XY Doubles You Are Invited

Audiosurfer

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Hey guys :) Back with a Gen 6 RMT, this time of a team that's been around for awhile now. For those of you not aware, this is a sample team I made awhile ago that's performed well over the time that I've used it, having solid ladder performance, performing well in some PS Room tours, and netting me some wins in tournament games where I've used it. For a while I didn't think it was worth RMTing though, but recently I've been having people tell me how they enjoyed using the team (one person even showing me how they tweaked the initial template to make their own version) so I figured it was time to give this team an actual RMT instead of it forever being just a sample team.

This team was meant to have solid matchups across the board while helping give Charizard X a chance to set up and maul opposing teams. It's more old school compared to plenty of teams today that pack more offensive pressure and focus less on the defensive end, but it still manages to be a very effective team in the metagame since you can weather the offensive onslaught and pick apart an opposing team's frailer Pokemon. Feel free to read the description of the original team here. This team has been a blast to use and has worked really well (given how lazy I am about building I'll probably still use it) so take it for a spin and try it out yourself! Even make some tweaks if it'll suit your playstyle more. And give the tier a try if you haven't already, it's really fun and has some cool, friendly people. Anyways, onto the team:


Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Protect

The star of the show, and what I built the team around. Originally this was an SD Zard X but that set proved to be bad after a few games so I switched to DD, which is beautiful and underrated and great. The EV spread is simple but effective, and lets you outspeed Scarf Landorus-T (as well as Scarfers who run enough speed to beat that) after a Dragon Dance, with Adamant chosen to max out on power. Dragon Dance gives you a nice boost to Attack and Speed, Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz are high powered STABs, and Protect is just great in general to block a potentially fatal blow for a turn.

Since most people assume that you'll be running Charizard Y, they'll try and handle it like that which can provide some good setup opportunities (for example, Rotom-Ws using Thunderbolt and making themselves easy setup fodder). After a Dragon Dance, Charizard is pretty threatening. At +1 with Tough Claws (which boosts both Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz), its attacks pack a major punch and can decimate things that don't resist it. Better still is that its typing makes it resistant / neutral to just about every type of priority you'll encounter, so it's less likely to be picked off by priority.

The best thing about Charizard X is that it's pretty versatile. You can use it as a way to bust holes in the opposing team so that it's easier to pick off the opponent with your other mons (even without a boost Charizard X still hits pretty hard) or you can have your other mons wear down the opponent and then bring in Charizard X lategame to clean up. Its typing is pretty solid and it has good offensive presence too, so on this team getting a boost off isn't all that hard, and the upshot is pretty high. So yeah people use Charizard X more, it needs some love.

Aegislash @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

Aegislash was my next choice as it is a pretty solid Pokemon all around, and pairs well with Charizard X. With 150 Special Attack Aegislash is no slouch offensively, and it has excellent bulk in Shield form too, especially when you're taking advantage of its great typing. Aegislash is able to check Trick Room since it's so slow (which is where 0 Speed IVs and a Quiet nature come in), and it handles Pokemon such as Sylveon, Scizor, and Amoonguss wonderfully.

I chose Safety Goggles as the item since I noticed the team lacked a Sleep Absorber, and thanks to its Steel typing Aegislash has no trouble switching into most common sleep users. Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are the STAB options and hit for solid damage. Wide Guard was chosen in the 3rd slot to help shield Charizard X from powerful Rock Slides and Earthquakes, and it's just great to have some insurance against all sorts of spread moves. King's Shield is amazing thanks to the -2 to Attack from contact moves, and is necessary to run in order to switch between Shield and Blade form.

Since people will probably ask why it's level 99 and not 100, it was something I got from Steeljackal<3 that sacrifices negligible stats for the ability to win an Aegislash mirror match outside of Trick Room. The opposing Aegislash will attack first, which my Aegislash can survive since it will be in Shield form, allowing me to KO them once they're in Blade form. It also removes any mind games concerning Speed ties which is nice to have too.



Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 84 SpA / 124 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Electroweb
- Protect

I use this thing all the time, but it's just an excellent Pokemon, with great typing and stats alongside an ability to check many heavily used Pokemon (such as Landorus-T and Heatran for starters). The EV spread is complicated and cool and not mine (got it from KyleCole). 124 Special Defense and a Calm Nature let you survive a Modest Charizard Y's Solarbeam, 84 Special Attack lets Thunderbolt KO Talonflame, 40 Defense lets you survive a Kangaskhan's Double Edge with Sitrus, and 8 Speed just makes sure you outrun other Rotom-Ws.

Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt are the obligatory STAB moves and have great coverage, so I won't talk much about those. I initially used Will-O-Wisp in the third slot, but then after discussing it with Kyle switched over to Electroweb, which has worked pretty well. This team isn't one that's heavy on Speed, so Electroweb lets me have an answer to fast attackers that might try and overwhelm my team, which has been pretty useful in playing against them.


Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge

People are always bashing Scrafty for not being all that strong, which while kinda true, isn't too much of a knock against it to me. Scrafty's more of a utility Pokemon with some offensive presence, not something that you use for offensive pressure. Its Dark / Fighting typing lets it handle Cresselia with ease, something no other Fighting-type can really boast of, it provides good support in Fake Out and Intimidate, and with Assault Vest it's incredibly bulky and serves as a fantastic pivot. The EV spread is pretty simple, meant to max out its bulk and offenses, and 12 EVs put in Defense to guarantee that you live through a CB Brave Bird from Talonflame after Intimidate.

Fake Out is just a generally excellent move in Doubles, disrupting opposing moves and giving me potential setup opportunities. Knock Off is just a good default attack, as it has a high Base Power and is guaranteed to strip whatever it hits of their item, making them think twice about switching in. Drain Punch is nice too as a secondary STAB, its recovery helping keep Scrafty healthy throughout a match. I initially had Ice Punch, but I figure that Charizard Y is a bigger threat to this team than Landorus-T is so I switched over to Stone Edge.


Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 96 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Protect

Amoonguss is used a lot, and for good reason. Its typing is solid and its support abilities even more so, making it a fantastic choice for this team and providing additional type synergy. The EV spread is pretty cool and one that I also got from Kyle. With the given spread, Amoonguss lives through a Heat Wave from Charizard Y as well as a Brave Bird from Talonflame (at -1) which is very cool. From there I went with the lowest Speed possible to mess up any opposing Trick Room teams.

Spore is a great way to take advantage of opposing Trick Room by just spamming Sleep. It's also just nice to temporarily take out a problematic Pokemon. Rage Powder is a great way to give more chances for Charizard X to set up, as well as mess with opponents using moves that Amoonguss isn't bothered by. Giga Drain is just there so that Amoonguss isn't Taunt bait, although it does make Amoonguss considerably more threatening to Pokemon such as Rotom-W which is nice.


Landorus-Therian @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Protect

Landorus-T is like one of the best Pokemon in the metagame right now, but I think its Scarf set is overrated. I've never felt particularly threatened by it and it usually doesn't accomplish much outside of U-Turning a bit and spreading Intimidate drops. I've actually won quite a few matches by just forcing it into Earthquake lategame and bringing in an immunity. I prefer non-Choice Landorus-T, which is what I used on this team. Originally it was Substitute Landorus-T but given the increased usage of fast Pokemon such as Keldeo that Landorus-T has difficulty setting up on, I figured Substitute wasn't as useful anymore, so I switched it to a 3 Attacks variant.

Earthquake is as always a phenomenal STAB move, especially coming off of Landorus-T's Attack stat. I use Stone Edge over Rock Slide so that I'm not worked by Wide Guard and because it does much more damage so I'm willing to live with the accuracy. I thought of and tried many options in the 3rd slot, but in the end U-Turn was the most sensible. Given the team's good bulky offense core, being able to switch with greater flexibility was nice, and U-Turn also lets me bluff a Scarf set when the opportunity presents itself, which can make for some great opportunities when I'm revealed to be non-Choice. The spread is pretty simple and just lets Landorus-T outspeed up to Adamant Excadrill, with the rest put into HP to give a little bit more bulk.


