VGC VGC Reg I - First team , any and all advice helps !

Setsotes

Setsotes

Hey there !

I've been watching Wolfey's content for years now but I've never gotten into competitive pokemon until now so I have absolutely no idea how I go about improving my team or what to look out for in terms of analyzing my replays on showdown . The team I have here kind of stemmed off from the Life Orb Koraidon that Wolfe brought to EUIC , I liked the concept of being able to blow up most other restricted mons with close combat and I wanted to build an offensive team around it . Based off of the PASRS data I have , I definitely struggle vs Miraidon teams and TR teams . The problem is I don't know how to go about solving these problems - I'm not sure what I should change + there is 100% a pilot problem since I am still learning common movesets and calcs . Any help and tips would be greatly appreciated , especially pointing out the weaknesses of this team ( which I am sure there are a lot of haha )

:koraidon: Koraidon @ Life Orb
Ability: Orichalcum Pulse
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
  • Protect
  • Flare Blitz
  • Close Combat
  • Flame Charge
Koraidon is usually what I end up leading with when I try to 1 shot other restricted mons with CCs . The main issue I find with Koraidon is against the more bulky teams I've come across like Ho-Oh / Lunala where I struggle to quickly take KOs , Koraidon feels stuck on the field since I feel like I shouldn't switch out with how squishy my team is in general

:Calyrex-Shadow: Calyrex-Shadow @ Spell Tag
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
  • Astral Barrage
  • Protect
  • Expanding Force
  • Shadow Ball
CSR has become my favourite partner for Koraidon out of all the other restricted mons I've tried . Being new to VGC though , I am not sure what it objectively means to be a good partner for Koraidon , to me it just feels good . I use terra normal since I was struggling with other CSRs and the matchup hasn't felt that bad since the switch . The moveset may be the weirdest thing about my CSR

:Chi-Yu: Chi-Yu @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 52 HP / 4 Def / 196 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest
IVs: 0 Atk
  • Heat Wave
  • Flamethrower
  • Dark Pulse
  • Snarl
Chi-Yu just fit the theme of the hyper offense I was looking for . Paired with CSR and using Beads of Ruin , the pair end up taking some KOs that might not have been possible without the ability being active. I mentioned I struggled with TR teams and Chi-Yu was one of my solutions I thought could work since it can take care of the TR setters like Farigiraf and Lunala unless they are terra'd . I've been using the terra ghost as a way to avoid a potential fake out when the TR setter is paired with a Fake Out mon

:Indeedee-F: Indeedee-F @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Psychic Surge
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Nature: Relaxed
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
  • Imprison
  • Trick Room
  • Follow Me
  • Dazzling Gleam
Indeedee-F was my second choice to help against TR teams . I saw in a video that you shouldn't have a certain task dedicated to one mon so along with Chi-Yu , I brought Indeedee . Depending on how the turns go , sometimes I can imprison before TR goes off or I will have Indeedee in while TR is active and then I will manually reverse it with my own TR . Outside of being my main TR solution , the redirection is nice as well - running Indeedee is also why I run Expanding Force on my CSR .

:Flutter Mane: Flutter Mane @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
  • Icy Wind
  • Shadow Ball
  • Moonblast
  • Protect
Flutter Mane is one of my speed control mons but it is also the mon I've ended up bringing the least according to PASRS . I don't know most , if not any of the important calcs that comes with this Flutter Mane so I don't exactly know the strengths of having her on my team but that is also a problem I have in general as a player , I have trouble identifying the strengths / weaknesses / solutions to the questions I have .

:Whimsicott: Whimsicott @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 116 Def / 252 SpD / 140 Spe
Nature: Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
  • Tailwind
  • Encore
  • Taunt
  • Sunny Day
Whimsicott is the main speed control mon that I bring when I need it . The moveset of this mon is probably the most questionable thing about it . I was having troubles with Kyogre teams , specifically when I would lead Koraidon and the rain would be set over the sun so I figured I could bring Whimsicott with Sunny Day to set the sun 1st turn and CC with Koraidon since it KOs most of the Kyogre I come across unless they are specifically bulky . The probem I find with Whimsicott is the fact it doesn't have an attacking move . Sometimes I would end up bringing Koraidon , CSR , Indeedee and Whimsicott ( which maybe is something I should never do ) and the firepower would all end up on my Koraidon and CSR .


Final Thoughts

For the most part , I think this team is pretty mashed together and maybe doesn't synergize well with each other since I don't have the knowledge of what it takes to team build optimally . I've been using it on showdown and it doesn't perform bad by any means but i definitely feel like it can be improved . Any kind of advice whether it be movesets , EVs , changing the team around etc. would be greatly appreciated !

I usually end up bringing Koraidon , Whimsicott/Indeedee , CSR and Chi-Yu as the core .
As mentioned before , some of the matchups I have definitely been struggling with are:
  • Lunala teams: if I can't successfully shut down the TR or do enough damage before the TR is up , I just auto lose
  • Screens Grimmsnarl: I am not sure what it is about Grimmsnarl and its screens but theres something about it that just always shuts down my team
  • Miraidon teams: This is probably my worst stat on PASRS with me only winning against Miraidon teams with 35% success rate with ~100 games played.
Thank you again for any advice , I am super open to any ideas since I am new to VGC and would love to get pointed in the right direction !
 
Part of your problem with Miraidon may be that even on its own terrain, Indeedee still gets OHKOed by Miraidon. I would recommend putting some points into Special Defense to help with that.

