First Shot at a Doubles Team

[Dat Mango]

Hey Smogon, this is my first post, and I would like a bit of help with a team I'm trying to create for VGC. Please understand that this is my first time building a team, and any help would be appreciated.

Garchomp @Yache Berry, Sand Veil
Evs: 252 Atl / 252 Spd / 4 Hp, Jolly

-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Protect

Garchomp is usually the first pokemon I send out paired with Rotom-W, who I chose because of his access to great spread moves with STAB on Earthquake, which gives me the opportunity to get massive damage on pokemon such as Metagross and Terrakion, and Dragon Claw for STAB. Rock Slide is another spread move useful for bshax and for taking down ice pokemon that threaten him. Yache Berry used because it has saved me countless times from unexpected HP Ice and ice moves in general.

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs, Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Spd, Modest

-Hydro Pump
-Discharge
-Thunderbolt
-Trick

Rotom-W is the poke I usually partner with Garchomp to open most battles. I choose him because of his ability to T-wave faster threats for Garchomp, and the ability to spam Discharge/Earthquake. I don't know whether to run Discharge or Thunderbolt, as whenever Garchomp is down, I can't use Discharge as often as I'd like because it hits everyone. I like Rotom better then Thundurus because of his bulk, which I find far more useful then priority T-Wave and the increased speed that Thundurus offers. Sirtus berry for recovery, as Rotom usually takes grass moves very well, and doesn't need any more power on his moves.

Abomasnow@ Choice Scarf, Snow Warning
EVs: 252 Satk / 252 Spd / 4 HP, Timid

-Blizzard
-Giga Drain
-Ice Shard
-Sheer Cold

Abomasnow is the poke I send out when I need to clean up- 100% accuracy Blizzard is a beautiful move to pick pokemon off with, or outright KO them if they are weak to it. Abomasnow also counters weather teams, disrupting their strategy with hail. Aside from Giga Drain and Blizzard, the other moves aren't used at all- Ice Shard if there is a low HP pokemon thats faster than me, Sheer Cold as a last-ditch effort to snag a win- its 30% KO chance is higher then Blizzard's Freeze chance, and there really is nothing better to run on these last two move slots- most of the time I just blizz-spam.

Alright here is where this team gets shaky in teambuilding. I really would appreciate help with the last 3 members of my team, and any advice would be great.

Creselia @ Sitrus Berry, Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SDef, Bold

-Thunder Wave
-Psychic
-Light Screen
-Helping Hand

Cresselia is a poke I sometimes will send out if Chomp/Rotom can't be used first in a matchup. This set aims to assist its teammate by paralyzing, buffering against spread moves with light screen, and using helping hand to do more damage. Psychic is its STAB, doing decent damage and even more to Fighting types. Lefties have to be used because of item clause, and I couldn't think of any other item to use with it. I usually pair Cress up with Hitmontop, as the two really work together well in my experiences.

Hitmontop@ Fighting Gem, Intimidate
EVs: 242 Atk / 252 HP / 4Spd, Adamant

-Fake Out
-Close Combat
-Sucker Punch
-Detect

Hitmontop is the poke I pair up with Cress if Chomp/Rotom won't work out. He benefits greatly from helping hand and thunder wave support Cress brings to the table, and assists her with intimidate support and Fake out to get first turn Thunder Waves in with minimal damage. A good all-round poke, I will also usually run him even if he isn't paired with cress, to back up Chomp/Rotom, and the intimidate is really helpful no matter who he will be paired with.

Heatran @ Fire Gem / Leftovers
Flash Fire
52 HP / 252 SpAtk / 204 Speed
Modest
- Earth Power
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Substitute

This is a new pokemon I'm using over Escaliver. A really good partner for Hitmontop, and really assists the team who likes the insanely powerful Heat Wave he brings to the table.


Well this is the team, again any help would be appreciated, and thanks!

 

[voodoo pimp]

Looks like a pretty standard team for the most part. That's both good and bad - on the one hand, the standards are standard for a reason (because they work), on the other hand, most experienced players will probably know exactly what your Pokémon are going to do, so be aware of that.

With a complex EV spread like Cresselia's, you should probably explain why exactly you chose it. Other than possibly that, the only thing I would change without drastically altering the team is Escavalier (if you decide to keep it, note that it doesn't actually learn Wide Guard, so you'll have to replace that move). Aside from the fact that having two of the same 4x weakness on your team is a really bad idea, I've found that it's much better in TR than against it (most common TR setters except Cresselia are Ghosts because of the Fake Out immunity, and it can't touch them), and the majority of your team can handle being in TR anyway. Since you say you hardly use it, I'd suggest doing a bit more testing, then see what sort of teams you struggle most against and look for something that can help you with that.

 

[The Knights of Wario Land]

I'd really suggest you go with HP Fire on Abomasnow over Sheer Cold or Ice Shard, as Steel-types will give it many problems. I'd more recommend getting rid of Ice Shard, as the priority with Choice Scarf seems redundant with such a weak move.

