art by me
Hey there. I haven't written an RMT in a super long time and I really felt like writing something, so here it is I guess. You may know me as the guy who literally could not stop bringing Perish Trap in every single Doubles OU tournament he entered. However, ever since someone brought Shed Shell against me in a tournament I decided it was probably time to branch out. I made a few interesting teams, and recently I discovered that I had a knack for playing teams which made winning really, really non-interactive (because who doesn't?).
Going up against Stax in the Semifinals of the Doubles Open and having won my last two rounds off the backs of similarly non-interactive teams (Rain Bunnies and Terracott) I decided to apply my teambuilding "abilities" to a rather different sort of set-up. For the uninitiated, this team is a GeoPass team, which involves Smeargle using Geomancy (as the only legal user of the move in the tier) and either using Baton Pass or Heart Swap or Psych Up to get the boosts onto a Pokemon which can (ideally) sweep through the opposing team.
Although in the end I did end up losing in a somewhat unfortunate manner, I think the team has lots of potential beyond merely a "gimmick" or a one-off "troll team" as some may call it. In fact, I brought the same team all 3 games of the match and stood a pretty good chance of winning the two games that I didn't win. In the current meta I think it's fairly effective and it definitely has the potential to win games—I went something like 12-3 or 11-4 in test matches against Doubles regulars and people who knew what Smeargle did. By writing this RMT I just hoped to share this team before we transition into a new format come November 18, and give my take on the teambuilding process. But without further ado, here's the team, in the order it was built, from the ground up.
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite *** ballroom blitz
Ability: Trace
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Protect
When planning a GeoPass team, Gardevoir is naturally one of the best candidates for a Geomancy receiver. Gardevoir by itself, without boosts, is already one of the top 3 Megas in the format in my opinion (just behind Kangaskhan and arguably about as good as Diancie), so getting a Gardevoir to +2 Special Attack / Special Defense / Speed is just bonkers.
The moveset is probably just about what you might expect on a team like this. Hyper Voice is a natural choice for a spread move, with the added benefit that it goes through Substitutes which may have been set up during the initial Geomancy / Baton Pass set-up phase. The next slot is my single-target attack; this slot is really a toss-up between Psychic and Psyshock, but the only Pokemon I thought Psyshock really helped with were Sylveon and Charizard-Y, both of which are dealt with by Heatran fairly easily anyway, and Psychic goes further against important threats like Volcanion (which sometimes runs Haze) and Heatran.
The move I really want to talk about here is Substitute: given how many switches a +2 Gardevoir forces, it's really easy to get a Substitute up. If the opponent makes a switch with the aim of sacrificing a Pokemon to get their Gardevoir check / counter in for free, a simple Substitute on the switch can really throw their game off and usually results in a pretty much guaranteed win. Substitute also acts as a safety net in most cases; in an "eggs all in one basket" team like this, any secondary effect or unlucky roll on Gardevoir can be huge, and the ability to reduce these effects by having a Substitute up is just really really helpful in general. Substitute's applications are endless—it could turn Icy Wind from a game-threatening move into nothing more than 5% damage a turn; it could turn a devastating Thunder Wave into a move that does literally nothing; and so forth.
Another option that I did consider on Gardevoir and that could be explored further would be Stored Power for an even stronger single-target move. However, I felt that this caused the team's success to rely even more heavily on getting the GeoPass off, which was not something I really wanted.
Gardevoir's EV spread is a little odd, and perhaps not the 252/252+ spread one might imagine of a sweeper. However, since Gardevoir is generally operating at +2 Special Attack / Special Defense / Speed, I realised that the marginal benefit of investing in Special Attack and Speed would be extremely low, so I decided to focus more on its physical bulk, with enough Speed to outrun positive-natured Base 70s without being boosted (and thus to also outrun most common Swift Swim users under Rain after a Geomancy). In the actual games I played and showcase replays of below, I ran a spread of 252 HP / 8 Def / 140 SpA / 108 Spe which hit just about the same benchmarks as below, but which only let me create 3 85 HP Substitutes. The updated spread lets me create 4 84 HP Substitutes and still have 1 HP remaining.
Here are some offensive and defensive calculations which help to illuminate the effects of this spread. Bolded calculations indicate the numbers my spread was calibrated around.
