VGC 2015: Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer

[kantotrainer90]

Hi, if I'm allowed to post my own thread for rmt and help my doubes vgc team, then that'd be great. If so, then I will delete this post. If not, here is my team:

This team will be used for battle spot doubles. I made this team because I read a thread using Raichu effectively and since I really like Raichu, then I thought I would try and make a team where Raichu is useful. I opted to go for a Support Raichu build. If I can't use Raichu, then ideally I'd like to be able to use one of the original eeveelutions. If that doesn't work, then I'd like to use another gen 1 Pokemon in it's place. I heard Raichu works best in perish songs teams, but I thought it might work in this team as well.


Mega Charizard Y (special sweeper)
Ability: Drought
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Sp. Att/252 Speed/4 HP
IVs: 6 max ivs
-Solar Beam
-Heat Wave
-Protect
-Over Heat

Charizard Y and Machamp will be my typical leads. Zard will open up with one of his stab moves or opt to use protect and then later switch out or use another move. Solar Beam is there for coverage. Heat Wave is to be used as a spread move. And Over Heat is to try and kill Talon Flame. Earthquake and Tailwind might be options over protect for more team coverage.

Clefable @ Leftovers (physically defensive)
Ability: Unaware
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Speed
IVs: 5 max ivs except Att
-Moonlight
-Follow Me
-Moonblast
-Protect

This Clefable is pretty bulky and is able to deal some damage and slow the team down. Moonblast is my STAB move. Using follow me and then combo'd with moon blast I can deal alot of damage to dragons and other Pokemon of the enemy team. Protect is there to stall. Moonlight is there to increase my longetivity.

Raichu @ Focus Sash (support chu)
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4hp/252spatk/252spd
IVs: 5 max IVs (missing att)
Nature: Timid
- Thunder Bolt
- Protect
- Encore
- Fake Out / Feint

This Raichu I heard can really be an annoyance. You switch it in on a Rotom Wash or some one else who uses a thunder move and then use encore. Protect is there to stall for Raichu and volt switch is an easy out in case raichu needs to leave. Fake Out is good to stop an enemy who would try and kill Raichu or a team mate. Feint is another suggestion and I believe it has priority.

Machamp @ Assault Vest (physical attacker lead)
Ability: No Guard
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Att/172 HP/84 Speed
IVs: 5 max (HP/Att/Def/SpDef/Speed)
-Bullet Punch
-Dynamic Punch
-Ice Punch
-Knock Off

This Machamp would be my lead with Charizard Y. It's the physical hitting side to my special hitting Charizard Y. Using Bullet Punch to hurt fairys. Dynamic Punch (which always hits with no guard) to take out frail pokemon. Ice Punch to hit dragons and the ever common Salamence. Knock Off to cripple Blisseys and Chanseys.


Aegislash @ Lum Berry (special offensive)
Ability: Stance Change
Nature: Quiet
EVs: 252 HP/252 Sp.Att/4 Sp.Def
IVs: 5 (HP, Att, Sp. Att, Def, Sp. Def)
-King’s Shield
-Wide Guard
-Shadow Ball
-Protect

Wide Guard gives my team some extra coverage late game. King's Shield is to deal alot of damage and works great with low speed stat. Shadow Ball hurts psychic type threats and other ghost type threats. Protect is for some extra protection for Aegislash. Lum Berry protects from any status inducing moves that would try to stop me from using wonder guard.


Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf (special attacker)
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Sp.Att/ 252 Speed/ 4 HP
IVs: 6 max ivs
-Draco Meter
-Dark Pulse
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power

Hydreigon is here to protect my team against Heatran. With Earth Power, I can opt to take out Heatran or at least scare him off. Otherwise, I have Dark Pulse to hurt Aegislash and Gengar. I have Draco Meter to spam on everyone else and other dragons. I also have Fire Blast to take care of Venusaur and Ferrathorn.

An alternative Raichu build could be:
Raichu @ Focus Sash (special support)
EVs: 4hp/252spatk/252spd
Ability: Lightning rod
Nature: Timid
Thunderbolt / Volt Tackle
HP (Ice)
Fake Out
Protect

 

[hotcoldyay7]

Hi everyone, two questions:

1) is there an updated spread I can use for Ray Rizzo's Wigglytuff?

Wigglytuff @ Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 188 Def / 236 SpA / 12 SpD / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hyper Beam

2) Are Specs Modest Dark Pulse Hydreigon and Adamant LO Knock Off Bisharp all that common anymore? I rarely see them, but I might be just facing a really small pool of non-users of those in comparison to the bigger number.

and kantotrainer90, you have to post this in the RMT area ---> http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/oras-other-teams.292/

that's where all the team reviewers are, for the most part

 

[Charlotte]

2) Are Specs Modest Dark Pulse Hydreigon and Adamant LO Knock Off Bisharp all that common anymore? I rarely see them, but I might be just facing a really small pool of non-users of those in comparison to the bigger number.

