Archetypes in the VGC'15 metagame: Part 2

Hey guys! I'm pretty sure some of you have been waiting for this part to finally be released, especially those people that wanted Mega Charizard Y to finally get featured!

Section 2: Field Effects

The main objective of this article is to provide a guideline with each Pokémon that fits a certain archetype, what that archetype is weak to and strong against, and what that archetype's playstyle is like. These are possibly the most straightforward archetypes in the VGC metagame; these teams utilize weather conditions or Trick Room as main speed control methods, to power up moves, or to patch up weaknesses.

1) Rain

Common Pokémon:

Honorable Mentions:

Common Answers:

I'll try to avoid even mentioning weather wars because they really rely on how the player leads and plays. But, speaking of weather, Sunny Day allows the user to turn the weather into sun with the objective of nullifying the rain so that the rain team cannot perform at its fullest. Players that have used Pokémon with Sunny Day with some success are Jeremy Rodrigues (Serapis) and the 2015 World Champion, Shoma Honami.

Description:

Rain basically consists of two important things. One of them is the rain core that is made up of a Swift Swim Pokémon (usually Ludicolo, though occasionally Kingdra) and Politoed (the only legal Pokémon with Drizzle); the second part consists of Pokémon that work outside of rain and can deal with threats that the rain core doesn't appreciate. Some players have considered not running a Swift Swim user in rain due to the lack of good ones (Kingdra is really frail, while Ludicolo can't use Protect most of the time due to its Assault Vest), and some other players have looked for other ways to get rain up, like using a Pokémon with both Prankster and Rain Dance, such as Thundurus.

Example:

Politoed + Ludicolo is the rain core; Politoed provides Drizzle support and Ludicolo has Swift Swim, making it faster under rain and a really dangerous threat with amazing coverage between Ice Beam, Giga Drain, and Scald. Thundurus handles Talonflame, which threatens Ludicolo, while Mega Metagross scares away Mega Venusaur, which the rain core can't break. Hydreigon deals with Steel-types that would seek to use the rain to their favor, while Landorus-T threatens the other two notable weather conditions, sun and sand.

Common Mindset:

Rain players tends to be really offensive players, matching up with rain's fast-paced nature. If you want to play rain, try to exert as much offensive pressure as possible on the opposing team so that if the opponent makes a mistake, or if you predict a switch, you can gain a clear lead on your opponent.

However, you have to be careful! Rain team matches usually only last around six turns because either the opponent's team can't withstand the Drizzle, or you get soaked!

Pros:

Good coverage with the combination of Ice- and Water-type attacks, which is resisted by few Pokémon in the VGC metagame, most of which are Water-types.
One of the most consistent playstyles, as rain teams have made it into the top cut of most VGC events since the BW era
Really fast and offensive playstyle, which allows your team to exert a lot of offensive pressure with a limited number of checks and almost no counters.
Water-type Pokémon have a natural advantage against sun and sand setters. If you assert dominance over the opposing team's weather, you can win the game with little effort.

Weakness:

Weather wars are really something all weather teams struggle with. Having weather against you when you're playing with a rain team is not something you can afford, as the rain archetype relies on the boosted Water-type attacks and the buffed Speed given by Swift Swim to punch holes through teams.
Trick Room will mess with some of the standard rain Pokémon badly. Because rain Pokémon are usually pretty fast, Trick Room's Speed-reversing effects can be big trouble. Trick Room's playstyle is also really offensive, so watch out for those Trick Room teams!
Opposing speed control, namely Thunder Wave and Tailwind. Thunder Wave and Tailwind are good against rain because they take away the Speed advantage of your Swift Swim sweepers. In Thunder Wave's case, you actually find your Swift Swim sweeper at a Speed disadvantage, as even in the rain, it is at -2 Speed.

