Lorderan is a unique take on the standard VGC metagame. It aims to eleminate common threats in uncommon ways.
Lordran v2
Lordran v1
Lordran v1
Team Building
First - Persian
Persian was always meant to be the starting point for this team. I have recently been playing through Blaze Black 2 and I have fallen in love with this Pokémon. He is fast and has access to some fantastic support moves, and a host of awesome abilitys which make him an interesting and effective lead.
Second - Charizard (Mega-Y)
I wanted a strong special sweeper to hold in reserve for end game sweeping. Mega Charizard Y seems to fill the roll well with access to a diverse set of moves that can OHKO a large portion of the current VGC Metagame.
Third - Conkeldurr *
Conkeldurr was added in to act as a partner for Persian, and a counter for Mega Kangaskhan. He is bulky, he is strong, and he has priority Mach Punch to land cleanup KOs. He also works as a slow Pokémon for opposition to Trick Room Teams and can disrupt opposing strategies with Knock Off.
Fourth - Excadrill
I started looking for a second late game sweeper and settled on a funky Scarf Excadrill. Scarf is rarely seen on Excadrill and nets him some easy KO's that would otherwise miss. Planning to partner him with Charizard means he can safely spam EQ with his main ally.
Fifth - Snorlax
I wanted a second set of leads to deal with opposing teams carrying a lot of Intimidate. Snorlax seemed like a fun option. He partners particularly well with his counterpart Sableye, but can also work with Persian If I don't think Sableye will be very usefull for the back half of the game.
Last - Sableye *
Sableye is litteraly the perfect foil for Snorlax. I chose him in tandem with Snorlax specifically for their synergy. The set as a whole is gimiky and will probably be dropped for a more serious support or even alternative sweeper, but it has proven more successfull than I anticipted.
*At risk of being dropped.
New Team Members & Changes
Sableye:
Sableye is now opperating in a purely supportive roll. I decided to drop Psychup and Shadow Sneek for Will-O-Wisp and Feint. This allows me to manage physical attackers better, as well as break protect for my focsed sweepers like Charizard and Primeape. I also opted to remove his attack stats and make him more bulky.
Conkledurr : Primeape
Conkeldurr was suffering from four move slot syndrome and was only providing Wide Guard support for Charizard. I felt like a faster Fighting type with coverage would produce better results for my team and so far I seem to be right. Primeape is fast, strong, has great coverage, and access to Defiant. With his current spread he works as a fantastic end game sweeper and hard counter to some of the biggest threats around.
Excadrill : Granbull
Deciding that Choice Scarf would be better on Primeape, Excadrill became dead weight and had to go. I took a look at what my team was missing and felt that a more direct counter for Mega Salamence, as well as an intimidate user would provide better utility and Granbulls heafty base stats mean he is simultaniously an offensive threat with solid coverage. These two changes in tandem meant I lost my wideguard support, but, meant I gained much more utility and 2 pokes who directly threaten the biggest users of Rock Slide in the meta.
The Team
Alvina of Darkroot (Persian) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Icy Wind
- Taunt
- Protect
Purpose: Persian acts as a primary lead for the team. She is fast, strong, and counters one of the biggest threats in the game, Landorus-T while simultaniously providing speed controll through Icy Wind. Persian has access to Fakeout which gives her partner some breathing room on turn one, and with her base 110 Speed allows her to out pace many of the more common Fake Out users. Taunt allows her to break opposing setup strategies and prevent defensive moves such as Rage Powder and Spore. Persian has proven her self to be a reliable lead and is not threatened out by much. I would say that she is probably one of the most reliable members and covers her roll near perfectly. Two of the biggest threats that commonly come into play are Mega Kangaskhan and Conkeldurr.
Threats:
Solaire of Astora (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
- Protect
Purpose: Charizard acts as a focused late game sweeper, on this team he is meant to sit in the wings waiting for an opportunity clean shop. In the Sun Flamethrower and Solarbeam can OHKO a large portion of the metagame including Sylveon, Amoongus, and Focus Blast (while unreliable) covers his few remaining threats, most notably, Heatran and Hydreigon. Timid nature over moddest simply to outpace other base 100 Pokémon since he is already getting such a large powerboost from his Drought. Bringing sun also allows him to soft counter other weather teams since he is usualy going to be coming out later in the match. As with most Mega Charizard Y's Rock Slide is a big issue for him and quite a prevelant move; for this I usualy bring my Primeape who is a direct counter to most of the common Rock Slide users with Ice Punch and Close Combat. Opting for Flamethrower over Heat Wave also means he lacks a spread move and is more seceptable to stall tactics like Substitute and Rage Powder.