Bisharp is still very common; on Battle Spot in particular it stands strong at fifth in usage with 96.5% Adamant natured and 57.7% of them are equipped with Life Orb, practically all of them opting for Knock Off.
Hydreigon, currently not top 12 but anecdotally I'd say it was still common. Again using Battle Spot usage statistics, about 85% of them are Modest and roughly 44% carry Choice Specs. Still worth building around in my opinion.
In general for a loose idea of usage the Global Link provides an outlet for some of this information.

 

[nightwolf]

Hi, if I'm allowed to post my own thread for rmt and help my doubes vgc team, then that'd be great. If so, then I will delete this post. If not, here is my team

I don't think listing your team here or posting the link to it is allowed here. None the less you very rarely want your whole team to go 252/252/4 as this is doubles not singles and you're facing more than one pokemon and get rid of overheat, a 6.3% chance of ko'ing a talonflame that has no investment in hp (spoiler alert, very few don't invest in hp) is not worth lowering your special attack. 252 SpAtk Drought Mega Charizard Y Overheat vs. 4 HP/0 SpDef Flame Body Talonflame in Sun: 130 - 153 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Rules

1. It is better to look for team advice in the RMT Section, please remember to read all rules and stickies there

 

[ck49]

Um, kantotrainer90, why do you have 3 protect-like moves on Aegislash? That's a huge waste. Just run King's Shield + Wide guard and an extra attacking move.

 

[kantotrainer90]

I don't think listing your team here or posting the link to it is allowed here. None the less you very rarely want your whole team to go 252/252/4 as this is doubles not singles and you're facing more than one pokemon and get rid of overheat, a 6.3% chance of ko'ing a talonflame that has no investment in hp (spoiler alert, very few don't invest in hp) is not worth lowering your special attack. 252 SpAtk Drought Mega Charizard Y Overheat vs. 4 HP/0 SpDef Flame Body Talonflame in Sun: 130 - 153 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

i am looking for doubles battle spot help. this is the vgc doubles place. i am not looking for a smogon doubles rating. Also, one of the mods referred me here.

What do you all think of Raichu? Alternatively, I am considering Alakazam over Raichu and Tentacruel over Machamp.

 

[nightwolf]

i am looking for doubles battle spot help. this is the vgc doubles place. i am not looking for a smogon doubles rating. Also, one of the mods referred me here.

What do you all think of Raichu? Alternatively, I am considering Alakazam over Raichu and Tentacruel over Machamp.

You don't need to get snippy as I simply stated that you probably aren't allowed to post like that and then quoted the first post that stated posting in the RMT sub forum in the VGC section would be of better use to you. Which you can get to by clicking the link, http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/oras-other-teams.292/?prefix_id=213
I think raichu needs the team built specifically around it to make it shine and if you don't then you're better off with anything else as it gets outclassed by everything in the roles you could try to stick it in. And What are you possibly going to gain by taking away your only physical sweeper and putting in something that could only fill in one of two roles, entry hazard setter/rapid spinner or bulky annoyer that stays around and does damage while taking hits like a boss.

 

[kantotrainer90]

You don't need to get snippy as I simply stated that you probably aren't allowed to post like that and then quoted the first post that stated posting in the RMT sub forum in the VGC section would be of better use to you. Which you can get to by clicking the link, http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/oras-other-teams.292/?prefix_id=213
I think raichu needs the team built specifically around it to make it shine and if you don't then you're better off with anything else as it gets outclassed by everything in the roles you could try to stick it in. And What are you possibly going to gain by taking away your only physical sweeper and putting in something that could only fill in one of two roles, entry hazard setter/rapid spinner or bulky annoyer that stays around and does damage while taking hits like a boss.

ok i will go with machamp over tentacruel and alakazam over raichu. also, that sub forum you linked me to is pretty much dead.

thanks for the advice :)

 

[FlyThai]

I was team building with a Gengar and Mega Kahn and I wanted to use a quick guard support Talonflame and wanted to know what would be the optimal set for this to work

This is what I have now

Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Quick Guard
- Protect

A couple of questions, should I run roost over protect for longevity and recovery? Should I run a bulkier spread? Should I have leftovers or life orb over Sharp Beak? Is Flare Blitz necessary on this set? Could it be replaced by Will-O?

 

[Synral]

khan really appreciates tailwind with all the stuff floating around the 110 tier that it can't outspeed, as well as terrakion

 

[hotcoldyay7]

Is Mega Altaria viable in the metagame? I came up with this set, but I'm not sure if it's worth it with Mega Mence and Sylveon around.