Reports:

2) Sun

Common Pokémon:

Honorable Mentions:

Common Answers:

To be honest, the main objective of sun checks is to get rid of Mega Charizard Y when they have the chance, as the team will usually fall apart once Charizard is gone. However, Mega Charizard Y is a really strong Pokémon with little to no switch-ins, so the few Pokémon that can switch into it are your best bets for a sun check.

Description

Sun, unlike rain, doesn't need a weather sweeper. However, it can be nice given that Chlorophyll sweepers are almost always Grass-types, which help against both rain and sand, two of sun's natural weaknesses. Sun can also handle Trick Room teams better than rain can given that, as I said, it doesn't require a Chlorophyll user.

Sun players will basically try to spam strong Fire-type attacks and try to get rid of the opponent's switch-ins for these. It's not strange to see two Fire-types on the same sun team. They will use sun's damage multipliers for more offensive AND defensive purposes, unlike Water-types, which use rain more as a speed control method.

Sun consists of one sun setter (running two compounds your team's Rock weakness) and a rain check. From there, people build around those two with other Pokémon to handle as many uncovered threats as they can. Keep in mind that Mega Charizard Y, the most common sun setter, must have a lot of support, but the Pokémon that support it also should be supported by Mega Charizard Y itself.

Example:

This was a team used by three different players (Jeudy Azzarelli, Angel Miranda, and Jun Tumaneng) during the US Nationals held this year. Mega Charizard Y was added first because, well, these players wanted to use Charizard. Tyranitar was added next due to its ability to nullify rain if it was up and because the Choice Scarf set was able to beat common Pokémon that could beat Mega Charizard Y such as Terrakion, Thundurus, Salamence, and Rotom-H. If you aren't familiar with this team's Landorus-T, the set that it was run on it was a mixed Life Orb set capable of hindering physical attackers with Intimidate, as well as beating opposing Landorus-T because of its immunity to Ground-type attacks. Sylveon was added because it was fairly bulky and could dish out strong damage with its Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice. Aegislash was added as a Mega Kangaskhan check, as Aegislash's Substitute set allowed it to become a great wincon in the end-game. Finally, Jellicent was added due to its ability to check Landorus-T while also improving the horrid matchup the team had against Volcarona and Mega Kangaskhan.

Common Mindset:

Sun players usually lead with their sun setter in order to establish weather control as soon as possible. Good sun players will try to keep Mega Charizard Y alive until it has taken care of the threats for the team. This explains the crazy number of utilities such as Tailwind, Intimidate, and Wide Guard that sun teams often carry so that they can deal with common Pokémon that threaten sun but can't take hits well such as Mega Kangaskhan and Landorus-T. Sun teams mainly deal damage with spread moves, so sun players will often assume that opposing Pokémon like Aegislash and Swampert carry Wide Guard. At that point, they will often reveal Mega Charizard Y's third move, which is usually Overheat, Flamethrower, Hidden Power Ground, or Fire Pledge. When playing with sun, you should be careful with revealing Mega Charizard Y's third move unless it is completely necessary or you can get a large reward from doing so, as the third move can be the deciding factor to sway games in your favor.

Pros:

Charizard won't set sun before Mega Evolving, which can allow it to pressure rain leads.
Sun teams are really balanced, and they can carry their own weight for a really long time.
Sun attackers hit extremely hard, forcing the foe to use Protect or switch out to avoid OHKOs. If the switches are predicted correctly, the results can be devastating.
A sun team's coverage is also really easy to complete: there are few things that can withstand Mega Charizard Y's Fire + Grass coverage.
Naturally good matchup against Trick Room and some rain teams.
It's one of the most diverse archetypes. I mean, read above.

Cons:

Sun teams require a plethora of support options.
Mega Charizard Y is a really important piece of the team, and occasionally you'll be forced to play way too defensively in order to preserve it.
Sun teams are naturally weak to sand (and Rock Slide users in general).

Reports:

3) Sand

Common Pokémon:

Honorable Mentions

Common Answers:

Fighting-types in general pose big threats to sand archetypes. So, if you run sand, have at least one Pokémon that can switch into them: having two Pokémon weak to Fighting isn't good.