Offensive Calculations
Defensive Calculations
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 352-415 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 424-499 (128.4 - 151.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD Azumarill: 424-499 (110.9 - 130.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- +2 140+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 171-202 (52.7 - 62.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- +2 140+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Volcanion: 394-465 (108.2 - 127.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Psyshock misses the OHKO here)
- +2 140+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 321-378 (89.1 - 105%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (Psyshock guarantees the OHKO here)
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 244 HP / 72+ SpD Thundurus: 352-415 (97.7 - 115.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
- +2 140+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 244 HP / 72+ SpD Thundurus: 363-427 (100.8 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 238-281 (79.8 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (OHKOs it after it touches anything on my team, basically)
- +2 140+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 40 SpD Rotom-W: 319-376 (104.9 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Defensive Calculations
- 252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 16 Def Mega Gardevoir: 285-335 (84.5 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- -1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 240 HP / 16 Def Mega Gardevoir: 265-312 (78.6 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 16 Def Mega Gardevoir: 135-159 (40 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
- -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 240 HP / 16 Def Mega Gardevoir: 68-80 (20.1 - 23.7%) -- guaranteed 5HKO (Rock Slide fails to break Substitute after an Intimidate)
- 252+ SpA Heatran Eruption (150 BP) vs. +2 240 HP / 4 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 76-91 (22.5 - 27%) -- 40.9% chance to 4HKO (9/16 chance to break Substitute from max health, 0 chance to break Substitute after a Hyper Voice. Heat Wave does even less.)
- 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. +2 240 HP / 4 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 122-146 (36.2 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
- 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. +2 240 HP / 4 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 71-86 (21 - 25.5%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO (1/16 chance of offensive Thundurus breaking Substitute without Flash Cannon)
- 0 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 240 HP / 16 Def Mega Gardevoir: 240-284 (71.2 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Please ban Jirachi)
Speaking of small optimisations only made in retrospect, I originally ran Telepathy on Gardevoir because I kind of forgot that I didn't run any self-targeting spread moves on this team. Trace is an infinitely better ability just for the fact that it can actually do something; while I haven't played many games with it, I'd imagine that it could be particularly of use when Smeargle performs a Baton Pass in front of a Landorus-Therian, since Trace has a chance of Intimidating Landorus-Therian on the Baton Pass. Synchronize is generally inferior because you shouldn't be letting status onto Gardevoir anyway. Otherwise, I guess the change really makes a minimal difference, but it was worth talking about.
Smeargle @ Power Herb *** the stranger
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 80 Def / 176 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Geomancy
- Baton Pass
- Spiky Shield
Smeargle is no stranger to the VGC scene, but is a lot less common here, thanks mainly to the (rather fortunate) ban on Dark Void imposed in Doubles OU. However, Smeargle here is instrumental as the only legal user of Geomancy in this format, so its presence on this team is very much warranted. While Geomancy, Baton Pass, and Spiky Shield are probably self-explanatory, I'd like to discuss my choice for the 4th slot, Spore.
Spore is basically the most consistent way Smeargle has of disabling opponents on its own; in a way, this takes the pressure off Smeargle's teammates somewhat since one opposing source of damage is infinitely easier to deal with than two. I did consider some other options which let me deal a bit better with some of the harder counters to this team—Taunt, for example, lets me stop predicted Haze users right in their tracks, and lets Smeargle come back in after a Geomancy to Taunt Wide Guard users. Wide Guard, Quick Guard, and Follow Me all ensure that Smeargle continues to have some sort of use on the team even after a Baton Pass, but I found Spore fairly necessary for some matchups, as I'll explain below.
Since Smeargle's bulk and ability to take attacks is really a cornerstone of this team's functioning, the EV spread on Smeargle has gone through a number of revisions (though all of them have maximum Speed for obvious reasons), but I finally decided on this spread. Here are some calculations—naturally, only defensive ones—which help to elucidate the spread's purposes. Bolded calculations are those I built the spread around, as usual. Since Clefairy + Smeargle was intended as the team's default go-to lead, you'll notice that a number of these calculations involve Friend Guard, whereas some don't. This would be difficult to explain, but essentially it has to do with some foresight I had about worst-case scenario board positioning, and under which circumstances Smeargle is able or unable to get a Geomancy up with or without the help of Clefairy's Friend Guard, before it is hit by an opposing attack.