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor

100 spe is to outspeed adamant bisharp to prevent it from iron heading, and the moveset for a mixed set. I'm pretty sure this is a bad set xD

 

[ProtoSoul]

Is Mega Altaria viable in the metagame? I came up with this set, but I'm not sure if it's worth it with Mega Mence and Sylveon around.

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor

100 spe is to outspeed adamant bisharp to prevent it from iron heading, and the moveset for a mixed set. I'm pretty sure this is a bad set xD

With that set I'd say get rid of D-Dance and replace it with either Protect or Roost. There is also no point in running Return on a Timid set so replace it with Hyper Voice. Also you want Fire Blast over Heat Wave as Heat Wave fails to pick up an OHKO on Bisharp.

 

[Xen]

How many speed EVs does Modest Ludicolo need to outspeed Scarfed Adamant Landorus-T under rain, assuming it's possible?

 

[ProtoSoul]

How many speed EVs does Modest Ludicolo need to outspeed Scarfed Adamant Landorus-T under rain, assuming it's possible?

140 if I did the math correctly.

 

[hotcoldyay7]

How many speed EVs does Modest Ludicolo need to outspeed Scarfed Adamant Landorus-T under rain, assuming it's possible?

Well, Adamant Scarfed Landy-T maxes out at 214. So for a Modest Ludicolo, I'd say 132 or 140. I'm not sure if there's a round down. If it's round down, definitely 140. If it's round up, 132.

 

[hotcoldyay7]

With that set I'd say get rid of D-Dance and replace it with either Protect or Roost. There is also no point in running Return on a Timid set so replace it with Hyper Voice. Also you want Fire Blast over Heat Wave as Heat Wave fails to pick up an OHKO on Bisharp.

Thanks! Also, Would it be possible to use a physical set that has Draco Meteor? I don't know, I just feel like using a really surprising set

 

[ProjectTitan313]

How many speed EVs does Modest Ludicolo need to outspeed Scarfed Adamant Landorus-T under rain, assuming it's possible?

I have a Speed Tiers link that helps with this in my sig, check it out. :P
Assuming Landorus runs Adamant, 252 Speed + Scarf, it has 214 Speed. To outrun with Rain you need:
((214/2)+1) = 108

For EVs on Ludicolo, I like the "Calculate EPs" function on Serebii's calc http://www.serebii.net/games/iv-calcxy.shtml

Modest Ludicolo starts at 90 Speed, so to hit 108 Speed you want 140 EVs. So yes, you're right ProtoSoul .
I could add a column for outrunning Scarf X with Y Speed with Tailwind/Swift Swim. Might be useful for Landorus/Gardevoir/Hydreigon/Tailwind teams if people want; wouldn't take me long because Python.

 

[nightwolf]

Thanks! Also, Would it be possible to use a physical set that has Draco Meteor? I don't know, I just feel like using a really surprising set

Possible? Yes, anything is possible. Practical? No. You lose waste a move slot that could be used for coverage or stab for a move that wouldn't even get a guaranteed OHKO on something that is weak to it and doesn't have defensive investments in it. And investing EVs into a stat with a negative nature takes away from bulk, speed, or damage in the stat you want to have it use.

0- SpAtk Pixilate Mega Altaria Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP/0 SpDef Aerilate Mega Salamence in Rain: 156 - 186 (91.8 - 109.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

tl;dr Don't put Draco meteor on a physical M-Altaria

 

[hotcoldyay7]

Possible? Yes, anything is possible. Practical? No. You lose waste a move slot that could be used for coverage or stab for a move that wouldn't even get a guaranteed OHKO on something that is weak to it and doesn't have defensive investments in it. And investing EVs into a stat with a negative nature takes away from bulk, speed, or damage in the stat you want to have it use.

0- SpAtk Pixilate Mega Altaria Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP/0 SpDef Aerilate Mega Salamence in Rain: 156 - 186 (91.8 - 109.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

tl;dr Don't put Draco meteor on a physical M-Altaria

kk. so right now, what would be the most viable of all of M-Altaria's set? like, the most effective of the bunch?

 

[nightwolf]

kk. so right now, what would be the most viable of all of M-Altaria's set? like, the most effective of the bunch?

Physical, Special, and Mixed all work well in their own right but of the physical and special sets, neither them have special attacks on a physical set or physical attacks on a special set. For the majority of natures one stat will be lowered by around 20 points and another stat will be raised 20 points. that's about 80 EVs you'd have to invest into to make up for the nature that could be used in other stats.

 

[Leica]

So I'll ask this here; How do you people cope with hax in this format.