Description:

Sand is one of the strongest archetypes in the VGC metagame for a reason. Sand Rush Excadrill poses a big threat given that it has insane Attack and is one of the fastest Pokémon in the VGC metagame under sand. Sand teams have shown a lot of success in events recently, both in Japan and in the USA.

Almost every single sand team has the exact same core of Tyranitar + Excadrill (sometimes this slot varies) and four Pokémon that support this core both offensively and defensively.

Example:

This team might look familiar for a lot of you, given that is Aaron "Cybertron" Zheng's sand team that he ran at the US Nationals. Tyranitar is the sand setter and provides a lot of natural coverage options with its Dark- and Rock-type STAB moves, as well as its two extra moveslots for team-specific coverage. Landorus is not familiar to a lot of people, but its access to Sand Force makes it a perfect pick for sand. Moreover, its base 101 Speed is great for outspeeding the common base 100 Speed Pokémon. Salamence beats Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and any other Grass-type that stands in the way of the sand core, as well as Fighting-types, which can really threaten sand teams. Amoonguss can redirect attacks away from Salamence and Tyranitar, and given its amazing bulk and access to Regenerator, it will stay on the field for a while. Its ability to stop Trick Room with Spore is also important. Rotom-W gives sand teams a way to beat opposing sand teams and bulky Water-types, while Aegislash both gives the team another chance to stand against Trick Room if Amoonguss goes down and provides Wide Guard support, which is useful for Tyranitar, Salamence, Amoonguss, and itself.

Common Mindset:

Sand is usually set up on turn one to give your team the intial advantage and start doing a lot of damage right off the bat. Sand is all about offense, but it has more defensive options than rain and some sun teams. A Salamence + Excadrill end-game can deal with pretty much anything, so try to keep them as healthy as possible so that you can seal the deal!

Pros:

Sand has a lot of offensive options and thus can deal with a lot of the metagame.
It's pretty fast, and with the right support, it can handle Trick Room fairly well.
The Pokémon on a sand team have amazing defensive synergy.
It's very versatile.
Has a lot of power, and hits really hard.
Has a good matchup against sun and a decent one against rain if it can win the weather war.

Weaknesses:

The sand core itself is entirely weak to Fighting-types.
Trick Room, if not handled properly, is dangerous for sand.
Five of the six Pokémon on this sand team lose to Politoed + Ludicolo in rain.

Reports:

4) Trick Room

Common Pokémon

Honorable Mentions

Common Answers:

Ok, let's look at each individual case. First of all, we have the slow Pokémon of the team. Players usually prepare for Trick Room by adding a really slow Pokémon that can take advantage of it, such as Amoonguss or Aegislash. The other way players prepare for it is with Prankster Taunt, which is usually seen on Thundurus. However, players tend to pair the Trick Room setter with a Fake Out user so that it can set up Trick Room safely, which leads us to our third way of dealing with Trick Room. Exerting immediate pressure on the setter, which is usually a Psychic-type (usually Cresselia), stops it from having the freedom to get Trick Room up, explaining why Aegislash, Hydreigon, and Scrafty are good ways of beating Trick Room. Moreover, most of the Pokémon on Trick Room teams cannot withstand Mega Charizard Y's sheer power, which makes the task of setting up Trick Room really difficult. There are a few Pokémon dedicated to surviving Mega Charizard Y's attacks for Trick Room, but the number of Pokémon that can do this is very limited. For the last way to deal with it, priority still applies the same way as before, so Pokémon with priority moves such as Talonflame and Thundurus can still move first under Trick Room regardless of their high Speed.

Description

A Trick Room team naturally has a Trick Room setter and at least two Trick Room attackers that the rest of the team is built around. Trick Room teams usually carry a moderately fast Pokémon like Hydreigon or Landorus-T that can function outside of Trick Room.