Threats:
Oscar of Astora (Primeape) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
Purpose: Primeape is a late game sweeper or counter lead for intimidate teams. He has fantastic coverage and respectable base stats with 105Atk and 95Spd, throwing a Choice scarf and with EV investment brings him to a blistering 220. Close combat is a reliable STAB that will OHKO a large pool of common threats including Mega Kangaskhan, Heatran, and Terrakion just to name a few. Ice Punch covers two of the biggest threats in the game Landorus-I and Mega Salamence. He also has access to Defiant which makes him a hard counter for these popular intimidaters. Rock Slide rounds out his coverage for Pokmon like Thundurus, and opposing Charizards. U-turn lets him run in the lead slot and bounce out if the match up isn't favorable. The only threat I have run into after about 30 games with this guy is Talonflame who can OHKO with Brave Bird and ignores speed entirely.
Threats:
Patches (Granbull) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
Purpose: Granbull is here to set intimidate, and act as a tank, reducing the opposing team's attack, and bolstering his special defense with Assault Vest. His natural bulk is supported by a solid movepool, which offers good offensive coverage, and allows him to capitalize on AV's boost to defense while not missing Protect too badly. Play Rough is a reliable STAB that threatens prominent dragons like Mega Salamence, Garachomp, Hydreigon, etc. Close Combat allows him to deal with Mega Kangaskhan and Heatran, Rock Slide for coverage against Charizard Variants and Thundurus, and finally Ice Punch for Landorus-T. He is threatened out by Aegislash and Ferrothorn.
Threats:
Maneater Mildred (Snorlax) (F) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Self-Destruct
- Crunch
- Belly Drum
- Protect
Purpose: Snorlax is a massive bomb waiting to go off. Turn 1 Belly Drum is supported by Fake Out from either Sableye or Persian, and then turn two is spent blowing up with Custap Berry for pseudo priority. Crunch lets him KO Ghosts if Self Destruct doesn't look like it is worth wasting, or alternatively, if he looks like he can safely stay in for a sweep. In the latter situation Protect gives him more reliable staying power. Due to his more gimmicky set normal threats are not present but he is susceptible to double protect, and Wide Guard. Priority Mach Punch from Conkeldurr or Hitmontop is also a threat that can 2HKO if left unchecked.
Threats:
Lautrec of Carim (Sableye) (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Will-O-Wisp
- Feint
- Recover
Purpose: Sableye is here to reduce the effectiveness of my opponent, and open holes in their defense so that my focused attackers can break through and take out key threats. Fake Out support allows for Turn one setup with Snorlax If I opt to bring her as well as preventing opponents from setting up. Will-O-Wisp gives him damage control and increases his own relative bulk. Feint breaks protect giving my hard hitting single target moves a guarenteed in, and finally Recover is a reliable recovery move supplemented by prankster. The biggest threats to Sableye are other ghosts who are immune to his direct damage and often run special or support builds meaning they don't mind burn too much. He is also countered by Thundurus due to prankster allowing Taunt to stop his support moves.
Threats:
Team in Review
Notes
I feel like after extensive play-testing the team is much more solid as a whole, It offers both slow and fast modes if the opponent sets a trick room and most common threats are covered in some way or another. It has a bit of a weakness to Water, Electric, and Rock attacks in that nothing resists them but it also brings a lot of natural bulk and moves to handle any situation. With the combination of unique team members and suprising moves this team is a blast to play with and very effective in the current VGC climate.
When making suggestions please take note that I would like to avoid using a Landorus-T. He is a monster and offers a lot of utility, however, I personally feel he is imbalanced and does not belong in VGC. Other players can use him if they want and I would never hold it against them, but I would personally like to avoid Lando if at all possible.
Special Thanks To
ManOfDoom771
Serapis
QuietHeatran
I feel like after extensive play-testing the team is much more solid as a whole, It offers both slow and fast modes if the opponent sets a trick room and most common threats are covered in some way or another. It has a bit of a weakness to Water, Electric, and Rock attacks in that nothing resists them but it also brings a lot of natural bulk and moves to handle any situation. With the combination of unique team members and suprising moves this team is a blast to play with and very effective in the current VGC climate.
When making suggestions please take note that I would like to avoid using a Landorus-T. He is a monster and offers a lot of utility, however, I personally feel he is imbalanced and does not belong in VGC. Other players can use him if they want and I would never hold it against them, but I would personally like to avoid Lando if at all possible.
Special Thanks To
ManOfDoom771
Serapis
QuietHeatran
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