Also, similar to cyluic's suggestion, putting either Choice Specs or Focus Sash on Calyrex Shadow Rider will help it win in the 1v1 against Miraidon

As for the Flutter Mane, it doesn't seem to be providing a lot of value, but I don't know what to put in its slot. I would recommend Urshifu-Single-Strike to solve issues with Lunala and Trick Room teams. The critical hits from Wicked Blow also hit through Reflect, and if you need more help with screens, then you can even run Brick Break to end them for your whole team.
 
Focus Sash on CSR

Okay makes sense ! This is probably where my lack of knowledge comes to bite me because I am not sure what exactly I lose if I take off the Spell Tag from CSR . I'm not experienced enough to know what calcs change from an OHKO to a range when I take off Spell Tag but it wont hurt to experiment with it and learn I suppose !

Urshifu-Single-Strike in Over Flutter Mane

Since I'd be putting the Focus Sash on CSR , it makes sense to take Flutter Mane off of the team and replace it with something that could help solve one of my problems . Would it hurt the speed control aspect of my team too much if I take her off ? The cases where I would take Flutter Mane over Whimsicott was if I saw that the opponent didn't have a Tailwind setter of their own and also had a Koraidon / Miraidon of their own , then I would bring Flutter Mane since she will outspeed with Icy Wind and make it so my Koraidon doesn't have to worry about a speed tie against the Koraidon / Miraidon .

Having Urshifu as a mon that could compete within TR if it does happen to get set up does sound nice though . I guess it would just be a matter of if I think the trade off is worth ? Or would having Urshifu in over Flutter Mane just be objectively better for this team ?

EV Shuffle on Indeedee

Currently with the EV spread Indeedee has , I believe it will survive everything Miraidon throws at it besides a Draco Meteor assuming we are on Psychic Terrain . Should I be distributing the EVs so that Indeedee will survive while on Electric Terrain instead ? And in this case should I be running the calcs against a Choice Specs Miraidon since it will be doing the most damage ?
 
For Indeedee, 124 points put into Special Defense will ensure it has a 60% chance to survive Miraidon Specs Draco Meteor on Psychic Terrain, while the remaining 132 EVs in Defense still allow it to survive a Dauntless-Shield boosted Body Press, an Urshifu Close Combat, or an Incineroar Knock off. I think that this is the best spread for it.

As for the Calyrex Shadow Rider, loss of the Spell Tag means that it loses the ability to OHKO specially bulky Calyrex Ice Rider, but can now take a hit from it in return.

Finally, for Flutter Mane vs. Urshifu-Single-Strike, you have a point about potentially needing the speed-boosted Icy Wind, however you already have a Calyrex Shadow Rider, who is able to outspeed and OHKO opposing Koraidon with Psychic. For Miraidon, you could use Astral Barrage(from Calyrex Shadow Rider) and Sucker Punch(from Urshifu Single Strike) to take an almost guaranteed 2HKO before it can attack. Typically for speed control, Whimsicott will just be better, though there may be cases where you want Flutter Mane. The choice is up to you, though I would recommend Urshifu Single Strike for its help into your worse matchups.
 
Urshifu-Single-Strike over Indeedee-F

For just a little update , I had tried implementing some of the changes you suggested before your most recent response and ended up taking out Indeedee for this Urshifu:

:Urshifu: Urshifu Single-Strike @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
Nature: Brave
  • Wicked Blow
  • Sucker Punch
  • Brick Break
  • U-Turn
Having an Urshifu in definitely helps with the TR teams and I've had more success dealing with them . Looking at the PASRS data , I had only won with Indeedee a whopping 16% of the time out of the 25 games I brought her for TR so I thought I should switch her out instead of the Flutter Mane but do you think it's better to keep Indeedee in ? I suspect the abysmal winrate with her could have just been a pilot problem .


Focus Sash onto CSR & Booster Energy on Flutter Mane

Putting the Focus Sash on CSR was definitely the move . It feels MUCH better to play with now and I don't have to worry as much about getting OHKO'd by a Sucker Punch from Chien-Pao . And since the Focus Sash was initially on Flutter Mane I had chose to put the Booster Energy on her . The issue with that is since I am running Koraidon , I figured the sun would be up most of the times anyways if I brought Flutter Mane but there are a decent amount of times where I would lead Flutter + CSR or Chi-Yu and having that Icy Wind support did end up coming in handy and broke speedties and/or allowed Chi-Yu to move first so now I wonder if I should keep the Booster Energy or switch it for something like Expert Belt or Pixie Plate .


Final Thoughts

All of the changes you suggested helped very much and I appreciate it ! I only wonder if I should keep Indeedee and switch out Flutter Mane for Urshifu like you suggested ? Since I think it was probably a pilot issue in terms of using Indeedee to deal with TR - do you have any tips on how to actually use her to combat TR teams if you think she should still be on the team ?
 
Setsotes said:
All of the changes you suggested helped very much and I appreciate it ! I only wonder if I should keep Indeedee and switch out Flutter Mane for Urshifu like you suggested ? Since I think it was probably a pilot issue in terms of using Indeedee to deal with TR - do you have any tips on how to actually use her to combat TR teams if you think she should still be on the team ?
Click to expand...
I think Indeedee-F should be on this team only if you want to use it.

The traditional way to prevent TR with it is just to reverse it, whether it be during Trick Room or on the turn the opponent set it up. If you need to, you can run the combo of Imprison and Trick Room to always guarantee it doesn’t get a set up, although you will lose access to something like Protect or an attacking move (since you pretty much need Helping Hand and Follow Me).
 
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