Example:

Collin Heier, also known as TheBattleRoom in Nugget Bridge, is a really good player that knows how to play with Trick Room to a greater extent, as he has built Trick Room teams multiple times and attained third place at the 2014 World Championships with one. This team is the one that he used to get 35th at this year's World Championships.

Mega Salamence is a rather weird pick here, as it is a really speedy Pokémon. Collin probably chose it because it excels outside of Trick Room while beating Amoonguss and checking Mega Charizard Y, one of Trick Room's biggest threats. Cresselia's status as the most common Trick Room setter is once again proved in Collin's team, as it has the bulk to almost guarantee setting up Trick Room in any scenario. Rotom-H provides another check to Mega Charizard Y, adds an Ice resistance to the team, and deals with Thundurus and, most importantly, Milotic, one of the big threats to this team's core. Gastrodon has good defensive synergy with Rotom-H, with Rotom-H beating Milotic without taking a lot of damage from Scald while also dealing with Landorus-T and Thundurus. Escavalier is a unique Trick Room sweeper that can ignore Amoonguss's redirection and fast Spore under Trick Room and beat Fairy-types, which are an issue for this team, especially Mega Gardevoir. Lastly, Tyranitar is a weather inducer that allows the team to overcome difficult weather matchups such as rain and sun. It also gives the team another way to deal with Aegislash, a Pokémon that's really problematic for Trick Room teams.

Common Mindset:

A Trick Room-oriented lead is preferred (in other words, a Fake Out user or a redirection user alongside the Trick Room setter), but in certain situations, you will want to mix up your leads, perhaps by sending in Rotom-H instead of Scrafty against an obvious Thundurus + Sylveon lead. During those four turns, you must keep your opponent's team in mind: if the team matches up poorly against yours, the foes will try to burn those turns by excessively switching or using Protect, and you'll get a lot of free damage in the process and even some KOs if you predict right. And if the opponent does have an answer for Trick Room, they will use it against your team, so be sure to take advantage of Team Preview to pinpoint any such threats. In this case, don't set up Trick Room until you're 100% sure your team can handle that Pokémon. A certain mental strength is needed to run Trick Room. Remember, your team only has four turns to utilize Trick Room, so use those turns to control the game!

Pros:

Heavily offensive archetype thanks to the good coverage moves most Trick Room sweepers provide.
Most Pokémon on Trick Room teams have decent bulk and typings.
All of the Mega Evolutions that work under Trick Room are ridiculously strong.
Can deal with fast archetypes.
The high average Speed of the Pokémon in VGC means that a lot of the common Pokémon in the metagame will be negatively affected by Trick Room.
Cresselia, the most common Trick Room setter, is the bulkiest Pokémon in the metagame, so it'll almost always be able to set up Trick Room.

Weaknesses:

Can barely deal with sun teams.
Trick Room setters require a lot of support to set up Trick Room successfully, as do the Trick Room sweepers to get quick KOs in the few turns that Trick Room is active.
A lot of Trick Room Pokémon have awkward bulk, making them get knocked out by common attacks even when their stats seem good.
Taunt shuts down most non-Mental Herb Trick Room setters.
Good players will always have an answer for it.
Trick Room has negative priority, making it harder to set up than other speed control options.
Trick Room leads, which usually comprise a Fake Out user and the Trick Room setter, don't provide any momentum.
It lasts only four turns that can be wasted pretty easily.

Reports:

Players that have succeeded with weather are mainly Americans. If you check out the US Nationals, you'll find that around four weather teams were present in this year's National Championships, so sun, sand, and rain are really strong archetypes you could build around. Trick Room, even though it hasn't shown much success given that many Mega Evolutions that work well under Trick Room lose to many common Pokémon otherwise, is still a solid archetype to build around, due to the high average Speed of the Pokémon in the VGC metagame.

However, keep in mind these articles don't determine what archetype a Pokémon is forced to be in. Not all Mega Charizard Y teams HAVE to be sun, and not all sun teams need to have Mega Charizard Y.

I hope this helps with your VGC experience. Let's look forward to more VGC content on Smogon!

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