats on 1.067k, quite a noteworthy accomplishment and totally not overshadowed by 1k... Anyway, I was serious, dill pickle popcorn is THE SHIT, y/y. It's really uncommon in the States tho, but maybe I'll send you some? Idk lol, just an idea. And yeah, you sounded like a 10yo Brit lol. Well, you are definitely my favorite banned deucer, and keep up with your spam and shenanigans, and especially your bad jokes and puns! :D
 
Hi Ununhexium, cool team here. I would like to make some changes to the team, hopefully for the better.

I would use Damp Rock over Leftovers in Toed. Leftovers was a lot better last gen when there was pernament Rain. Damp Rock extends Rain turns to 8, which could even be the entire match. It allows Ludicolo and Politoed to have longer Rain boosted moves and to allow Ludicolo's speed to higher levels for more time. It also makes Fire attacks weaker which helps Mega Mawile and others. I just like Rain to last longer to take full advantage of Politoed's support.

I also suggest Tailwind over either Fire Blast or Hydro Pump on Mence. Tailwind allows your team to be much faster for a period of time. Since your one of your main nukes Mega Mawile is slow it helps it outspeed threats and destroy everything. Of course it is still nice in general if you need to outspeed things in a pinch. Examples of situations would be Thundurus-T outspeeding Keldeo, Terrakion outspeeding Skymin, etc. Its just a useful move to have. You should probably remove Fire Blast unless you're scared of Ferrothorn (this team is a little ferro weak tho ;-;).

Finally I would suggest Protect over Taunt or Quick Guard on Terrakion. I still believe Protect is incredibly vital to Terrakion, especially because of its weaknesses. It has lots of weaknesses that the opponent can take advantage of, and Protect is needed to shield yourself from those moves. It also stalls TR turns which are dangerius to your team. Taunt and Quick Guard are both good moves and I will let you choose what you want to keep.

Also consider HP Ice on Thundy-T to hit grounds like Lando-T and 0 IVs on Mawile to deal with TR better. I'm not doubting Pwnemon, I just HP Ice better.

Hope you enjoy Doubles!
 
Last edited:

Ununhexium

I closed my eyes and I slipped away...
is a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Smogon Media Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Hi Ununhexium, cool team here. I would like to make some changes to the team, hopefully for the better.
I would use Damp Rock over Leftovers in Toed. Leftovers was a lot better last gen when there was pernament Rain. Damp Rock extends Rain turns to 8, which could even be the entire match. It allows Ludicolo and Politoed to have longer Rain boosted moves and to allow Ludicolo's speed to higher levels for more time. It also makes Fire attacks weaker which helps Mega Mawile and others. I just like Rain to last longer to take full advantage of Politoed's support.
I was considering this but I wasn't sure. I'll need to try it out a bit before I give a true yes or no.
I also suggest Tailwind over either Fire Blast or Hydro Pump on Mence. Tailwind allows your team to be much faster for a period of time. Since your one of your main nukes Mega Mawile is slow it helps it outspeed threats and destroy everything. Of course it is still nice in general if you need to outspeed things in a pinch. Examples of situations would be Thundurus-T outspeeding Keldeo, Terrakion outspeeding Skymin, etc. Its just a useful move to have. You should probably remove Fire Blast unless you're scared of Ferrothorn (this team is a little ferro weak tho ;-;).
I would probably replace Fire Blast because Hydro Pump is boosted by rain while Fire Blast is weakened. I am a bit more Ferrothorn weak, but I still have Focus Blast and Close Combat. I also haven't seen many Ferrothorn but maybe it's just that the ladder is trash around 1300 :/
Finally I would suggest Protect over Taunt or Quick Guard on Terrakion. I still believe Protect is incredibly vital to Terrakion, especially because of its weaknesses. It has lots of weaknesses that the opponent can take advantage of, and Protect is needed to shield yourself from those moves. It also stalls TR turns which are dangerius to your team. Taunt and Quick Guard are both good moves and I will let you choose what you want to keep.

Also consider HP Ice on Thundy-T to hit grounds like Lando-T and 0 IVs on Mawile to deal with TR better. I'm not doubting Pwnemon, I just HP Ice better.
I would probably put it over Quick Guard. Taunt is pretty crucial because Trick Room really just sucks. I like HP Flying because it is my only way of hurting Mega Venusaur. I have Ice Beam on Ludicolo and Icy Wind (aww yee) on Politoed for Lando and stuff

Hope you enjoy Doubles!
Of course I am!!
 
Hey Ununhexium! Nice rain team you've got there, and it looks quite similar to my rain team, and i personally love thundurus t.

I could only find a couple of really minor changes. Firstly, i would suggest trying a spread of 252 HP / 88 Def / 164 SDef / 4 Spe with a sassy nature, a spread i made myself :) You still hold good physical bulk and your speed creep o opposing toeds but you can also live timid scarf thundy t thunder or a timid LO tbolt. You also never faint to a modest zard y solarbeam, unlike your current spread. Just minor but worth a try.

Secondly, a really small nitpick, but you thundy t hits 331 speed with 31 spe ivs, timid and 252 evs. Timid 31 iv 252 ev base 100s hit 328 speed. Therefore, i would suggest a spread of 12 HP / 252 SAtk / 244 Spe on thundy t, for a tiny bit more bulk and to still outspeed base 100s. You dont need to speed tie with other thundy ts as you cant touch them anyway.

I know these are small changes but any spread optimization is good :) Hope i helped!
 
252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Volt Switch vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 330-390 (110.7 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

also, Politoed is slower than Charizard so rain will go up
Can I just say that Charizard is going to get sun up since it mega evolves after it's sent to the field, Charizard definitely beats Politoed in a lead matchup.
 
This team looks like it'd be pretty scary to face, its very well thought out and built. The only way I could even think you could improve it at all is by possibly considering using the rain to your advantage just a little bit more, and that would be to consider Kabutops over Terrakion. Now why I would make that sort of switch on a team like this is because Terrakion can fall very easily to the rain, as it usually only takes a single water type attack in the rain to take it down. Also Kabutops can also take advantage of the prized STAB Rock Slide, as well as either Superpower if you still need fighting coverage or Aqua Jet if you want priority. It also has the opportunity to really take advantage of the rain with Swift Swim, which out-speeds just about everything that doesn't have Swift Swim, as well as Waterfall, which with STAB power, possibility of flinch hacks, and additional rain power, it can really be a strong force for your already strong team.

So by that the idea of Kabutops would probably look more like this:

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Rock Slide
- Waterfall
- Superpower


Just something to consider, if Terrakion is already working well, keep with it, but in case it seems to be falling flat in the rain, this may make for a good alternate.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top