Scizor @ Flying Gem with Bug Bite / Bullet Punch / Acrobatics / Protect I'd put over Escavalier. It evens out all of the coverage that you need for the rest of your team, and gives you good priority. You can maybe also consider Wide Guard over Detect on Hitmontop to make up for Escavalier's absence.

 

[TheMantyke]

Howdy. You've got a pretty solid team on your hands; I think I can make a few recommendations for you to further improve it.

You've mentioned that you rarely use Escavalier and I can see why since it lacks a lot of effectiveness out of Trick Room. I think your best choice for a replacement team mate would be another Steel-type as with Escavalier leaving, you won't have a single Pokemon to tank Latios's Draco Meteors. The go to Steel-types are Metagross, Heatran, and Scizor, and out of those three, I think Heatran would do you the most good.

Heatran @ Fire Gem / Leftovers
Flash Fire
52 HP / 252 SpAtk / 204 Speed
Modest
- Earth Power
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Substitute

Heatran's unique defensive typing makes him pretty hard to hit outside of super effective attacks providing you the perfect opportunity to create a substitute. Heatran pairs very well with Hitmontop as Fake Out allows him to narrow the situation down to a 1v1 for a single turn for Heatran and get up a substitute easier. As far as how Heatran performs with the rest of your team, he doesn't enjoy being out alongside Garchomp, but he works very well with aforementioned Hitmontop, Rotom-W, Abomasnow, and Cress. His Fire-type coverage is very valuable to the first three while his defensive typing alongside Cresselia will prove hard to break through.

If Heatran doesn't really seem to click for your team, I would suggest trying out Scizor like TKOWL mentioned or Metagross as both could fit your team really well.

Finally, using a wide variety of standard move sets really isn't too big of a concern, but it gets harder for you to surprise your opponent and open up the doors for an easier victory the more you pack on. If you want to try something a bit more out of the ordinary, try on for size this Rotom-W set

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs
Modest
Levitate
252 HP / 252 SpAtk / 6 Speed
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Discharge / Thunder
-Trick

It's becoming more and more common now, but Choice Rotom can still throw people off, especially when you end up tricking your specs! Just something to try out when you get the chance.

Hope my advice helped!

 

[Dat Mango]

I'd really suggest you go with HP Fire on Abomasnow over Sheer Cold or Ice Shard, as Steel-types will give it many problems. I'd more recommend getting rid of Ice Shard, as the priority with Choice Scarf seems redundant with such a weak move.

Scizor @ Flying Gem with Bug Bite / Bullet Punch / Acrobatics / Protect I'd put over Escavalier. It evens out all of the coverage that you need for the rest of your team, and gives you good priority. You can maybe also consider Wide Guard over Detect on Hitmontop to make up for Escavalier's absence.

I tried out Scizor, but it didn;t work out. It did carry more weight than Escaliver, but not enough quite yet. However Wide Gaurd on Hitmontop is really useful, can't believe I didn't test it out.

@TheMantyke, The heatran is really good, just what I needed. I just don't know what the 52 hp evs are for, is it for any reason other than a little more bulk? Also the Rotom set is really awesome, no one sees it coming, thanks a lot!

 

[TheMantyke]

@TheMantyke, The heatran is really good, just what I needed. I just don't know what the 52 hp evs are for, is it for any reason other than a little more bulk? Also the Rotom set is really awesome, no one sees it coming, thanks a lot!

Oh, shoot, forgot to explain the EVs. It's not so much a matter of what's behind the HP EVs as what's behind the Speed EVs. 204 Speed will always allow you to outspeed max speed base 70 Pokemon like Hitmontop with the rest dumped in HP to add a little bit of extra bulk. If you wish, you can dump the bulk and maximize speed, but there's not much you're outrunning in that ballpark other than heatran running similar spreads making the change iffy.

 

[Dat Mango]

Oh, shoot, forgot to explain the EVs. It's not so much a matter of what's behind the HP EVs as what's behind the Speed EVs. 204 Speed will always allow you to outspeed max speed base 70 Pokemon like Hitmontop with the rest dumped in HP to add a little bit of extra bulk. If you wish, you can dump the bulk and maximize speed, but there's not much you're outrunning in that ballpark other than heatran running similar spreads making the change iffy.

Alright sounds good, again thanks for the rate!

 

[tlyee61]

Hi, since your Cress' EV spread looks a little odd currently, I would recommend changing it to 252 HP / 60 Def / 20 SAtk / 176 SDef (allows it to 2HKO Terrakion / Virizion with Psyshock, survive Dark Gem Crunch from Max Attack Adamant TTar and a turn of sand, and a Hitmontop's Fake Out + Volcarona's +1 Bug Buzz)

 

[Dat Mango]

Hi, since your Cress' EV spread looks a little odd currently, I would recommend changing it to 252 HP / 60 Def / 20 SAtk / 176 SDef (allows it to 2HKO Terrakion / Virizion with Psyshock, survive Dark Gem Crunch from Max Attack Adamant TTar and a turn of sand, and a Hitmontop's Fake Out + Volcarona's +1 Bug Buzz)

That does seem like a good spread, I'll test it out. I used the 252/60/196 because it gave balanced defenses, but I think I can sacrifice some SDef for the SAtk. Thanks!