It's OBSCENELY bad compared to singles, and I can't deal with it.

I hit 1800 the previous season, pretty mediocre but atleast it's something.

This season I'm 1400, closing in on 1300 because I got so exceptionally unlucky in my first two games I legit got angry and wanted to get back my points, I proceeded to play on tilt while getting haxed a little more.

Singles is nowhere near as bad because people can apologize, you get into new games quicker, it's more lighthearted and you can make alts if your lower ladder run goes bad.
I know VGC is meant to be the most hardcore, absolutely incredibly difficult format there is where only the best of the best are allowed and everyone else should go play their mainstream formats but I can't imagine I'm the only one who has issues with hax in doubles, it's so fucking bad compared to other formats it's insane.

Also someone give me a detailed explanation why crits and 90% hit chances are good game design, but please only answer this if you have some sort of experience with this.

 

[Taliheim]

So I'll ask this here; How do you people cope with hax in this format.

It's OBSCENELY bad compared to singles, and I can't deal with it.

I hit 1800 the previous season, pretty mediocre but atleast it's something.

This season I'm 1400, closing in on 1300 because I got so exceptionally unlucky in my first two games I legit got angry and wanted to get back my points, I proceeded to play on tilt while getting haxed a little more.

Singles is nowhere near as bad because people can apologize, you get into new games quicker, it's more lighthearted and you can make alts if your lower ladder run goes bad.
I know VGC is meant to be the most hardcore, absolutely incredibly difficult format there is where only the best of the best are allowed and everyone else should go play their mainstream formats but I can't imagine I'm the only one who has issues with hax in doubles, it's so fucking bad compared to other formats it's insane.

Also someone give me a detailed explanation why crits and 90% hit chances are good game design, but please only answer this if you have some sort of experience with this.

Laugh it off. Admit it: if you're watching a match and it's incredibly haxy, you laugh. Do the same in the game, too; if you get entertainment out of it, you won't get mad. VGC does have a lot of hax, so one thing you really need to get is a tough skin for it.

Crits and 90% hit chances are good game design less for the balancing factors as it is the flavor; for crits, it's like in real life; when you're, say, fencing, and you get an exceptionally good spot to hit from that would have certainly killed in a real swordfight, it's practically always lucky. As for 90% hit chances, that reflects how well the Pokemon using the move supposedly telegraphs it, also like in real life. Remember, it's technically not the move missing, but the opponent dodging it.

 

[Charlotte]

So I'll ask this here; How do you people cope with hax in this format.
It's OBSCENELY bad compared to singles, and I can't deal with it.

Kind of have to play around it to minimise its impact on the overall outcome, same as in any format. Using faster pokes or priority to get around flinching and limiting use of sub-100 accuracy moves wear possible for example. It'll always be present so don't worry about it too much, on the ladder especially. Everyone's using the same dice so in the long run, so long as you don't invite it too much, it'll all even out.

Crits and misses aren't good design choices for a competitive game in my opinion. Pokemon is a standard JRPG before it's a competitive game though, so we have to live with it.

 

[Pyritie]

So I'll ask this here; How do you people cope with hax in this format.

It's OBSCENELY bad compared to singles, and I can't deal with it.

I hit 1800 the previous season, pretty mediocre but atleast it's something.

This season I'm 1400, closing in on 1300 because I got so exceptionally unlucky in my first two games I legit got angry and wanted to get back my points, I proceeded to play on tilt while getting haxed a little more.

Singles is nowhere near as bad because people can apologize, you get into new games quicker, it's more lighthearted and you can make alts if your lower ladder run goes bad.
I know VGC is meant to be the most hardcore, absolutely incredibly difficult format there is where only the best of the best are allowed and everyone else should go play their mainstream formats but I can't imagine I'm the only one who has issues with hax in doubles, it's so fucking bad compared to other formats it's insane.

Also someone give me a detailed explanation why crits and 90% hit chances are good game design, but please only answer this if you have some sort of experience with this.

You have to learn to play around it and take the miss chances and crits into account when deciding what to do. Will going with an 85% accurate move and missing put you in worse of a position than if you went with a 100% accurate one? Do I have a backup plan if both of my pokemon get flinched by a rock slide? Am I relying on hitting a 30% scald burn as my only counter to a strong physical attacker?

Hax is never fun but if you want to be good at battles you have to be good at risk management.

 

[Postwreck]

Say I'm using a mon with volt absorb. Then say it's partner is a mon with volt switch. Now, say there's not a follow me on the field and things are starting to look bad for volt absorb. Would it be a viable strategy to volt switch on the volt absorb to heal and set up with a better mon? Or is this just a dumb idea?

Edit: Also, earthquake, stone edge, or rock slide on a mega gallade?