To celebrate Smogon Doubles (and possibly prepare for VGC) I now present to you all: My first 6th generation team. Enjoy.
TAKING GENERATION 6 BY STORM
Mp3 (Noivern) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Telepathy/Infiltrator (?)
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spd
Timid/Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hurricane
- U-Turn/Dragon Pulse
- Boomburst/Dragon Pulse
Noivern is an interesting rain AND doubles mon. As far as doubles go, Noivern has access to Telepathy, which means he won't be taking damage from my own rain boosted surfs, but he also has access to Infiltrator, which means that teams that rely on screens for their bulk are pretty much screwed. I find that both of these abilities can be useful, but I'm not quite sure which one to go with for sure. On sims, I just switch it around. I'd like some advice on that!
What makes Noivern special in rain is that it's the fastest user of Hurricane in the game. Previous Dragon/Flying Hurricane abuser Dragonite has got some competition this gen; although Noivern doesn't have the mixed attacking capabilities Dragonite has, it's nearly as powerful as Dragonite on the special side (Noivern's 97 base compared to Dragonite's 100) and it's way, way faster, making a choice specs set viable. Draco Meteor is an amazingly strong move that can hit really hard right off the bat, and it can even do some decent damage on the 2nd hit too. Hurricane is that lovable 100% accurate flying STAB move with 110 base power; needless to say, it does quite a bit of damage. The last two slots can be tricky... You may want to run U-turn to get some decent momentum, or you may want to run Dragon Pulse so you have a more reliable dragon STAB. Boomburst is also replaceable, as it's an absolutely horrible move to be locked into and it's not very strong at all without STAB.
Topscotch (Toxicroak) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
Toxicroak has a couple roles. First, it's an excellent Fake Out lead that can keep Politoed safe as it sets up the all important rain. Second, Toxicroak is extremely good at staying alive thanks to not only the fantastic Dry Skin ability, which finds many opportunities to heal Toxicroak on its own, but also to Drain Punch and the passive recovery of Black Sludge. And hey, poison is actually viable this gen! Because of the strong fairy presence, I've opted out the popular Bulk Up option for Poison Jab, which can do some pretty big damage to threats like Togekiss. Perhaps Toxicroak's most important role, however, is to counter Azumarill, as he's immune to Aqua Jet and can hit back very hard with Poison Jab.
Sirenity (Lapras) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Rest
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
I've always found Lapras to be a 100% viable Pokemon, and not only as a dragon dancer, but as an extremely bulky special attacker with a movepool that other bulky waters would kill for. Having BoltBeam coverage that includes a STAB Ice Beam and a 100% accurate Thunder is something that pretty much no other mon can boast; not to mention that Lapras is also an excellent HydraRest abuser. One of the many things that held Lapras back was its lack of recovery, but that's certainly not a problem with rain. Surf is simply another STAB move that is very powerful under rain!
Panelle (Heliolisk) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Sp. Def
Modest/Timid Nature
- Surf
- Thunder
- Protect
- Parabolic Charge
The future king of weather perhaps? Well, maybe not, but Heliolisk is pretty good under rain. A water immunity is nice, and the passive recovery of Dry Skin neutralizes Life Orb recoil, which means that Heliolisk doesn't have to fear getting worn down as the match progresses. Crazily enough, the Game Freak gods also blessed the lovable lizard with Surf, allowing Heliolisk to further abuse rain by throwing around waves of sexwater while getting psuedo-STAB. Parabolic Charge is pretty cool too; although it only has a base power of 50, it hits the entire battlefield, which means that Heliolisk is going to get a lot of health back every time it fires one off. It's also handy for triggering Manectric's Lightning Rod, but we'll get to that a little later. Overall, I think Heliolisk has serious potential on rain teams this gen!