So yeah, that's all. Any feedback is appreciated. Feel free to take the team for a spin if you wanna try it out, and I'm always interested in seeing what changes people make when they use it themselves. Special thanks to KyleCole for helping me out with some spreads and being there to bounce ideas off of as I edited the team. Bye :)

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Protect

Aegislash @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 99
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 84 SpA / 124 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Electroweb
- Protect

Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge

Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 96 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Protect
 
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Electrolyte

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I absolutely love the Zard X / Rotom-W / Scrafty core; it's very solid and can both apply offensive pressure as well as handle a wide variety of top tier Doubles threats.

This is a well built team, so I'm only going to be making some efficiency based suggestions. For one, extra coverage against the masses of priority users in Doubles would definitely help Zard X when he attempts to sweep. Dual Intimidate + Electroweb use on the team definitely makes you a bit weaker against Bisharp, who can 2HKO every Pokemon on your team (and OHKO more than half of them) at just +1. Thus, I suggest that you try Thunder Wave instead of Electroweb on Rotom-W. You get the speed control, which is of course useful, without having to worry about Defiant messing up your day. The loss of damage is minimal since you're not running much offensive investment anyway, plus you cripple things more reliably and open up setup opportunities for Zard X. It might clash with Amoonguss but I know you'll be able to play around it.

Also, I'd suggest Rock Slide over Stone Edge on Landorus-T. You've already got Stone Edge on Scrafty, so if you absolutely need to hit Zard Y and other stuff like that, you can very well use Scrafty in the face of Wide Guard. If you're not up against WG, you have a higher chance of OHKOing (because of accuracy), which definitely helps, though your own Zard X can beat Zard Y 1 on 1 pretty reliably so it won't make much of a difference. [You can also try RSlide > Stone Edge on Scrafty, but then you decrease the chance of OHKOing Zard Y because of power drop so it's not worth it]


Awesome team; it really showcases Zard X's power :]
 

Audiosurfer

I'd rather be sleeping
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I absolutely love the Zard X / Rotom-W / Scrafty core; it's very solid and can both apply offensive pressure as well as handle a wide variety of top tier Doubles threats.

This is a well built team, so I'm only going to be making some efficiency based suggestions. For one, extra coverage against the masses of priority users in Doubles would definitely help Zard X when he attempts to sweep. Dual Intimidate + Electroweb use on the team definitely makes you a bit weaker against Bisharp, who can 2HKO every Pokemon on your team (and OHKO more than half of them) at just +1. Thus, I suggest that you try Thunder Wave instead of Electroweb on Rotom-W. You get the speed control, which is of course useful, without having to worry about Defiant messing up your day. The loss of damage is minimal since you're not running much offensive investment anyway, plus you cripple things more reliably and open up setup opportunities for Zard X. It might clash with Amoonguss but I know you'll be able to play around it.

Also, I'd suggest Rock Slide over Stone Edge on Landorus-T. You've already got Stone Edge on Scrafty, so if you absolutely need to hit Zard Y and other stuff like that, you can very well use Scrafty in the face of Wide Guard. If you're not up against WG, you have a higher chance of OHKOing (because of accuracy), which definitely helps, though your own Zard X can beat Zard Y 1 on 1 pretty reliably so it won't make much of a difference. [You can also try RSlide > Stone Edge on Scrafty, but then you decrease the chance of OHKOing Zard Y because of power drop so it's not worth it]


Awesome team; it really showcases Zard X's power :]
thanks for the rate dude :) i'll address each point on its own
  • Rock Slide > Stone Edge is more personal preference for me really, but I don't really use Stone Edge just to hit Charizard-Y (especially since Y outspeeds anyways) but it works as a general coverage move and a way to weaken Ground immunities that might come in. For that reason, the decreased power of Rock Slide is more unattractive to me. If someone else liked the accuracy more than the power though then they could always try making the change though.
edit: actually after thinkin about it i'll try twave, the weakness to bisharp is kinda huge and i can just selectively paralyze. once something it paralyzed it's probably sufficiently crippled so I won't need Spore. So yeah thanks for that, I think I'll try that one out :)
 
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