Defensive Calculations
no Friend Guard
with Friend Guard
no Friend Guard
- 252+ SpA Teravolt Kyurem-B Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle: 211-250 (84 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle: 199-235 (79.2 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle: 195-229 (77.6 - 91.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
with Friend Guard
- 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle under Friend Guard: 217-256 (86.4 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
- 116+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle under Friend Guard in Sun: 212-250 (84.4 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 176 SpD Smeargle under Friend Guard: 196-230 (78 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 80 Def Smeargle under Friend Guard: 203-241 (80.8 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Mega Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 0 HP / 80 Def Smeargle under Friend Guard: 201-237 (80 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (I don't think people even run this much Attack investment on Mega Diancie)
Scrafty @ Sitrus Berry *** hood ornament
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Atk / 16 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Quick Guard
I had a few calculations which only looked favourable for Gardevoir if I had Intimidate on my team, so I decided that would be the next reasonable step. As far as Intimidate users go, Scrafty was a fairly obvious choice for this team because of how well it synergises with Gardevoir. Besides simply providing Intimidate, Scrafty also brings Fake Out to give Smeargle an easier time getting off a GeoPass, as well as Quick Guard to prevent Prankster Thunder Waves, Encores and Taunts from hindering Smeargle or Gardevoir. Furthermore, its access to STAB Knock Off means that unlike Hitmontop (the only other Pokemon with Intimidate, Fake Out, and Quick Guard) Scrafty is able to dent Aegislash and Jirachi for reasonable amounts of damage, along with the other Steel-types which may get in Gardevoir's way.
Scrafty again has a pretty strange-looking EV spread, so I guess it'd be appropriate to discuss it in a bit more detail since that's arguably the most interesting part of this set. Only a few important calculations this time, though:
- -1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 278-330 (83.9 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 324-382 (97.8 - 115.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry
- 176+ Atk Scrafty Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Heatran: 186-222 (48.1 - 57.5%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO (I actually can't remember what the Attack EVs do but this is my best guess)
Clefairy @ Eviolite *** north star
Ability: Friend Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Def / 136 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Follow Me
- Icy Wind
- Encore
- Protect
Clefairy was my ideal redirection support to sit next to Smeargle, since not only does it redirect single-target moves, but it also implicitly reduces the unavoidable damage Smeargle takes from spread moves thanks to its absolutely ridiculously amazing ability of Friend Guard. Besides, I've got to have at least one Tier 4 Pokemon on each of my teams, right? :d
Apart from Follow Me, I think Clefairy's movepool has a lot of really interesting moves that are actually really good on a team like this one. Icy Wind is crucial in the matchup against double spread move opponents, slowing down opponents and therefore allowing Smeargle to either get a Spore or a Geomancy off before it takes too much damage from a hit. On the other hand, Encore exists for almost completely the opposite reason: against Trick Room setters, Clefairy can Encore the Trick Room to return the dimensions to normal and give Smeargle an easier time in getting set up the next turn. Encore also has niche value in case I predict a Substitute or Fake Out onto Smeargle coming from an opposing Pokemon; as mentioned previously, any ability to reduce the number of damage sources on an opponent's side from two to one, even if just for one turn, can give Smeargle and Gardevoir that little breathing room they need to completely flip the board into this team's favour.
Since Clefairy is obviously intended to be a defensive Pokemon, here's another series of defensive calculations which came up while I was preparing for my matchup.
Defensive Calculations
- +1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 268-317 (86.1 - 101.9%) -- 4.3% chance to OHKO (4.3% is a negligible chance, especially when you consider that Kangaskhan has a 12.11% chance of landing a Critical Hit which negates this calculation anyway)
- +6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 234-276 (75.2 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 0 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 120 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 128-152 (41.1 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
- 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 120 HP / 136 SpD Eviolite Clefairy: 254-300 (81.6 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 120 HP / 136 SpD Eviolite Clefairy: 284-336 (91.3 - 108%) -- 50% chance to OHKO (it was the best I could do; surviving Kangaskhan's +1 Return was more important for the team's functioning)
Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry *** mind-altering
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
Amoonguss was my secondary redirector, as well as being a sort of catch-all Trick Room check. Often, the mere presence of Amoonguss on a team makes an opponent hesitatnt to set up Trick Room, but if they do, Amoonguss can easily punish them by putting just about everything on an opposing team to sleep. Amoonguss also fits perfectly into the Heatran / Gardevoir / Scrafty core, which is coincidentally one of my favourites; even if Smeargle and Clefairy go down without getting a GeoPass off, these four can sometimes pick up the slack and take a game from an unsuspecting or complacent opponent anyway.