Hopnotch (Politoed) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Hyper Voice
I'm the type of guy that likes to do things differently, damnit! All jokes aside, I see a lot of potential in Assault Vest Politoed. Although it's offensive movepool is not that great, the combination of Assault Vest and the rain make Politoed an Offensive and Defensive asset all in one. With this set, I don't feel like I just have Politoed on the team because of Drizzle. I feel like I have it on here because it benefits my team in a lot of other ways too. You may notice that this team, for the most part, lacks Rain Dance. It's because this Politoed doesn't die. It just doesn't. It's very, VERY easy to keep it alive. Unconvinced?
252+ SpA Charizard SolarBeam vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Politoed: 224-264 (58.33 - 68.75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
68% from Charizard's SolarBeam ain't bad. It ain't bad at all.
Wire (Manectric) (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod (Mega Form: Intimidate)
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Protect
- Discharge
- Rain Dance
MEGA EVOLUTION
MEGA POWERFUL.
Manectric is a pretty darn cool Mega. Intimidate is pretty awesome for lowering the attack of the opponents, but its speed is also in a tier of its own and it's Special Attack is equally as awesome, especially if I can sneak in a couple boosts thanks to Lightning Rod. Since this team is obviously primarily water, Noivern is my main grass counter and Manectric is the main electric counter. If I ever fear any type of electric attack, I will immediately switch into Manectric and take advantage of the situation, then Mega Evolve to Intimidate the opponents, and then proceed to wreck havok. Parabolic Charges from Heliolisk also trigger Lightning Rod, which is awesome. Manectric has two great STAB moves in Thunder and Discharge, one being a very powerful move, while the other being an area attack. Manectric is also the only Pokemon on the team with Rain Dance, and this is only because Manectric's other coverage options are primarily fire moves, and that seems somewhat counterproductive. If I lose the weather war, Manectric can come in and I'm pretty much guaranteed another 5 turns of rain thanks to it's ludicrous speed.
Heyyyy, you made it through the entire thing! This is my first 6th Gen team, and I'm extremely excited for this meta! Let me know what you think, and feel free to be as critical as possible, as I'm very open to any and all opinions and suggestion, no matter what the scale. Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my creation! Have a wonderful day!
TAKING GENERATION 6 BY STORM
Mp3 (Noivern) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Telepathy/Infiltrator (?)
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spd
Timid/Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hurricane
- U-Turn/Dragon Pulse
- Boomburst/Dragon Pulse
Noivern is an interesting rain AND doubles mon. As far as doubles go, Noivern has access to Telepathy, which means he won't be taking damage from my own rain boosted surfs, but he also has access to Infiltrator, which means that teams that rely on screens for their bulk are pretty much screwed. I find that both of these abilities can be useful, but I'm not quite sure which one to go with for sure. On sims, I just switch it around. I'd like some advice on that!
What makes Noivern special in rain is that it's the fastest user of Hurricane in the game. Previous Dragon/Flying Hurricane abuser Dragonite has got some competition this gen; although Noivern doesn't have the mixed attacking capabilities Dragonite has, it's nearly as powerful as Dragonite on the special side (Noivern's 97 base compared to Dragonite's 100) and it's way, way faster, making a choice specs set viable. Draco Meteor is an amazingly strong move that can hit really hard right off the bat, and it can even do some decent damage on the 2nd hit too. Hurricane is that lovable 100% accurate flying STAB move with 110 base power; needless to say, it does quite a bit of damage. The last two slots can be tricky... You may want to run U-turn to get some decent momentum, or you may want to run Dragon Pulse so you have a more reliable dragon STAB. Boomburst is also replaceable, as it's an absolutely horrible move to be locked into and it's not very strong at all without STAB.
Topscotch (Toxicroak) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
Toxicroak has a couple roles. First, it's an excellent Fake Out lead that can keep Politoed safe as it sets up the all important rain. Second, Toxicroak is extremely good at staying alive thanks to not only the fantastic Dry Skin ability, which finds many opportunities to heal Toxicroak on its own, but also to Drain Punch and the passive recovery of Black Sludge. And hey, poison is actually viable this gen! Because of the strong fairy presence, I've opted out the popular Bulk Up option for Poison Jab, which can do some pretty big damage to threats like Togekiss. Perhaps Toxicroak's most important role, however, is to counter Azumarill, as he's immune to Aqua Jet and can hit back very hard with Poison Jab.
Sirenity (Lapras) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Rest
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
I've always found Lapras to be a 100% viable Pokemon, and not only as a dragon dancer, but as an extremely bulky special attacker with a movepool that other bulky waters would kill for. Having BoltBeam coverage that includes a STAB Ice Beam and a 100% accurate Thunder is something that pretty much no other mon can boast; not to mention that Lapras is also an excellent HydraRest abuser. One of the many things that held Lapras back was its lack of recovery, but that's certainly not a problem with rain. Surf is simply another STAB move that is very powerful under rain!
Panelle (Heliolisk) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Sp. Def
Modest/Timid Nature
- Surf
- Thunder
- Protect
- Parabolic Charge
The future king of weather perhaps? Well, maybe not, but Heliolisk is pretty good under rain. A water immunity is nice, and the passive recovery of Dry Skin neutralizes Life Orb recoil, which means that Heliolisk doesn't have to fear getting worn down as the match progresses. Crazily enough, the Game Freak gods also blessed the lovable lizard with Surf, allowing Heliolisk to further abuse rain by throwing around waves of sexwater while getting psuedo-STAB. Parabolic Charge is pretty cool too; although it only has a base power of 50, it hits the entire battlefield, which means that Heliolisk is going to get a lot of health back every time it fires one off. It's also handy for triggering Manectric's Lightning Rod, but we'll get to that a little later. Overall, I think Heliolisk has serious potential on rain teams this gen!
Hopnotch (Politoed) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 HP / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Hyper Voice
I'm the type of guy that likes to do things differently, damnit! All jokes aside, I see a lot of potential in Assault Vest Politoed. Although it's offensive movepool is not that great, the combination of Assault Vest and the rain make Politoed an Offensive and Defensive asset all in one. With this set, I don't feel like I just have Politoed on the team because of Drizzle. I feel like I have it on here because it benefits my team in a lot of other ways too. You may notice that this team, for the most part, lacks Rain Dance. It's because this Politoed doesn't die. It just doesn't. It's very, VERY easy to keep it alive. Unconvinced?
252+ SpA Charizard SolarBeam vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Politoed: 224-264 (58.33 - 68.75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
68% from Charizard's SolarBeam ain't bad. It ain't bad at all.
Wire (Manectric) (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod (Mega Form: Intimidate)
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Sp. Def
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Protect
- Discharge
- Rain Dance
MEGA EVOLUTION
MEGA POWERFUL.
Manectric is a pretty darn cool Mega. Intimidate is pretty awesome for lowering the attack of the opponents, but its speed is also in a tier of its own and it's Special Attack is equally as awesome, especially if I can sneak in a couple boosts thanks to Lightning Rod. Since this team is obviously primarily water, Noivern is my main grass counter and Manectric is the main electric counter. If I ever fear any type of electric attack, I will immediately switch into Manectric and take advantage of the situation, then Mega Evolve to Intimidate the opponents, and then proceed to wreck havok. Parabolic Charges from Heliolisk also trigger Lightning Rod, which is awesome. Manectric has two great STAB moves in Thunder and Discharge, one being a very powerful move, while the other being an area attack. Manectric is also the only Pokemon on the team with Rain Dance, and this is only because Manectric's other coverage options are primarily fire moves, and that seems somewhat counterproductive. If I lose the weather war, Manectric can come in and I'm pretty much guaranteed another 5 turns of rain thanks to it's ludicrous speed.
Heyyyy, you made it through the entire thing! This is my first 6th Gen team, and I'm extremely excited for this meta! Let me know what you think, and feel free to be as critical as possible, as I'm very open to any and all opinions and suggestion, no matter what the scale. Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my creation! Have a wonderful day!