That said, although Amoonguss is often fairly helpful in being a redirector which takes (most) hits better than Clefairy, one annoying part about it is its inability to redirect attacks from Grass-type Pokemon; most notably, Whimsicott's Encore can still hit Smeargle or Gardevoir even with an Amoonguss on the field, which is cause for great concern for the team.
Apart from Amoonguss' general role on the team, there's nothing much else to say about Amoonguss in particular, I guess. Its moveset is pretty much the standard; I suppose Sludge Bomb or Clear Smog could have been used over Giga Drain but neither change would have done much anyway, I'd imagine. In terms of items, Sitrus Berry affords Amoonguss the ability to survive a +2 Return from Mega Kangaskhan almost all the time barring critical hits; this was the item I intended to bring, but I forgot to change the item and ended up having the EV spread for surviving +2 Return but not the item. Regardless, a +2 Kangaskhan never really came up big in the games I played against Stax, and the chip damage from Rocky Helmet causing Stax's Jirachi to basically knock itself out was helpful in Game 2. Here are some calculations which show off the bulk that Amoonguss has:
Defensive Calculations
- +2 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Amoonguss: 459-542 (106.2 - 125.4%) -- 0.4% chance to OHKO after Sitrus Berry
- 252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Amoonguss: 385-455 (89.1 - 105.3%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Teravolt Kyurem-B Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Amoonguss: 348-410 (80.5 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Amoonguss: 296-350 (68.5 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Amoonguss: 398-470 (92.1 - 108.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (don't you just love ironic twists of fate?)
- 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Amoonguss: 322-382 (74.5 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Hoopa-Unbound Hyperspace Hole vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Amoonguss: 362-428 (83.7 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (I know no one runs 252 neutral without LO, but bear with me)
- 252+ SpA Life Orb Volcanion Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 48 SpD Amoonguss: 377-447 (87.2 - 103.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
Heatran @ Safety Goggles *** cooking show
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Overheat
- Protect
After all that defensive support for a Gardevoir sweep, I felt that some offensive support would be helpful too, to help Gardevoir break through the various Steel-types that litter the tier. This Heatran was originally a Life Orb Heatran in order to guarantee OHKOs on Aegislash, Jirachi and (some) Thundurus with Overheat; however, after Heatran kept getting put to sleep when switching in on pesky Amoonguss I thought Safety Goggles was probably a better idea. Another item I suppose could fit on Heatran would be Shuca Berry, which I haven't used in forever but which definitely helps with the matchup against opposing Heatran, since I no longer have to guess what item the opposing Heatran has. Shuca Berry also lets Heatran stay in for a turn against Landorus-Therian to get an attack off—it's worth noting that Safety Goggles did absolutely nothing for me in my Semifinals set, but Shuca Berry might have been able to affect the results of a couple of games, since they often featured Heatran being forced out by a Landorus-T switch-in and also ended with Heatran endgames against a Landorus-Therian + some stuff that couldn't do a lot to Heatran. Finally, Charcoal or Flame Plate are another possibility, also guaranteeing the OHKOs on Aegislash, Jirachi and Thundurus without damaging Heatran with recoil in the process.
Apart from Overheat and its sheer power in clearing the path for Gardevoir, Heatran's set is fairly standard. I generally don't like running this much offense on Heatran but since this team moves fairly quickly once Gardevoir is set-up, I didn't think that the extra bulk would help that much.
Interestingly, Heatran is also another possible candidate to receive Geomancy boosts, although the team and this EV spread and moveset weren't designed with this in mind. One situation in which I would definitely consider this is if the opponent has an abundance of Steel-types or if they somehow lack ways to deal big damage to Heatran (such as not running any of Kangaskhan / Landorus-T / Azumarill for some strange reason). On the whole, though, while I have pulled off a Baton Pass to Heatran once, it was only once Gardevoir went down; otherwise, against most teams, Gardevoir is still the optimal Geomancy recipient. Although its spread wasn't quite optimised, here are some offensive damage calculations from Heatran which show not only why I chose to run maximum Special Attack investment, but also why I originally sprang for a Life Orb:
Offensive Calculations
- 252 SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 300-354 (92.5 - 109.2%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (Charcoal guarantees the OHKO)
- 252 SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Thundurus: 255-300 (85.2 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (Charcoal guarantees the OHKO)
- 252 SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 252 HP / 72+ SpD Amoonguss: 426-504 (98.6 - 116.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Jirachi: 356-422 (88.1 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (Charcoal guarantees the OHKO)
- 252 SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 256-303 (77.5 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (LO turns this into a guaranteed OHKO)
Threatlist
There are a few Pokemon which are just kind of ridiculous for this team to play against, under specific or non-specific circumstances.
Replays
Here are a few replays which I downloaded while practicing with the team; I didn't upload them because I didn't want Stax to find the replays. As such, they're in the form of .html files, but they should be fairly easy to operate (download and open). Hopefully.
- vs AuraRayquaza: Hazed by Volcanion after a Baton Pass, but get a second pass onto Heatran to win.
- vs miltankmilk: Hazed before I even get a Baton Pass off, but the core of 4 in the back does work, especially Heatran + Amoonguss, coming back from a 5-2 deficit to win the game anyway.
- vs CrobatMan2.0 (ladder game): despite Trick Room going up and Pixilate being Skill Swapped away, Amoonguss and Scrafty are able to do work under the opponent's Trick Room to let Gardevoir get a few shots off regardless.
- vs Contact: I actually just had this game for Round 3 of the Seasonal! Despite losing Heatran early to a miscalculation, Clefairy managed to clutch out the match by trapping Aegislash into Blade form, letting me get the OHKO with my boosted Gardevoir.
- Game 1: I get the Baton Pass off fairly easily but proceed to choke on Turn 6 by setting up a Substitute instead of going for a straight-up Hyper Voice (which would have likely won me the game) as I failed to anticipate Clefairy fainting that turn. I also miss a couple of double Protects which would have won me the game, I think.
- Game 2: I actually fail to get the Baton Pass off due to a couple of surprising sets on Stax's team. However, the solid core of 4 in the back still manages to come back somehow, thanks in part to some fortunate sleep turns.
- Game 3: I was caught by surprise by a Turn 1 Electroweb but I manage to get the Geomancy off, followed by the Baton Pass. However, a Thunderbolt into the Gardevoir slot as soon as Baton Pass happens paralyses Gardevoir, and everything goes downhill from there. An unfortunate way to end the series, but what can you do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Importable
Code:
ballroom blitz (Gardevoir-Mega) @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Protect
mind-altering (Amoonguss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Protect
cooking show (Heatran) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Overheat
- Protect
north star (Clefairy) @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Def / 136 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Follow Me
- Icy Wind
- Encore
- Protect
hood ornament (Scrafty) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Atk / 16 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Quick Guard
the stranger (Smeargle) @ Power Herb
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 80 Def / 176 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Geomancy
- Baton Pass
- Spiky ShieldIt's been fun! Of all the teams that I've piloted, this has perhaps been the one with the most spectacular win condition, and definitely one of my favourites because of how fun it is to play it (even if not against it). Playing this team has helped me to regain some of the spark and passion I felt has been missing from my games recently, and I'd encourage all of you to try it out too. At the end of the day, though, this is still a RMT; please post any and all advice you have for this team and I'll take a look through it and try to improve on this team!
It's been a wonderful journey in this tier, right from the start on Christmas Day in 2012, and I'd like to take some time to thank and acknowledge a few people who have been instrumental in shaping my journey. It's not a huge-blown 3k post-type list, but here it is nonetheless:
- Pocket, creator of Doubles. It's truly amazing to see how Doubles has grown from 10 people in an IRC channel to the vibrant and organic community it is today. Thank you so much for your contributions and the formational steps you took toward the amazing format we have today. Also, sorry for Tauros-ing you today on the ladder.
- TSR and Stratos (rip). Without the two of you I'd probably still be stuck bottom-dwelling with a single Perish Trap team. Thanks for shaking me out of it, whether by insulting my team choice or by Shed Shelling it.
- Dawgie and SamVGC. From giving me real teams to play with to putting up with the shit I chuck at you guys in "test games", I could not have asked for better friends to have (except maybe friends who didn't use my unglams as their phone wallpapers?????). Thanks for being great friends outside of the game as well!
- Everyone who helped me test this team, there were so many of you! Thanks for also putting up with my garbage haha
- You, for liking this post! (?????)
Last edited: