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Battle Tree Discussion and Records
- Thread starter NoCheese
- Start date
Togedemaru suffers from the mediocre speed tier and being 4x weak to spread moves, so while it is indeed very strong, it does require some sort of support or to function well in the team. It's very great if you need the insane role compression it provides (Fake Out, L-rod, Nuzzle, double flinch stabs, immune to poison and sand, strong defensive type, even gets access to Endeavor for FEAR), but if you only need one of those, there's better options. Hitmontop Scrafty and Incineroar definitely challenge the Fake Out spot by having stronger offensive presence and Intimidate, for example, and obviously teams running Tapu Lele can't run Fake out either.
Nice sum up of Togedemaru!
I mainly wonder why there are no medium high streaks with Mega Gyarados supported by Raichu/Togedemaru. While one probably shouldnt try too hard to go for a Dragon Dance everytime, Fake Out + Lightningrod should often allow it, and with that bulk and power, Intimidate and the changing of the type of Gyara, what means he wont have to face SE hits turn one very often, this should be a very promising situation. While Paralysis with a Lightningrod on the field is very unlikely, Adamant Gyara can OHKO many Ghost or Fire Mons to prevent their will-o-wisps with his STABs. Banettes Prankster doesnt even work because of the dark type, and iirc there are about 10 sets left that carry will-o-wisp and arent OHKOed by Gyara. Also it can take Blizzards like a Champ, so a freeze might not be too terrible. And such a strong Crunch together with Fake Out/Helping Hand would be an effective protection against Trickroom. With a nice backup this seems very viable to me.
I mainly wonder why there are no medium high streaks with Mega Gyarados supported by Raichu/Togedemaru. While one probably shouldnt try too hard to go for a Dragon Dance everytime, Fake Out + Lightningrod should often allow it, and with that bulk and power, Intimidate and the changing of the type of Gyara, what means he wont have to face SE hits turn one very often, this should be a very promising situation. While Paralysis with a Lightningrod on the field is very unlikely, Adamant Gyara can OHKO many Ghost or Fire Mons to prevent their will-o-wisps with his STABs. Banettes Prankster doesnt even work because of the dark type, and iirc there are about 10 sets left that carry will-o-wisp and arent OHKOed by Gyara. Also it can take Blizzards like a Champ, so a freeze might not be too terrible. And such a strong Crunch together with Fake Out/Helping Hand would be an effective protection against Trickroom. With a nice backup this seems very viable to me.
I'm certain that a Togedemaru/Mega Gyarados would be viable, for many of the reasons you stated, however it's a somewhat old strategy. I remember seeing talk of that general core back in early/mid VGC 2017, and nowadays in USUM, with new toys like Clangorus Soulblaze and the more popular Tapus and UBs, even back in the original Sun/Moon, I can see why the appeal to using an "old" Pokemon like Gyarados is much lower than using the new stuff that came out.
However, I certainly think that the core has viability in the Battle Tree, especially with Togedemaru gaining Iron Head through USUM tutors, meaning that the lead has a better answer to Fairy types that wold otherwise dissuade Gyarados from Mega Evolving in front of them. As long as there's a reliable answer to Grass and opposing Sun teams, I could see the core getting somewhere around the middle of the leaderboard.
However, I certainly think that the core has viability in the Battle Tree, especially with Togedemaru gaining Iron Head through USUM tutors, meaning that the lead has a better answer to Fairy types that wold otherwise dissuade Gyarados from Mega Evolving in front of them. As long as there's a reliable answer to Grass and opposing Sun teams, I could see the core getting somewhere around the middle of the leaderboard.
I actually tried this recently, got to about 94 I think. I definitely played like shit though, and I could have had better backups (Lando-i/Latios). I'd say it could get pretty far, but Toge really wants HH and it needs to drop a STAB move for it which is really unfortunate, as it either hurts the matchup with Primarina and other waters or the matchup with other fairy types. And yeah you're right there are times to not go for DDance, but I usually found myself attempting to get 2 up in most battles.
Yes thats what it feels on how far such a team may be able to get. On grass teams one might simply stay non mega to get no grass weakness and DD some times, maybe also on sun teams with their solar beams. But the more i think about it, the more problems occur, like Mawile to begin with. Seems very dangerous to not have something in the lead that cannot threaten it seriously.
But as you mentioned of it being an rather old/already discussed strategy i wont go any deeper.
paperquagsire, what moves did you use Togedemaru? As you mentioned your backups, maybe Aegislash would do a good job there?
I tried a Raichu/Gyarados team recently, with mega Mawile and Kommo-o as the back ups and got to 84. I didn't find the team that fun to play with, though. Battles go by slowly, and Gyarados wasn't that strong, even after a dragon dance.
Why Mega Gyarados over regular one with an item, though? What does mega gyarados offer over the regular one?
Why Mega Gyarados over regular one with an item, though? What does mega gyarados offer over the regular one?
I used Zing Zap/Iron Head/Fake Out/Protect. That's by no means the optimal set though. Aegislash might be a good backup, and I've considered running it, but I didn't really want to run double steel types when I did the streak. Also, a big threat to Togedemaru/Gyarados teams is Lurantis due to contrary + power herb solar blade OHKOing nonmega Gyarados, Aegislash would help with that quite a bit.
I'm reporting a streak of 288 on Super Doubles on Ultra Sun.
The team I used was:
Pelipper @ Focus Sach
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Tailwind
- Protect
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Dazzling Gleam
Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Kommo-o @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Flamethrower
- Close Combat
- Protect
Pretty straight fowards rain team. Tapu Koko's thunder hits like a truck and never misses under rain, killing basically everything that doesn't resist it, except for the most specially defensive pokemon. Volt Switch is really useful when there's something that can kill him, though I still have to switch him out against stuff like Crobat or Garchomp-3, who can outspeed and kill or seriously damage him. Grass Knot is there for water/ground pokemon which would otherwise be annoying for this team, specially Gastrodom with Storm Drain. Dazzling is used mostly against dragon-only opponents, and even then I'd rather not use it, but well, there's not anything better to have there.
Pelipper offers great coverage with Hurricane, specially aganist grass types Swampert fears. I'd often switch him out so he could renew rain. I chose Scald because it's the strongest 100% accuracy, single targeting special water attack Pelipper can learn. I never relied on its burn (though sometimes it could make battles go by faster). Tailwind was also very important, specially for Kommo-O, and I used it against problematic teams such as grass or dragon ones.
There's not much to talk about Swampert, it's a really fast pokemon that is very strong, with great STABs and good coverage on ice punch. The greatest thing about ice punch is that it OHKOs Mega Sceptile (which Swampert outspeeds on rain), which would otherwise be a big issue for this team, and can take a big part of most grass types pokemon, which end up being killed with an attack of the team mate, such as Koko's thunder.
Kommo-o really ties the team together. While it's not a pokemon with much synergy with rain, it has a lot of synergy with tailwind. It's also very bulky, and Clangorous Soulblaze is broken on doubles. It could clean up almost everything the other 3 left alive, and almost every battle I had only one pokemon left, it was him. The only things that really threaten him are fairy attacks and powerful dragon ones, such as draco meteor, dragon rush or outrage. He could take most other Super Effective hits and survive with like 40~50% of health, after the Z power boost to his defenses. I think a Modest, Mild or Rash nature would be better on Kommo-o, but I'm too lazy to breed another one, get it to level 100 and hyper train its attack, so I just used this one :V.
The biggest threats to this team were other weather teams, trick room, and grass teams. If Whimsicott and Shiinotic weren't kind of weak, they'd also be a huge issue for this team, because Grass/Fairy is brutal for it, so removing pokemon of those types first is a priority most of the time. If trick room is activated, then this team will have a hard time, but Koko and Pelipper can finish every Trick Room starter on turn 1, so it was never an issue. Something bad that can happen, though, is getting a Trick Room + weather setter, because then Thunder and Hurricane can miss, and Scald will be weaker. This means Sina was the most problematic special trainer, because she can show up with Abomasnow and Oranguru as her leads, which is exactly the weather + trick room problematic combo.
The way I dealt with weather setters was volt switching Koko, switching Pelipper out and then briging him back with the Volt Switch. This was also a great way to deal with Charizard, since it OHKOed the Y one, and allowed me to bring Swampert against the X one. Another problematic mega is Alakazam, who is really strong and can outspeed everyone except Swampert under rain. Koko isn't OHKOed by him and can one shot him back, but loses like 90% of its life to it, so using tailwind is important in case of a critical hit. Another time tailwind is important is against dragon teams, so Kommo-o can outspeed them and finish them before they can attack him.
This team felt unbeatable at times, and I lost to what I'd describe as mostly misplay and distraction, coupled with a bit of bad luck. An arcanine used sunny day, I let a gyarados set up on me, and after I killed the arcanine (a mistake, should have gone for the gyarados), a staraptor intimidated the swampert. Kommo-o could 2hko the gyarados and survive an ice fang even after the 2 dragon dances, but sadly it got frozen solid. Lesson learn: if something can set up, kill it before it does it. I really think this team can do better than this, because if I hadn't made so many mistakes, I'd have won that battle pretty easily.
Battle video of the loss:
5NPG-WWWW-WWXW-JTGE
The team I used was:
Pelipper @ Focus Sach
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Tailwind
- Protect
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Dazzling Gleam
Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Kommo-o @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Flamethrower
- Close Combat
- Protect
Pretty straight fowards rain team. Tapu Koko's thunder hits like a truck and never misses under rain, killing basically everything that doesn't resist it, except for the most specially defensive pokemon. Volt Switch is really useful when there's something that can kill him, though I still have to switch him out against stuff like Crobat or Garchomp-3, who can outspeed and kill or seriously damage him. Grass Knot is there for water/ground pokemon which would otherwise be annoying for this team, specially Gastrodom with Storm Drain. Dazzling is used mostly against dragon-only opponents, and even then I'd rather not use it, but well, there's not anything better to have there.
Pelipper offers great coverage with Hurricane, specially aganist grass types Swampert fears. I'd often switch him out so he could renew rain. I chose Scald because it's the strongest 100% accuracy, single targeting special water attack Pelipper can learn. I never relied on its burn (though sometimes it could make battles go by faster). Tailwind was also very important, specially for Kommo-O, and I used it against problematic teams such as grass or dragon ones.
There's not much to talk about Swampert, it's a really fast pokemon that is very strong, with great STABs and good coverage on ice punch. The greatest thing about ice punch is that it OHKOs Mega Sceptile (which Swampert outspeeds on rain), which would otherwise be a big issue for this team, and can take a big part of most grass types pokemon, which end up being killed with an attack of the team mate, such as Koko's thunder.
Kommo-o really ties the team together. While it's not a pokemon with much synergy with rain, it has a lot of synergy with tailwind. It's also very bulky, and Clangorous Soulblaze is broken on doubles. It could clean up almost everything the other 3 left alive, and almost every battle I had only one pokemon left, it was him. The only things that really threaten him are fairy attacks and powerful dragon ones, such as draco meteor, dragon rush or outrage. He could take most other Super Effective hits and survive with like 40~50% of health, after the Z power boost to his defenses. I think a Modest, Mild or Rash nature would be better on Kommo-o, but I'm too lazy to breed another one, get it to level 100 and hyper train its attack, so I just used this one :V.
The biggest threats to this team were other weather teams, trick room, and grass teams. If Whimsicott and Shiinotic weren't kind of weak, they'd also be a huge issue for this team, because Grass/Fairy is brutal for it, so removing pokemon of those types first is a priority most of the time. If trick room is activated, then this team will have a hard time, but Koko and Pelipper can finish every Trick Room starter on turn 1, so it was never an issue. Something bad that can happen, though, is getting a Trick Room + weather setter, because then Thunder and Hurricane can miss, and Scald will be weaker. This means Sina was the most problematic special trainer, because she can show up with Abomasnow and Oranguru as her leads, which is exactly the weather + trick room problematic combo.
The way I dealt with weather setters was volt switching Koko, switching Pelipper out and then briging him back with the Volt Switch. This was also a great way to deal with Charizard, since it OHKOed the Y one, and allowed me to bring Swampert against the X one. Another problematic mega is Alakazam, who is really strong and can outspeed everyone except Swampert under rain. Koko isn't OHKOed by him and can one shot him back, but loses like 90% of its life to it, so using tailwind is important in case of a critical hit. Another time tailwind is important is against dragon teams, so Kommo-o can outspeed them and finish them before they can attack him.
This team felt unbeatable at times, and I lost to what I'd describe as mostly misplay and distraction, coupled with a bit of bad luck. An arcanine used sunny day, I let a gyarados set up on me, and after I killed the arcanine (a mistake, should have gone for the gyarados), a staraptor intimidated the swampert. Kommo-o could 2hko the gyarados and survive an ice fang even after the 2 dragon dances, but sadly it got frozen solid. Lesson learn: if something can set up, kill it before it does it. I really think this team can do better than this, because if I hadn't made so many mistakes, I'd have won that battle pretty easily.
Battle video of the loss:
5NPG-WWWW-WWXW-JTGE
Last edited:
I have two Super Doubles streaks to report. I'll report the older one first, it reached a streak of 168 wins before succumbing.
Team is as follows:
Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Nicknamed Femitimidate (Rare female starter)
Ability: Intimidate
Evs- 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Fake Out
-Flare Blitz
-Darkest Lariat
-Low Kick
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Nicknamed Trappin' (not mine, traded)
Ability: Trace, becomes Pixelate
Ev's- Redid them several times, see summary
Nature: Modest
-Hyper Voice
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Protect
Garchomp @ Groundium Z
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Rough Skin
Ev's- 156 HP, 100 atk, 252 spe
Nature: Jolly
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Poison Jab
-Protect
Celesteela @ Leftovers
No nickname (mine, didn't bother lol)
Ability: Beast Boost
Ev's- 252 Def, 252 SpDef, 4 hp
Nature: Sassy
-Heavy Slam
-Leech Seed
-Wide guard
-Protect
I ran this team several weeks ago and didn't expect to hit even 50 with it. I had underestimated the power of modest Mega Gard and what she can do with solid fake out +Intimidate support patching up her weakest relevant stat, defense. I originally gave Gard full special attack and speed investment, but came to realize this wasn't necessary- she hits very hard without significant investment, and her lacking speed tier means she needs the bulk more than, say, scarfed Tapu Lele. I'm not particularly confident with the spread I ended up giving her though. It was something like, 100 Hp, 104 Def, 140 Sp at, 52 sp def and 100 speed. A pretty wide-ranging spread, I know. I played this team several weeks ago and can't remember how I came up with this spread exactly. I do remember factoring in Quick Claw Incineroar's Flare Blitz though- at a minimum, I wanted her to be bulky enough to survive a non-crit version of this from full health.
I originally lost with this team after 69 wins in a particularly dreadful matchup against Kukui. He had scarfed Braviary leading with Lycanroc-Day form. These are fast and extremely threatening leads for my team, not only because of Lycanroc's flinching strategy but because the Braviary had Defiant. Facing a fast +1 Braviary locked into Brave Bird is very scary and it destroyed my team, even one-shotting Garchomp! Celesteela was also 2 or 3hkoed. I was helpless. After several mock battles, I decided to change Garchomp's spread from a simple 252 at and 252 spe one to the one you see above. I cut Chomp's attack significantly but gave it more bulk so as to survive Braviary3's +1 Brave Bird should I run into it again.
Leading with Intimidate right off the bat means that automatically, Defiant and Competitive mons are real threats. I had to tread carefully around Milotic as well, faking it out on turn 1 and denting it with hyper voice.
Here's the loss video: H6LG-WWWW-WWXW-M3AZ
I lost to a fire-heavy team that included Quick Claw Emboar, Charizard Y, Volcarona and Exeggutor.
I realized right away that I made several terrible misplays in this loss, and became very salty afterwards as a result. I had clicked earthquake on the last turn automatically, without factoring in that Exeggutor had just used Grassy Terrain, thus cutting EQ's damage in half against Volcarona (I was also trying to avoid a burn from Volcy.) But even earlier, I misplayed egregiously against the Emboar Quick Claw set, not nuking it right away with Psychic but going for Hyper Voice spread damage instead. Well, guess who got his QC proc? That same Emboar, and he made me pay.
I couldn't decide on backups for this team originally, but came to the conclusion that Garchomp and Celesteela complemented each other well and fit the team perfectly. Celesteela could wide guard spam to prevent blizzards and such protecting Chomp. And Chomp beats most fire types one on one very easily, plus not to mention steamrolls electrics. I kept leech seed on Cele because it made up for heavy slam's bad coverage, despite the accuracy issue. I really could've used flamethrower in some fights, but I simply couldn't fit it in over the other moves.
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Ok, the next team. I played this one much more recently so I remember more about it and how it was played. It reached a total of 296 wins before losing. Here it is-
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Psychic Surge
Ev's- 252 spe, 252 sp. at, 4 hp
Nature: Timid
-Psychic
-Moonblast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Fire
Kartana @ Focus Sash
Nicknamed Slasha
Ability: Beast Boost
Ev's- 252 atk, 252 spe, 4 hp
Nature: Jolly
-Leaf Blade
-Sacred Sword
-Tailwind originally, but changed mid-streak to Smart Strike
-Protect
Salamence @ Salamencite
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Intimidate, then Aerilate
Ev's- 252 atk, 252 sp, 4 hp
Nature: Jolly
-Double-edge
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Protect
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
No nickname (traded, received as a gift from Christian , thanks so much!)
Ability: Flash Fire
Ev's- started at 252 sp at and 252 spe but changed mid-way by cutting spe and investing 100 in hp
Nature: Modest
-Flamethrower
-Earth Power
-Rock tomb originally but changed to Toxic
-Protect
Boy did I love this team. It was a ton of fun. I was originally pessimistic about its chances because of its hyper offensive nature and thus its lack of forgiveness for mistakes. However, I was undeniably helped by how short the battles were. Most battles were over in a very short amount of time, largely thanks to beast boost and how much of a wrecking ball Kartana becomes. So I was able to pile up say, 50 wins, in a very short amount of time, relatively speaking.
That said, this team is in every way inferior to the famed Tapu Lele + Pheromosa combination, which I myself took to 392 wins with Level 51's QR team (so I have some experience). I will call this team InferoLele and plan to upload a QR team for it. The fact is Kartana is just not as good in psychic terrain as Phero is. It's not as fast and it doesn't get that great fighting stab to demolish steels with.
Still, I had fun with this team, if not just for getting to use Heatran for the first time. I am proud to bring Heatran to greater heights on the leaderboards, it seems like people don't believe in its potential? This is strange. Maybe the vulnerability to Earthquake puts people off. Anyway, I stuck a Shuca berry on him to help manage this, and he was an amazing switch in for both Lele and Kartana, resisting poison and steel and getting flash fire boosts easily.
Some may question why I carry Dragon Claw on Salamence. Simply, I felt the coverage was good, hitting Thundurus and Zapdos for neutral damage and Ohko'ing most opposing dragon types. Jolly is a must on Mence, he needs to be as fast as possible to outrun stuff like the Lati Twins and Salazzle.
Again, about Heatran, i felt it was an excellent and fitting addition to this team because of how easily it dispatches the volcarona sets, who would otherwise be big threats. I wasn't going to run Flash Cannon, so I originally decided on Rock Tomb. However, with a modest nature, it is pitifully weak, even against threats like Volcy and Charizard Y that it's meant to counter. Therefore, I replaced it with Toxic to counter Volc especially.
Kartana originally had tailwind and it did come in handy sometimes. Still, most of the time I could use the extra coverage, and so I replaced it with Smart Strike and didn't look back.
Weaknesses for this team? Look no further than status, status, STATUS! Namely, thunder wave. I've always hated thunder wave spam and this team is particularly weak to it, having three fast mons and no immunities to electric. Trick Room is also a threat to a lesser degree, as it can be carefully played around with smart switches and use of protect.
Here's a video of the 145th win- I almost lost thanks to thunder wave spam and full paralysis hax. I now nuke Rotom-Mow right away when I see it.
It was maddening, just watch and see.
YY6G-WWWW-WWXW-M4GL
And here's the loss-
2QQG-WWWW-WWXW-M3B7
This was a totally preventable loss, I misplayed by doubling into Sceptile, expecting the mega. However, it was Sceptile3 instead, the white herb variant. I should have known better, I know he carries detect, and likes to spam it. Still I double targeted into a Detect and paid the price with Kartana being cut down to his sash by the other mon, Decidueye-4. It was the worst outcome possible, and Kartana was taken down the next turn by Sceptile3's focus blast. I bring in salamence, mega up and target the sceptile. I killed it, but Lele missed out on the KO on Decid just barely letting it revenge kill Lele back. Now it's just Mence and Heatran versus... out comes Primarina and Empoleon. I know I'm screwed at this point, and sure enough they go down to a hydro pump crit (doubt it mattered though) and on the next turn prima destroyed mence with moonblast. I really had hoped to hit 300 with this team, so it's a shame. Oh well. At least I breathed new life into the neglected Heatran.
By the way, I redid Heatran's ev's because I felt added bulk was more valuable to him than a little speed, especially given his middling speed tier. He still outspeeds Drapion4, though, which is helpful since it threatens Lele.
I'll make a QR team for this team shortly. (Will edit when I do.)
11/8 edit- Ok the team has been uploaded. See https://3ds-sp.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-EF8D-4B5F
Known as LeleTran.
Team is as follows:
Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Nicknamed Femitimidate (Rare female starter)
Ability: Intimidate
Evs- 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Fake Out
-Flare Blitz
-Darkest Lariat
-Low Kick
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Nicknamed Trappin' (not mine, traded)
Ability: Trace, becomes Pixelate
Ev's- Redid them several times, see summary
Nature: Modest
-Hyper Voice
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Protect
Garchomp @ Groundium Z
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Rough Skin
Ev's- 156 HP, 100 atk, 252 spe
Nature: Jolly
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Poison Jab
-Protect
Celesteela @ Leftovers
No nickname (mine, didn't bother lol)
Ability: Beast Boost
Ev's- 252 Def, 252 SpDef, 4 hp
Nature: Sassy
-Heavy Slam
-Leech Seed
-Wide guard
-Protect
I ran this team several weeks ago and didn't expect to hit even 50 with it. I had underestimated the power of modest Mega Gard and what she can do with solid fake out +Intimidate support patching up her weakest relevant stat, defense. I originally gave Gard full special attack and speed investment, but came to realize this wasn't necessary- she hits very hard without significant investment, and her lacking speed tier means she needs the bulk more than, say, scarfed Tapu Lele. I'm not particularly confident with the spread I ended up giving her though. It was something like, 100 Hp, 104 Def, 140 Sp at, 52 sp def and 100 speed. A pretty wide-ranging spread, I know. I played this team several weeks ago and can't remember how I came up with this spread exactly. I do remember factoring in Quick Claw Incineroar's Flare Blitz though- at a minimum, I wanted her to be bulky enough to survive a non-crit version of this from full health.
I originally lost with this team after 69 wins in a particularly dreadful matchup against Kukui. He had scarfed Braviary leading with Lycanroc-Day form. These are fast and extremely threatening leads for my team, not only because of Lycanroc's flinching strategy but because the Braviary had Defiant. Facing a fast +1 Braviary locked into Brave Bird is very scary and it destroyed my team, even one-shotting Garchomp! Celesteela was also 2 or 3hkoed. I was helpless. After several mock battles, I decided to change Garchomp's spread from a simple 252 at and 252 spe one to the one you see above. I cut Chomp's attack significantly but gave it more bulk so as to survive Braviary3's +1 Brave Bird should I run into it again.
Leading with Intimidate right off the bat means that automatically, Defiant and Competitive mons are real threats. I had to tread carefully around Milotic as well, faking it out on turn 1 and denting it with hyper voice.
Here's the loss video: H6LG-WWWW-WWXW-M3AZ
I lost to a fire-heavy team that included Quick Claw Emboar, Charizard Y, Volcarona and Exeggutor.
I realized right away that I made several terrible misplays in this loss, and became very salty afterwards as a result. I had clicked earthquake on the last turn automatically, without factoring in that Exeggutor had just used Grassy Terrain, thus cutting EQ's damage in half against Volcarona (I was also trying to avoid a burn from Volcy.) But even earlier, I misplayed egregiously against the Emboar Quick Claw set, not nuking it right away with Psychic but going for Hyper Voice spread damage instead. Well, guess who got his QC proc? That same Emboar, and he made me pay.
I couldn't decide on backups for this team originally, but came to the conclusion that Garchomp and Celesteela complemented each other well and fit the team perfectly. Celesteela could wide guard spam to prevent blizzards and such protecting Chomp. And Chomp beats most fire types one on one very easily, plus not to mention steamrolls electrics. I kept leech seed on Cele because it made up for heavy slam's bad coverage, despite the accuracy issue. I really could've used flamethrower in some fights, but I simply couldn't fit it in over the other moves.
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Ok, the next team. I played this one much more recently so I remember more about it and how it was played. It reached a total of 296 wins before losing. Here it is-
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Psychic Surge
Ev's- 252 spe, 252 sp. at, 4 hp
Nature: Timid
-Psychic
-Moonblast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Fire
Kartana @ Focus Sash
Nicknamed Slasha
Ability: Beast Boost
Ev's- 252 atk, 252 spe, 4 hp
Nature: Jolly
-Leaf Blade
-Sacred Sword
-Tailwind originally, but changed mid-streak to Smart Strike
-Protect
Salamence @ Salamencite
No nickname (traded)
Ability: Intimidate, then Aerilate
Ev's- 252 atk, 252 sp, 4 hp
Nature: Jolly
-Double-edge
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Protect
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
No nickname (traded, received as a gift from Christian , thanks so much!)
Ability: Flash Fire
Ev's- started at 252 sp at and 252 spe but changed mid-way by cutting spe and investing 100 in hp
Nature: Modest
-Flamethrower
-Earth Power
-Rock tomb originally but changed to Toxic
-Protect
Boy did I love this team. It was a ton of fun. I was originally pessimistic about its chances because of its hyper offensive nature and thus its lack of forgiveness for mistakes. However, I was undeniably helped by how short the battles were. Most battles were over in a very short amount of time, largely thanks to beast boost and how much of a wrecking ball Kartana becomes. So I was able to pile up say, 50 wins, in a very short amount of time, relatively speaking.
That said, this team is in every way inferior to the famed Tapu Lele + Pheromosa combination, which I myself took to 392 wins with Level 51's QR team (so I have some experience). I will call this team InferoLele and plan to upload a QR team for it. The fact is Kartana is just not as good in psychic terrain as Phero is. It's not as fast and it doesn't get that great fighting stab to demolish steels with.
Still, I had fun with this team, if not just for getting to use Heatran for the first time. I am proud to bring Heatran to greater heights on the leaderboards, it seems like people don't believe in its potential? This is strange. Maybe the vulnerability to Earthquake puts people off. Anyway, I stuck a Shuca berry on him to help manage this, and he was an amazing switch in for both Lele and Kartana, resisting poison and steel and getting flash fire boosts easily.
Some may question why I carry Dragon Claw on Salamence. Simply, I felt the coverage was good, hitting Thundurus and Zapdos for neutral damage and Ohko'ing most opposing dragon types. Jolly is a must on Mence, he needs to be as fast as possible to outrun stuff like the Lati Twins and Salazzle.
Again, about Heatran, i felt it was an excellent and fitting addition to this team because of how easily it dispatches the volcarona sets, who would otherwise be big threats. I wasn't going to run Flash Cannon, so I originally decided on Rock Tomb. However, with a modest nature, it is pitifully weak, even against threats like Volcy and Charizard Y that it's meant to counter. Therefore, I replaced it with Toxic to counter Volc especially.
Kartana originally had tailwind and it did come in handy sometimes. Still, most of the time I could use the extra coverage, and so I replaced it with Smart Strike and didn't look back.
Weaknesses for this team? Look no further than status, status, STATUS! Namely, thunder wave. I've always hated thunder wave spam and this team is particularly weak to it, having three fast mons and no immunities to electric. Trick Room is also a threat to a lesser degree, as it can be carefully played around with smart switches and use of protect.
Here's a video of the 145th win- I almost lost thanks to thunder wave spam and full paralysis hax. I now nuke Rotom-Mow right away when I see it.
It was maddening, just watch and see.
YY6G-WWWW-WWXW-M4GL
And here's the loss-
2QQG-WWWW-WWXW-M3B7
This was a totally preventable loss, I misplayed by doubling into Sceptile, expecting the mega. However, it was Sceptile3 instead, the white herb variant. I should have known better, I know he carries detect, and likes to spam it. Still I double targeted into a Detect and paid the price with Kartana being cut down to his sash by the other mon, Decidueye-4. It was the worst outcome possible, and Kartana was taken down the next turn by Sceptile3's focus blast. I bring in salamence, mega up and target the sceptile. I killed it, but Lele missed out on the KO on Decid just barely letting it revenge kill Lele back. Now it's just Mence and Heatran versus... out comes Primarina and Empoleon. I know I'm screwed at this point, and sure enough they go down to a hydro pump crit (doubt it mattered though) and on the next turn prima destroyed mence with moonblast. I really had hoped to hit 300 with this team, so it's a shame. Oh well. At least I breathed new life into the neglected Heatran.
By the way, I redid Heatran's ev's because I felt added bulk was more valuable to him than a little speed, especially given his middling speed tier. He still outspeeds Drapion4, though, which is helpful since it threatens Lele.
I'll make a QR team for this team shortly. (Will edit when I do.)
11/8 edit- Ok the team has been uploaded. See https://3ds-sp.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-EF8D-4B5F
Known as LeleTran.
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After a seeming eternity of searching, I FINALLY have my double Z-Stone lead sample battle!!!! I will be performing some experiments with this sample, see what Z-move usage results from throwing various lead pairs at it. This post should be updated regularly with the team used, the replay video to share with those interested, and the outcomes of the various tests. I also will be leaving space for suggestions for other 'mons to try and elicit potential behaviors from these leads.
Battle #81, vs. Demiathena (Zapdos4/Raikou3/Uxie3/Azelf4) -- JUMG-WWWW-WWXX-WEB4
Although this opponent isn't MonoElectric, it packs plenty of Electric coverage, not to mention the pulverizing Supersonic Skystrike from an unusual source..and the star of this particular team just neuters it horribly. With that said, Uxie3 was still Uxie3 here...
This sample was obtained using...whatever the hell this thing is: Torkoal Sun Room
The testing will be performed with:
KIT KAT JAM (LILYWHITE SESSIONS VERSION):
UnEspanto (Dusclops) (Lvl.53) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/0
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Trick Room
- Brick Break
- Night Shade
- Foresight
"White Stag" (Tauros) (Lvl.100) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
IVs: HT/HT/HT/xx/HT/HT
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Zen Headbutt
- Rock Tomb
- Iron Head
- Rock Climb
"Gogoat Ride" (Alolan-Exeggutor) (Lvl.100) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
IVs: 31/31/31/xx/31/0
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spe)
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
- Dragon Hammer
Factory God (Swellow) (Lvl.50) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/31/30/31/31/31
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Growl
- Facade
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn
"Bozo's Horn" (Rhydon) (Lvl.100) (F) @ Quick Claw
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
IVs: HT/HT/HT/31/HT/HT
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Horn Drill
KitKatJam (Passimian) (Lvl.50) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SDef / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/31/31/30/31/31
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
Battle #81, vs. Demiathena (Zapdos4/Raikou3/Uxie3/Azelf4) -- JUMG-WWWW-WWXX-WEB4
Although this opponent isn't MonoElectric, it packs plenty of Electric coverage, not to mention the pulverizing Supersonic Skystrike from an unusual source..and the star of this particular team just neuters it horribly. With that said, Uxie3 was still Uxie3 here...
This sample was obtained using...whatever the hell this thing is: Torkoal Sun Room
The testing will be performed with:
KIT KAT JAM (LILYWHITE SESSIONS VERSION):
UnEspanto (Dusclops) (Lvl.53) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
IVs: 31/31/31/0/31/0
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Trick Room
- Brick Break
- Night Shade
- Foresight
"White Stag" (Tauros) (Lvl.100) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
IVs: HT/HT/HT/xx/HT/HT
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Zen Headbutt
- Rock Tomb
- Iron Head
- Rock Climb
"Gogoat Ride" (Alolan-Exeggutor) (Lvl.100) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def
IVs: 31/31/31/xx/31/0
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spe)
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
- Dragon Hammer
Factory God (Swellow) (Lvl.50) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/31/30/31/31/31
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Growl
- Facade
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn
"Bozo's Horn" (Rhydon) (Lvl.100) (F) @ Quick Claw
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
IVs: HT/HT/HT/31/HT/HT
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Horn Drill
KitKatJam (Passimian) (Lvl.50) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SDef / 252 Spe
IVs: 31/31/31/30/31/31
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
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Happy New Year's Eve.
Updating my ongoing streak to 2018 wins in Ultra Moon with Team Stalwart. It has not changed since the last time I used it.
The strategy for this team revolves around getting something fully set up against their lead, be that a Suicune at +6, Gliscor with a substitute, or Salamence with both. Of these, Salamence with +6 behind a sub is most preferable, followed by Salamence at +2 or higher with sub, then subbed Gliscor, Mence with any number of dances but without sub, and lastly a +6 Suicune. However, getting a setup Mence is rarely straightforward, and sometimes made difficult or impossible by the opposing lead. The below guide tells you how to make the most of problem leads. More dangerous leads are bolded.
I really did not expect my team to get this far, and it's great that I'll be able to enjoy the (temp) number one spot on leaderboard with this cheeky update. I really wanna know how far GG Unit is at the moment, so that I'll know exactly how little hope I have of passing him permanently. Cheers.
Salamence (F) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 13 SpA (Hyper Trained)
- Icy Wind
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 15 SpA
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Protect
- Toxic
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Substitute
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Regardless of what EV spread you run on Salamence, it will always be able to set up on most of the Tree. However, the way you want to handle the sets that Salamence cannot set up on determines what is the best EV spread. If you want to run some sort of bulky set, make sure that Mence's teammates are capable of switching in on and safely winning against all of the following: Latios2/3/4, Salazzle3, Tyranitar2/3, Azelf3, Raichu3-Alola, Haxorus4, Liepard4, Charizard4-MegaX, Mimikyu3, Terrakion3. Of these, Salamence cannot afford to lose even a single point of speed against Tyranitar2/3, Salazzle3, Haxorus4, and, to a lesser extent, Latios4. Going the other way, speed tying Alakazam4, Salamence4 and Sceptile3 is not very useful, so the other "fast" Salamence spread would be 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 244 Spe. This spread wastes 4 EVs so as to keep an odd HP number for Substitute and give Porygons an attack boost from download. All this spread does is avoid the speed tie with Hydreigon3/4 non-mega, which may be useful if you want to stay in without being forced to go mega. However, this use-case is marginal, so it is a matter of opinion whether you want to go 236 speed or 244.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 13 SpA (Hyper Trained)
- Icy Wind
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
Icy wind is the unconventional choice here, as opposed to Substitute. I will say that Substitute would make certain sets easier to deal with (especially glalie3), but that comes of the cost of less utility for the rest of the team. Icy Wind is incredibly useful for slowing down the likes of Crobat4, Salamence4, Kingdra34, and Weavile4. Also helps chipping certain stuff without activating Mirror Coat.
95% accuracy means that this move can miss at the worst of times, and I've come to view it as a luxury. However, being able to bring Taunters down to a speed where Suicune can set up on them is something that no other move does, and I'll stick to my guns on this one.
95% accuracy means that this move can miss at the worst of times, and I've come to view it as a luxury. However, being able to bring Taunters down to a speed where Suicune can set up on them is something that no other move does, and I'll stick to my guns on this one.
Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 15 SpA
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Protect
- Toxic
When discussing SubToxic Gliscor spreads for tree, the debate is always bulk vs speed. (note that I did not specifically mention either defense here, since I believe that physdef Gliscor is better than spdef on certain teams, my team already has 2 physical walls) Indeed, having more speed helps Gliscor get up a sub against a different range of foes. However, there is a big flaw with running full speed EVs on Gliscor: it gives Gliscor a strictly worse matchup against every special attacker outside of the 117-160 speed range. That doesn't even mention the sets within that range that the extra speed doesn't help against. The only *important* matchup that I can think of where the extra speed would help a lot is against Glalie3, and that set is thankfully so rare that it is extremely unlikely to appear in a position where it threatens my team.
On the other hand, look at the important matchups noticeably worsened by running max speed: Alakazam4 (appears fairly often on speed trainers, and has a decent chance of KOing salamence on turn 1), Sylveon3, Jolteon4, Chandelure4 (especially if infiltrator), Porygon-Z4 (especially if adaptability), Kommo-o3, and Gliscor's sweeping capability is hurt by running less bulk, which matters in case Suicune goes down due to repeated crits and Mence is unable to set up.
Also Dexio would be absolutely garbage to fight with max speed Gliscor, since he runs special attackers almost exclusively and occasionally I have to pull off a Gliscor sweep against him.
On the other hand, look at the important matchups noticeably worsened by running max speed: Alakazam4 (appears fairly often on speed trainers, and has a decent chance of KOing salamence on turn 1), Sylveon3, Jolteon4, Chandelure4 (especially if infiltrator), Porygon-Z4 (especially if adaptability), Kommo-o3, and Gliscor's sweeping capability is hurt by running less bulk, which matters in case Suicune goes down due to repeated crits and Mence is unable to set up.
Also Dexio would be absolutely garbage to fight with max speed Gliscor, since he runs special attackers almost exclusively and occasionally I have to pull off a Gliscor sweep against him.
The strategy for this team revolves around getting something fully set up against their lead, be that a Suicune at +6, Gliscor with a substitute, or Salamence with both. Of these, Salamence with +6 behind a sub is most preferable, followed by Salamence at +2 or higher with sub, then subbed Gliscor, Mence with any number of dances but without sub, and lastly a +6 Suicune. However, getting a setup Mence is rarely straightforward, and sometimes made difficult or impossible by the opposing lead. The below guide tells you how to make the most of problem leads. More dangerous leads are bolded.
Accelgor34: It won't use Final Gambit, but you need to be wary of Unburden. Attack it with non-mega Return first, then roost and set up your sub and DDs. Be wary of set 4's Encore, which is why you need to get rid of Unburden. If you get encored into Roost, go to Gliscor, then back to Mence to both reset Encore and activate Toxic Orb.
Aerodactyl34: Harmless if set 3 (just make sure not to switch Mence into a Thunder Fang paralysis), but if set 4, you must rest on turn 2. Guaranteed KO on Suicune if its first two Stone Edges are both crits, but then Gliscor gets a free Substitute.
Aggron34: Demands Substitute on turn 1, as Salamence has no way to safely get back in to enjoy the free setup set 3 gives. Set 4 is prone to Taunting, and the most likely setup you'll get is Gliscor with a Substitute. Make absolutely sure that Gliscor is NOT taunted on the turn it KOes Aggron, and be wary of switches to Levitators.
Alakazam34: Demands immediate Dragon Dance, but if set 4 you have a 5/16 chance to lose Salamence. If Mence dies to set 4, go to Gliscor and PP stall Gleam, then set up subs. Gliscor can usually sweep speed trainers on its own.
Articuno12, or Articuno1234: NEVER EVER EVER switch Suicune in until you've confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt it's not set 2. If it leads, sub with Mence. If it did not use Ice Beam or Ice Shard, then you have the OK to switch Suicune in. If there is ANY possibility of it being set 2, LEAVE MENCE IN TO DIE TO IT. Then go to Gliscor and PP stall all its Sheer Colds (it usually uses Ice Beams first though), and set Suicune up to +6.
Aurorus24: If it reveals set 2, just click Return and hope it doesn't grab an AncientPower boost off of Mence. Then go to Gliscor and EQ whenever it gives you a free turn.
Azelf34: Click Mega Return (OHKOes set 4 and prevents set 3 from doing damage to your team). If sets 1 or 2 are possible, click mega Sub instead, to hopefully grab a setup opportunity off of set 2 (it's worth it to be down 25% health against set 3)
Banette4: Set 3 doesn't appear post-40, so respect its prankster Wisp and set up Suicune on this thing instead.
Barbaracle34: If it uses a set 3 move, don't switch Mence back in recklessly if it's Tough Claws (damage calculators are your friend here)
Bastiodon: Set 4 is actually capable of stopping a fully set up Mence in its tracks, so be wary.
Bewear34: Set 3 has Quick Claw and Swords Dance. Suicune can actually beat it in a slugfest with Scald, just be wary if it uses Swords Dance.
Braviary34: If no defiant, set up a sub immediately to act as a buffer. If defiant, turn 1 dance and pray.
Breloom34: If it hasn't revealed Poison Heal, don't tempt fate by Returning it. Instead, if set 4, let it die to its own Toxic Orb. If set 3, go to Gliscor and Toxic it, so that you can set up on it if it has Poison Heal.
Chandelure4: Do NOT switch Gliscor in unless Suicune is already statused. Do NOT set up a substitute on it. Do NOT leave Mence in on it. Do NOT try to set up against it. Spam Scald until it burns Suicune, then switch out to Gliscor. Do not treat that previous sentence as immutable, the strategy for this thing changes drastically depending on what exactly it does. Damage calcs are your best friend here.
Charizard34: Set up a Dragon Dance immediately. Don't get cute and try and set up a Sub or Roost some health back, just go for a +1 OHKO and hope it doesn't crit Mence with Dragon Rush.
Cobalion12 or Cobalion1234: Cobalion1 is one of those mons where you have to keep in mind when the AI will pick Rest (it's generally at 60% health or lower). When setting up, try and hit this thing down to Rest range while it's already asleep to get extra turns of setup.
Cresselia12 or 1234: Same thing as Cobalion1, really.
Crobat34: Set 3 has Razor Claw, and set 4 has Taunt. Don't mix up the strategies for dealing with each set here. Icy Wind set 4 twice so that Suicune can set up on it. Calm Mind on set 3, and don't attack it.
Dragonite34: Set 3 has a weird tendency to lock into Stone Edge against Mence. I mean, I'll gladly take it. Switch to Gliscor and hope it doesn't crit an Outrage.
Drampa34: Immediate switch to Suicune, it's up to you to judge how many Calm Minds you need to safely deal with set 3. Dangerous because it can actually KO Suicune if it gets lucky with Quick Claw and/or crits.
Electivire34: If set 3, PP stall Ice Punch then go to Salamence from Suicune (needs a max roll crit to OHKO mence) and set up Dances on it. If set 4, it's ohko'd by Gliscor after 2 rounds of LO recoil, but you can get a Sub by PP stalling Ice Punch.
Electrode4: If this taunts Gliscor, IMMEDIATELY go back to Mence. It'll either switch out, thus resetting the board, or set up Light Screen/rain dance and give you another shot to give Gliscor a sub.
Espeon34: It's not worth trying to set up against this, just straight up OHKO it.
Exeggutor3: Go to Gliscor to bait Leaf Storms until it's out, then set Mence up.
Exeggutor4-Alola: Cycle between Salamence and Suicune to rack up Intimidates until it's at -5, at which point Salamence's sub can survive a Dragon Hammer (necessary to avoid crits while setting up).
Ferrothorn34: Go to Gliscor to get up a sub before a potential boom, but if it turns out to be set 4 instead, cycle Intimidates until it's down to -2 (it will stop Cursing once it's at -6 speed) and set Mence up. Be very wary of it Seed Bombing when Mence switches out.
Froslass34: Be extremely wary of this thing's Cursed Body and Destiny Bond.
Garchomp34: Go to Gliscor here, don't leave Mence in to get Outraged. Also Gliscor sets up a sub on set 4, which is nice.
Gardevoir34: Be wary if this traces Intimidate. Salamence does live set 3's Dazzling Gleam, but you'll have to Sub against the possibility of set 4. If it's set 3 and Traces, go to Suicune, then back to Mence to reset drops and OHKO.
ALL Gigalith: Just go to Gliscor immediately, and, if set 4, Toxic it. If set 4, be very aggressive and EQ it with Subs up, it will often Curse.
Glalie34: Where do I even start with this thing. I guess you should Sub against it turn 1 because a) it likes to Protect turn 1 regardless of its set and b) Mence actually does pretty well against set 4 in a 1v1. If it's set 3 without moody, keep spamming Sub because there's no penalty for taking too long against it. If it's set 3 WITH moody, on the other hand, say your prayers. Note that I've never faced a moody Glalie3 AS a lead, but I did experience one battle where the lead Rotom-C volt switched into it on turn 1, and won because of accuracy drops. I guess if it's moody set3, click Return to try do do as much damage to it before it gets too many boosts to deal with (and kills mence i guess). Pay ESPECIALLY close attention to its Special Attack boosts, as it may decline to use Frost Breath on Gliscor if it's at +0 or lower. Dealing with Glalie4 in particular will be discussed below.
Glalie4: Sub turn 1. Actually just sub until it either protects or booms, or you get to too low health to sub again. At that point click Return.
Goodra34: Both sets have Thunder, so go to Suicune only as a pivot to ensure Gliscor gets in safely.
Gothitelle34: Substitute is your friend here, especially if it's Shadow Tag. Note that it is possible to determine its ability WITHOUT switching out to test for shadow tag, as either Frisk or Competitive will broadcast itself on turn 1.
Greninja34: Gliscor is EV'd to outspeed a -1 Greninja4 if things get hairy.
Gyarados34: Just dance - +1 OHKOes set 3 and +2 OHKOes set 4. +2 Mence also outspeeds +3 Gyarados, so keep that in mind if you're going for a Substitute. You may have to improvise here though.
Haxorus34: Mence outspeeds this non-mega. Substitute here, lets you absorb set 3's Z-move or scout set 4's Dragon Dance.
ALL Hippowdon: Remember the curse trick here (AI will not curse once they're at -6 speed). You may need to improvise against set 1 (Whirlwind).
Hydreigon34: Salamence speed ties this non-mega, so be sure to Mega Evolve if you want to stay in to absorb set 3's Z-move.
Incineroar34: Don't leave Mence in. It's far more preferable to get Suicune in to set up on set 4, even risking Crunch drops. Set 3, of course, is free +6 Mence.
Kangaskhan34: Run a lot of calcs here. I didn't record many of my fights against this thing, and I don't remember much about it either (most of my encounters with Kangaskhan were from Kiawe, who isn't available on (ultra) moon, and thus i haven't seen him in over a year). Just be very wary of crits, and I think I may have ended up taking it to -2 attack in the past.
Kingdra34: Sub to soak a potential Z move, then Icy Wind to slow it down and check for potential Sniper.
Klinklang34: Set 3 will rarely Gear Grind into you, so don't worry too hard about it.
Latias134: If it turns out to be set 4, then don't think about getting dances off on it. Just try to kill it without Mence getting paralyzed or KO'd in return.
Latios1: Go for a return 2HKO without Subbing. Yes, it has a 10% chance to win the 1v1 against mence, by either two minimum rolls or by dodging one of the Returns.
Latios134: If set 4, has a tendency to DD to +6, at which point a +5 Mence outspeeds it.
Liepard34: Go for non-mega return. Mence escapes paralysis if it's not Prankster set3, and you've set yourself up to 2HKO it while avoiding Unburden if it's set 4.
Magnezone34: Go to Gliscor, and if it uses a set 4 move, EQ immediately. If it uses a set3 move, then sub immediately and PP stall Flash Cannon, while keeping in mind to keep Gliscor alive against backups.
Mandibuzz34: Be wary of Weak Armor set 3.
Mawile34: There are two ways you can treat this lead: you can play it safely (by saccing mence to give Gliscor free entry) or risky (by switching Gliscor in turn 1 and hoping it doesn't get crit). If it's Hyper Cutter, play it safe regardless of what you'd normally do. Either way, once Gliscor's in, PP stall play rough, and, if set 3, EQ it while you're behind a sub (either from sucker punching or swords dancing). If set 4, PP stall stone edge, and then set up either mence or suicune to +6. I have not yet gotten Gliscor crit by this thing, so I don't know what I would do if it happened. Probably i'd try to scald it with Suicune, hoping to beat it in a slugfest.
Metagross34: Cycle switches between Salamence and Suicune until it's at -2 Attack (you will have to sac mence to this if the first meteor mash gets a boost), and then spam Rest while praying Suicune doesn't get haxxed out. Once Zen Headbutt is depleted, Suicune can then set up safely to +6. If it's set 3, press scald immediately in hopes of neutering its explosion.
Milotic34: If set 3, switch Mence back in after Blizzard PP is depleted, to set up Mence on Mirror Coats.
Mimikyu34: Click Return immediately. Set 3 cannot OHKO Salamence even with a Z-move, and is thus prone to Swords Dancing. This is a much bigger threat if it appears in back.
Musharna34: Substitute. If set 3 breaks sub, keep subbing until you're in Psychic range, then Roost. Repeat until it's out of Psychic.
Ninetales4-Alola: Return. If it used Ice Shard, Return again. If it used Freeze-Dry but Mence survived the turn, switch to Suicune and Scald it.
Noivern34: Mega Dragon Dance. Don't get fancy here, Salamence survives a non-crit Dragon Pulse.
Raichu3-Alola: Return 2HKO. It's too unsafe to do anything else.
Regirock2: This gets a special mention for being able to stop a +6 Salamence sweep thanks to its bulk + Custap berry. Thankfully, +5 Return does not put it in Custap range, so if the opponent is capable of using this (check their roster), go to only +5 instead.
Ribombee34: Don't fool around with this thing, just OHKO it immediately.
Rotom-Cut3: Sub turn 1. It has a 50-50 chance to either Volt Switch or Wisp, and you really don't want Gliscor getting wisped.
Rotom-Frost34: Go to Suicune, and make completely sure Suicune is statused before going out to Gliscor to stall Blizzards so Mence can set up.
Rotom-Heat34: Set 4 also has both Wisp and Volt Switch, but set 3 incentivizes Subbing with free setup.
Rotom-Spin34: Don't go to Gliscor, instead just sub with Mence. You may take a Thunder paralysis, but it's a better option than getting tricked a Scarf.
Rotom-Wash34: Sub turn 1, since Mence can set up on both of them.
Salamence34: Go to Suicune immediately, and Icy Wind to slow set 4 down. Then go to Mence on a Double-Edge and finish it with non-mega Return. If set 3, just stall out its Meteors, then switch in Mence to set up on it.
Salazzle34: You should be 2HKOing Sash Nasty Plotters.
Sceptile4: This favors Rock Slide against Salamence, since the AI doesn't understand the multi-hitting property of multi hit moves. Get it to -2, its Rock Slides won't break a sub there.
Shiinotic34: After PP stalling Moonblast with Gliscor, you will want to PP stall its Grass move with Salamence while setting up, and do not touch it at all. Wait for it to switch out and go ham on its backups.
Slowbro34: Set 3 is free setup for Mence after Psychics are gone. However, set 4 poses a threat if it gets crits on Suicune. IIRC you want to get to +2 (+1 if the blizzard freezes Suicune on the switch) and then start Resting.
Snorlax34: Don't switch Mence out. Set 4's Body Slams fail to break sub anyway, while set 3 is prone to Protecting, giving you a free sub.
Spiritomb34: If it's Pressure, great. If Infiltrator, set up Suicune on it instead.
Staraptor34: Keep track of the order of Intimidates so you can check its set. Against Reckless, sub. If it used Z-Feather Dance, use DD from behind sub, while if it brave birded your sub, Mence has a guaranteed KO. If intimidate, you can safely get set 4 to -2 attack while being alerted of set 3 before turn 1.
Starmie34: Go to Suicune. If set 3, great! If set 4, switch stall Ice Beam, and then go to Salamence from Gliscor where you can either try for a 75% OHKO or risk a Dragon Dance if mence got Surfed on the switch.
Sylveon34/134/234: Remember that set 3 has Razor Claw and will crit Suicune at the worst times. I have seen Sylveon3 go on critical hit rampages, and it is not fun to be on the receiving end of one.
Tentacruel34: Salamence's subs can withstand set 4's Venoshocks. If set 3, go to Suicune and aim to deplete its Sludge Bombs and Blizzards. Salamence can then set up as it spams Mirror Coat helplessly.
Terrakion34 or Terrakion1234: Sub, sub, sub. You do not want to be on the wrong end of a boosted Terrakion3, so the strategy around this involves making sure that you can safely kill it if it does decide to boost. However, a Terrakion2 crit Stone Edge will KO mence outright, go to Gliscor and PP stall then toxic on the switch turn if this happens. Anyway, what you want to do if it could be set 3 is to sub until you're in Rock Slide low roll range, then Roost up. After you've either depleted its Rock Slides or it Swords Dances, then you can set up. +1 Mence will OHKO Terrakion3, which is your best recourse if it boosts then destroys the sub while you counter-boost. Note that I prefer a +1 subbed mence to a +2 unsubbed mence, so just straight up attack it if it boosts twice.
Thundurus34 or Thundurus1234: Don't waste Taunt turns by EQing set 4. It will backfire when the AI switches in a Latios against Gliscor. Go to Suicune or Salamence on focus blasts instead.
Togekiss34: Go to Suicune immediately, if it's set 4 remove its Dazzling Gleams with Gliscor then set mence up on it. If set 3, make sure Suicune is statused on the turn you switch back to Mence, then set up on it.
Tornadus34 or Tornadus1234: If it Prankster Taunts mence on turn 1 (you should be subbing against this), go for a Return OHKO.
Turtonator34: Sub immediately. If it used Shell Smash, use Dragon Dance and then OHKO at +1. If it hit a head smash, go to Gliscor and stall until it booms.
Tyranitar34 or Tyranitar1234: Requires different strategies for all 4 sets, but you must start with Mega Sub unless it's being used by an Aether (set4 only)
If set 1: Free setup for mence.
If set 2 or 3 (indistinguishable until set 2 uses Ice Beam): Dragon Dance to +2, then 2HKO with Return. Note that set 2 is liable to attack Mence with Ice Beam for some reason, but can be 2HKOed at +1. Don't chance a freeze here.
If set 4: Go to Suicune and improvise.
Do not take this lightly. The Mega sub on turn 1 is crucial, and against sets 2 or 3, there is no room to deviate from the plan, or else you will lose mence at best.
Tyrantrum34: If set 4, spam Sub until either it misses a Head Smash or Salamence dies. If the former, Roost up and set up, if the latter, have Gliscor immediately sub.
Umbreon34: Use either the same Curse trick from Ferrothorn or Hippowdon or the Rest trick from Cobalion/Cresselia.
Uxie: Set 3 will prefer Psyshock to Thunder against Mence, which is thankful as it not only hits for less damage but lacks the risk of Paralysis.
Vanilluxe34: Don't switch to Suicune until you've determined its set. Don't attack it either, as Weak Armor may trigger.
Vikavolt34: Do NOT switch to Gliscor turn 1. Sub once instead, and only then go to Gliscor.
Volcarona4: It's up to you to judge whether going for +2 or +3 is better here, but don't go any farther.
Weavile34: If this taunts Suicune, Icy Wind it to -2 so you can set up on it anyway.
Whimsicott34: Spam return until it's dead. Actually you're not OHKOing prankster set 3 if it uses Cotton Guard, so set Suicune up on that instead. Set 4 is horrible for being able to potentially set Tailwind for its backups (potentially deadly if Dexio) while having Infiltrator to prevent setup, and also it can OHKO Salamence with Z-Moonblast.
Aerodactyl34: Harmless if set 3 (just make sure not to switch Mence into a Thunder Fang paralysis), but if set 4, you must rest on turn 2. Guaranteed KO on Suicune if its first two Stone Edges are both crits, but then Gliscor gets a free Substitute.
Aggron34: Demands Substitute on turn 1, as Salamence has no way to safely get back in to enjoy the free setup set 3 gives. Set 4 is prone to Taunting, and the most likely setup you'll get is Gliscor with a Substitute. Make absolutely sure that Gliscor is NOT taunted on the turn it KOes Aggron, and be wary of switches to Levitators.
Alakazam34: Demands immediate Dragon Dance, but if set 4 you have a 5/16 chance to lose Salamence. If Mence dies to set 4, go to Gliscor and PP stall Gleam, then set up subs. Gliscor can usually sweep speed trainers on its own.
Articuno12, or Articuno1234: NEVER EVER EVER switch Suicune in until you've confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt it's not set 2. If it leads, sub with Mence. If it did not use Ice Beam or Ice Shard, then you have the OK to switch Suicune in. If there is ANY possibility of it being set 2, LEAVE MENCE IN TO DIE TO IT. Then go to Gliscor and PP stall all its Sheer Colds (it usually uses Ice Beams first though), and set Suicune up to +6.
Aurorus24: If it reveals set 2, just click Return and hope it doesn't grab an AncientPower boost off of Mence. Then go to Gliscor and EQ whenever it gives you a free turn.
Azelf34: Click Mega Return (OHKOes set 4 and prevents set 3 from doing damage to your team). If sets 1 or 2 are possible, click mega Sub instead, to hopefully grab a setup opportunity off of set 2 (it's worth it to be down 25% health against set 3)
Banette4: Set 3 doesn't appear post-40, so respect its prankster Wisp and set up Suicune on this thing instead.
Barbaracle34: If it uses a set 3 move, don't switch Mence back in recklessly if it's Tough Claws (damage calculators are your friend here)
Bastiodon: Set 4 is actually capable of stopping a fully set up Mence in its tracks, so be wary.
Bewear34: Set 3 has Quick Claw and Swords Dance. Suicune can actually beat it in a slugfest with Scald, just be wary if it uses Swords Dance.
Braviary34: If no defiant, set up a sub immediately to act as a buffer. If defiant, turn 1 dance and pray.
Breloom34: If it hasn't revealed Poison Heal, don't tempt fate by Returning it. Instead, if set 4, let it die to its own Toxic Orb. If set 3, go to Gliscor and Toxic it, so that you can set up on it if it has Poison Heal.
Chandelure4: Do NOT switch Gliscor in unless Suicune is already statused. Do NOT set up a substitute on it. Do NOT leave Mence in on it. Do NOT try to set up against it. Spam Scald until it burns Suicune, then switch out to Gliscor. Do not treat that previous sentence as immutable, the strategy for this thing changes drastically depending on what exactly it does. Damage calcs are your best friend here.
Charizard34: Set up a Dragon Dance immediately. Don't get cute and try and set up a Sub or Roost some health back, just go for a +1 OHKO and hope it doesn't crit Mence with Dragon Rush.
Cobalion12 or Cobalion1234: Cobalion1 is one of those mons where you have to keep in mind when the AI will pick Rest (it's generally at 60% health or lower). When setting up, try and hit this thing down to Rest range while it's already asleep to get extra turns of setup.
Cresselia12 or 1234: Same thing as Cobalion1, really.
Crobat34: Set 3 has Razor Claw, and set 4 has Taunt. Don't mix up the strategies for dealing with each set here. Icy Wind set 4 twice so that Suicune can set up on it. Calm Mind on set 3, and don't attack it.
Dragonite34: Set 3 has a weird tendency to lock into Stone Edge against Mence. I mean, I'll gladly take it. Switch to Gliscor and hope it doesn't crit an Outrage.
Drampa34: Immediate switch to Suicune, it's up to you to judge how many Calm Minds you need to safely deal with set 3. Dangerous because it can actually KO Suicune if it gets lucky with Quick Claw and/or crits.
Electivire34: If set 3, PP stall Ice Punch then go to Salamence from Suicune (needs a max roll crit to OHKO mence) and set up Dances on it. If set 4, it's ohko'd by Gliscor after 2 rounds of LO recoil, but you can get a Sub by PP stalling Ice Punch.
Electrode4: If this taunts Gliscor, IMMEDIATELY go back to Mence. It'll either switch out, thus resetting the board, or set up Light Screen/rain dance and give you another shot to give Gliscor a sub.
Espeon34: It's not worth trying to set up against this, just straight up OHKO it.
Exeggutor3: Go to Gliscor to bait Leaf Storms until it's out, then set Mence up.
Exeggutor4-Alola: Cycle between Salamence and Suicune to rack up Intimidates until it's at -5, at which point Salamence's sub can survive a Dragon Hammer (necessary to avoid crits while setting up).
Ferrothorn34: Go to Gliscor to get up a sub before a potential boom, but if it turns out to be set 4 instead, cycle Intimidates until it's down to -2 (it will stop Cursing once it's at -6 speed) and set Mence up. Be very wary of it Seed Bombing when Mence switches out.
Froslass34: Be extremely wary of this thing's Cursed Body and Destiny Bond.
Garchomp34: Go to Gliscor here, don't leave Mence in to get Outraged. Also Gliscor sets up a sub on set 4, which is nice.
Gardevoir34: Be wary if this traces Intimidate. Salamence does live set 3's Dazzling Gleam, but you'll have to Sub against the possibility of set 4. If it's set 3 and Traces, go to Suicune, then back to Mence to reset drops and OHKO.
ALL Gigalith: Just go to Gliscor immediately, and, if set 4, Toxic it. If set 4, be very aggressive and EQ it with Subs up, it will often Curse.
Glalie34: Where do I even start with this thing. I guess you should Sub against it turn 1 because a) it likes to Protect turn 1 regardless of its set and b) Mence actually does pretty well against set 4 in a 1v1. If it's set 3 without moody, keep spamming Sub because there's no penalty for taking too long against it. If it's set 3 WITH moody, on the other hand, say your prayers. Note that I've never faced a moody Glalie3 AS a lead, but I did experience one battle where the lead Rotom-C volt switched into it on turn 1, and won because of accuracy drops. I guess if it's moody set3, click Return to try do do as much damage to it before it gets too many boosts to deal with (and kills mence i guess). Pay ESPECIALLY close attention to its Special Attack boosts, as it may decline to use Frost Breath on Gliscor if it's at +0 or lower. Dealing with Glalie4 in particular will be discussed below.
Glalie4: Sub turn 1. Actually just sub until it either protects or booms, or you get to too low health to sub again. At that point click Return.
Goodra34: Both sets have Thunder, so go to Suicune only as a pivot to ensure Gliscor gets in safely.
Gothitelle34: Substitute is your friend here, especially if it's Shadow Tag. Note that it is possible to determine its ability WITHOUT switching out to test for shadow tag, as either Frisk or Competitive will broadcast itself on turn 1.
Greninja34: Gliscor is EV'd to outspeed a -1 Greninja4 if things get hairy.
Gyarados34: Just dance - +1 OHKOes set 3 and +2 OHKOes set 4. +2 Mence also outspeeds +3 Gyarados, so keep that in mind if you're going for a Substitute. You may have to improvise here though.
Haxorus34: Mence outspeeds this non-mega. Substitute here, lets you absorb set 3's Z-move or scout set 4's Dragon Dance.
ALL Hippowdon: Remember the curse trick here (AI will not curse once they're at -6 speed). You may need to improvise against set 1 (Whirlwind).
Hydreigon34: Salamence speed ties this non-mega, so be sure to Mega Evolve if you want to stay in to absorb set 3's Z-move.
Incineroar34: Don't leave Mence in. It's far more preferable to get Suicune in to set up on set 4, even risking Crunch drops. Set 3, of course, is free +6 Mence.
Kangaskhan34: Run a lot of calcs here. I didn't record many of my fights against this thing, and I don't remember much about it either (most of my encounters with Kangaskhan were from Kiawe, who isn't available on (ultra) moon, and thus i haven't seen him in over a year). Just be very wary of crits, and I think I may have ended up taking it to -2 attack in the past.
Kingdra34: Sub to soak a potential Z move, then Icy Wind to slow it down and check for potential Sniper.
Klinklang34: Set 3 will rarely Gear Grind into you, so don't worry too hard about it.
Latias134: If it turns out to be set 4, then don't think about getting dances off on it. Just try to kill it without Mence getting paralyzed or KO'd in return.
Latios1: Go for a return 2HKO without Subbing. Yes, it has a 10% chance to win the 1v1 against mence, by either two minimum rolls or by dodging one of the Returns.
Latios134: If set 4, has a tendency to DD to +6, at which point a +5 Mence outspeeds it.
Liepard34: Go for non-mega return. Mence escapes paralysis if it's not Prankster set3, and you've set yourself up to 2HKO it while avoiding Unburden if it's set 4.
Magnezone34: Go to Gliscor, and if it uses a set 4 move, EQ immediately. If it uses a set3 move, then sub immediately and PP stall Flash Cannon, while keeping in mind to keep Gliscor alive against backups.
Mandibuzz34: Be wary of Weak Armor set 3.
Mawile34: There are two ways you can treat this lead: you can play it safely (by saccing mence to give Gliscor free entry) or risky (by switching Gliscor in turn 1 and hoping it doesn't get crit). If it's Hyper Cutter, play it safe regardless of what you'd normally do. Either way, once Gliscor's in, PP stall play rough, and, if set 3, EQ it while you're behind a sub (either from sucker punching or swords dancing). If set 4, PP stall stone edge, and then set up either mence or suicune to +6. I have not yet gotten Gliscor crit by this thing, so I don't know what I would do if it happened. Probably i'd try to scald it with Suicune, hoping to beat it in a slugfest.
Metagross34: Cycle switches between Salamence and Suicune until it's at -2 Attack (you will have to sac mence to this if the first meteor mash gets a boost), and then spam Rest while praying Suicune doesn't get haxxed out. Once Zen Headbutt is depleted, Suicune can then set up safely to +6. If it's set 3, press scald immediately in hopes of neutering its explosion.
Milotic34: If set 3, switch Mence back in after Blizzard PP is depleted, to set up Mence on Mirror Coats.
Mimikyu34: Click Return immediately. Set 3 cannot OHKO Salamence even with a Z-move, and is thus prone to Swords Dancing. This is a much bigger threat if it appears in back.
Musharna34: Substitute. If set 3 breaks sub, keep subbing until you're in Psychic range, then Roost. Repeat until it's out of Psychic.
Ninetales4-Alola: Return. If it used Ice Shard, Return again. If it used Freeze-Dry but Mence survived the turn, switch to Suicune and Scald it.
Noivern34: Mega Dragon Dance. Don't get fancy here, Salamence survives a non-crit Dragon Pulse.
Raichu3-Alola: Return 2HKO. It's too unsafe to do anything else.
Regirock2: This gets a special mention for being able to stop a +6 Salamence sweep thanks to its bulk + Custap berry. Thankfully, +5 Return does not put it in Custap range, so if the opponent is capable of using this (check their roster), go to only +5 instead.
Ribombee34: Don't fool around with this thing, just OHKO it immediately.
Rotom-Cut3: Sub turn 1. It has a 50-50 chance to either Volt Switch or Wisp, and you really don't want Gliscor getting wisped.
Rotom-Frost34: Go to Suicune, and make completely sure Suicune is statused before going out to Gliscor to stall Blizzards so Mence can set up.
Rotom-Heat34: Set 4 also has both Wisp and Volt Switch, but set 3 incentivizes Subbing with free setup.
Rotom-Spin34: Don't go to Gliscor, instead just sub with Mence. You may take a Thunder paralysis, but it's a better option than getting tricked a Scarf.
Rotom-Wash34: Sub turn 1, since Mence can set up on both of them.
Salamence34: Go to Suicune immediately, and Icy Wind to slow set 4 down. Then go to Mence on a Double-Edge and finish it with non-mega Return. If set 3, just stall out its Meteors, then switch in Mence to set up on it.
Salazzle34: You should be 2HKOing Sash Nasty Plotters.
Sceptile4: This favors Rock Slide against Salamence, since the AI doesn't understand the multi-hitting property of multi hit moves. Get it to -2, its Rock Slides won't break a sub there.
Shiinotic34: After PP stalling Moonblast with Gliscor, you will want to PP stall its Grass move with Salamence while setting up, and do not touch it at all. Wait for it to switch out and go ham on its backups.
Slowbro34: Set 3 is free setup for Mence after Psychics are gone. However, set 4 poses a threat if it gets crits on Suicune. IIRC you want to get to +2 (+1 if the blizzard freezes Suicune on the switch) and then start Resting.
Snorlax34: Don't switch Mence out. Set 4's Body Slams fail to break sub anyway, while set 3 is prone to Protecting, giving you a free sub.
Spiritomb34: If it's Pressure, great. If Infiltrator, set up Suicune on it instead.
Staraptor34: Keep track of the order of Intimidates so you can check its set. Against Reckless, sub. If it used Z-Feather Dance, use DD from behind sub, while if it brave birded your sub, Mence has a guaranteed KO. If intimidate, you can safely get set 4 to -2 attack while being alerted of set 3 before turn 1.
Starmie34: Go to Suicune. If set 3, great! If set 4, switch stall Ice Beam, and then go to Salamence from Gliscor where you can either try for a 75% OHKO or risk a Dragon Dance if mence got Surfed on the switch.
Sylveon34/134/234: Remember that set 3 has Razor Claw and will crit Suicune at the worst times. I have seen Sylveon3 go on critical hit rampages, and it is not fun to be on the receiving end of one.
Tentacruel34: Salamence's subs can withstand set 4's Venoshocks. If set 3, go to Suicune and aim to deplete its Sludge Bombs and Blizzards. Salamence can then set up as it spams Mirror Coat helplessly.
Terrakion34 or Terrakion1234: Sub, sub, sub. You do not want to be on the wrong end of a boosted Terrakion3, so the strategy around this involves making sure that you can safely kill it if it does decide to boost. However, a Terrakion2 crit Stone Edge will KO mence outright, go to Gliscor and PP stall then toxic on the switch turn if this happens. Anyway, what you want to do if it could be set 3 is to sub until you're in Rock Slide low roll range, then Roost up. After you've either depleted its Rock Slides or it Swords Dances, then you can set up. +1 Mence will OHKO Terrakion3, which is your best recourse if it boosts then destroys the sub while you counter-boost. Note that I prefer a +1 subbed mence to a +2 unsubbed mence, so just straight up attack it if it boosts twice.
Thundurus34 or Thundurus1234: Don't waste Taunt turns by EQing set 4. It will backfire when the AI switches in a Latios against Gliscor. Go to Suicune or Salamence on focus blasts instead.
Togekiss34: Go to Suicune immediately, if it's set 4 remove its Dazzling Gleams with Gliscor then set mence up on it. If set 3, make sure Suicune is statused on the turn you switch back to Mence, then set up on it.
Tornadus34 or Tornadus1234: If it Prankster Taunts mence on turn 1 (you should be subbing against this), go for a Return OHKO.
Turtonator34: Sub immediately. If it used Shell Smash, use Dragon Dance and then OHKO at +1. If it hit a head smash, go to Gliscor and stall until it booms.
Tyranitar34 or Tyranitar1234: Requires different strategies for all 4 sets, but you must start with Mega Sub unless it's being used by an Aether (set4 only)
If set 1: Free setup for mence.
If set 2 or 3 (indistinguishable until set 2 uses Ice Beam): Dragon Dance to +2, then 2HKO with Return. Note that set 2 is liable to attack Mence with Ice Beam for some reason, but can be 2HKOed at +1. Don't chance a freeze here.
If set 4: Go to Suicune and improvise.
Do not take this lightly. The Mega sub on turn 1 is crucial, and against sets 2 or 3, there is no room to deviate from the plan, or else you will lose mence at best.
Tyrantrum34: If set 4, spam Sub until either it misses a Head Smash or Salamence dies. If the former, Roost up and set up, if the latter, have Gliscor immediately sub.
Umbreon34: Use either the same Curse trick from Ferrothorn or Hippowdon or the Rest trick from Cobalion/Cresselia.
Uxie: Set 3 will prefer Psyshock to Thunder against Mence, which is thankful as it not only hits for less damage but lacks the risk of Paralysis.
Vanilluxe34: Don't switch to Suicune until you've determined its set. Don't attack it either, as Weak Armor may trigger.
Vikavolt34: Do NOT switch to Gliscor turn 1. Sub once instead, and only then go to Gliscor.
Volcarona4: It's up to you to judge whether going for +2 or +3 is better here, but don't go any farther.
Weavile34: If this taunts Suicune, Icy Wind it to -2 so you can set up on it anyway.
Whimsicott34: Spam return until it's dead. Actually you're not OHKOing prankster set 3 if it uses Cotton Guard, so set Suicune up on that instead. Set 4 is horrible for being able to potentially set Tailwind for its backups (potentially deadly if Dexio) while having Infiltrator to prevent setup, and also it can OHKO Salamence with Z-Moonblast.
I really did not expect my team to get this far, and it's great that I'll be able to enjoy the (temp) number one spot on leaderboard with this cheeky update. I really wanna know how far GG Unit is at the moment, so that I'll know exactly how little hope I have of passing him permanently. Cheers.
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I can pretty safely vouch for the verified viciousness of this team, as thanks to its QR, I was finally able to crack 200 wins for the first time in Ultra Moon!
Thankfully, I find the team straightforward enough to use that I can normally boil most situations down to "if it has something super-effective against Kommo-O, don't bother bringing it in in unless said opponent also has something that can target and one-shot Karatana. Outside of these considerations, Volt Switch and light the Soulblaze when ready". Tree is never that simple of course, but it's simple enough that you can reach marks with it...even when you're functioning on a few hours of sleep. This current run also has given me a newfound hatred of Grass/Fairies, as it's typically difficult to bring Kommo in at all with these monsters on the field (since the rest of the team needs to generally peck away at them, due to how bulky the most commonly encountered offenders are). Good way to start the new year, I imagine, and I can only hope it is a sign that leads to more success...not for me, but for the rest of the crew.
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I have updated the trainer quick reference with small changes before, but this time I reordered and categorized the whole list, by trainer archetypes and common patterns. If you had this list copypasted in a text file for reference, as I did, check out the hopefully clearer, more informative version in the same post as before:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-tree-discussion-and-records.3587215/post-7747874
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-tree-discussion-and-records.3587215/post-7747874
Where can I find the needed requierments to report a battle tree record?
I would like to report one
I would like to report one
You're free to report any streak you have had, as long as it's from unhacked pokes.
To be leaderboard eligible, you simply have to score higher than 90 wins in a row, and provide credible data :)
Hello everyone! I want to build a team, and I want to choose 1 core to start:
Core 1: Finigross
Core 2: Garheat
Both core's idea is having a pkmn that hits hard (Metagross and Garchomp) with another one that can destroy the first one weaknesses. I want to know experienced players which could be better (cause the only thing i got alone is a 53 singles streak). Thanks a lot!
Core 1: Finigross
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect
- Brick Break
Tapu Fini @ Choice Specs
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Scald
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect
- Brick Break
Tapu Fini @ Choice Specs
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Scald
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
Core 2: Garheat
Garchomp (M) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
Rotom-Heat @ White Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 92 HP / 228 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Overheat
- Protect
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
Rotom-Heat @ White Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 92 HP / 228 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Overheat
- Protect
Here it is, the team report for Murkrow and friends, making it to 282 wins in super doubles.
After having some annoying failures with a trick room team I was working on, I decided to switch to tailwind for speed control. From previous experience, I knew that having 3 turns to utilize tailwind was a huge hindrance to its effectiveness. Thus, I decided to go the hyper offense route and mostly ignore defensive strategies or tactics, but a few of these were integrated into the final version of the team. A good way to destroy opposing pokemon quickly is to hit them both at once. With this though in mind, I already knew that Kommo-o is perfect for this, but I didn’t want it be a lead, since it works great as a cleaner and getting soulblaze off in tailwind is easy. Other great Spread moves include Diamond storm, Origin Pulse, Thousand waves...oh wait, all of these are illegal in the tree! How unfortunate. Looking at legal options, earthquake and blizzard are obvious choices but blizzard requires too much support and earthquake hits your pokemon as well. After tossing around my options for a few days, I decided to take inspiration from Eisenherz’s rain teams, and utilize the synergy between pelipper and swampert, to fire off powerful earthquakes while having my speed boosted and not hitting my partner pokemon, which is now free to attack, instead of using protect and eating precious turns contributing nothing after setting tailwind. Eventually I settled on Murkrow since it is the only priority using tailwind setter not on the leaderboard as far as I know, except volbeat/illumise, which wouldn’t work with this strategy anyway. It also seemed like something interesting to try. Since the line up of murkrow and Kommo-o was extremely vulnerable to blizzard, I added Mamoswine and charizard-Y to the line up, completing the initial version of the team. Leading with Mamoswine and Murkrow, the team did alright, making it to 123 wins, before falling to… scientist robyn. I decided that Water types were a problem, and charizard couldn’t do very much against dangerous fairy types that counter kommo-o. I decided to swap it out for HP ice Rotom-W without Hydro pump, also mitigating the electric weakness somewhat. I also found Mamoswine to be lackluster despite it resisting ice, and swapped it for Landorus-I. This was a nice excuse to put my adamant lando which had been sitting in a box since early ORAS days to good use. This version of the team made it 195 before losing, and the team was still having problems with fairies. I also felt that the team was just one rock slide miss away from losing to Articuno or glaceon4 much too often, so I wanted some insurance. Also realizing that the team was extremely vulnerable to grass types, speed trainers, and Mallow in particular, I made the final changes to the team.
I bred a new Kommo-o going from rash to modest, and added Celesteela as the final pokemon. Wide Guard and Heavy Slam worked as intended, and Celesteela perfectly rounds out the team (well, mostly), destroying fairy types and sceptile, and providing blizzard insurance, a switch into fairy moves, and lots of power, especially after a beast boost. Its flying type also lets Lando spam earthquake much more freely, a near requirement for a team based on hyper offense in the battle tree.
The final version of the team is still highly vulnerable to electric, ice, and fairy moves, and I occasionally had to sack both leads for a safe setup opportunity against blizzard, but this team was never meant to be well balanced, only to take absolute advantage of tailwind. Still, there were a not insignificant number of games where murkrow survived long enough to set it twice.
Final Team EV spreads and explanations. The beginning of the notes are a bit bad as far as elegant writing goes. I copy pasted it from my phones notepad, and I don't bother writing well for my own notes, here.
Murkrow:
Dream ball
Nickname: Tulukaruq
The Yup’ik (an Alaska native indigenous culture) name for raven
Nature: Adamant
12 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Def / 60 Sdef / 124 Spe
Item: Evilolite
Ability: Prankster
Moves:
Brave bird
Taunt
Tailwind
Protect
OHKOs Megagross with BB + earthquake. Highest chance to KO Milotic4 with EQ, since this is an annoying threat. Outspeeds scarfchomp in tailwind. Comfey4's draining kiss is always a 2HKO, barring crits. This spread could probably be improved, but you can’t survive crit brave bird from talonflame4 without significantly nerfing your offensive potential. Investing more into special defense would likely be a waste, as the common and strong electric, fairy, and ice attacks dished out by the tree do over 120% to this spread in most cases. I decided to go with max attack to help differentiate it just a bit from talonflame, and the damage is quite good for what can be expected.
Murkrow does offer a few advantages over competitors like Tornadus or whimsicott, With its dark type making it immune to prankster taunt from the genies and the ability to kill yourself with recoil, to get your backline out faster. In practice, this last part was more of a mixed bag than I had hoped. Occasionally Landorus would be forced to take an unnecessary attack, but this was still pretty rare overall. I chose to go with eviolite over other items, since some trainers carry bulky, weakish pokemon that can’t KO you with the item. Against some teams, this was helpful to dish out more damage in games where Murkrow wasn’t annihilated turn one. Golispod first impression crits, Talonflame4 brave bird crits, some electric Z moves, Rhyperior4 Techtonic rage crit through protect, and a combination comfey draining kiss and brave bird can stop you from setting tailwind, depending on your choice of action.
I initially considered using modest with dark pulse, but decided on brave bird instead. Having 50% more power, or equal after intimidate, really helped plow through teams and use the precious tailwind turns effectively. It also helps that flying and ground makes an effective attacking combination, destroying grass and rock types that can be difficult to KO for the other. With taunt, the better matchup against trick room setters was not as needed.
Landorus:
Ultra ball (this animation matched so much better in gen 6…)
Nickname: Terra Preta
After the soil type.
Nature: Adamant
116 HP / 236 Atk / 4 Def / 4 spD / 148 Spe
Item: Life orb
Ability: Intimidate
Moves:
Earthquake
Knock Off
Rock Slide
Protect
This Lando outspeeds everything in TW except Aerodactyl1 (lol), and hits a life orb number with 179HP. Reduced attack does not change its damage against garchomp, Metagross, Milotic, Mawile, and some others. Healthy meta genie strikes again. Once again its almost perfect for its role here. The strongest earthquake available for a tailwind team in the tree, after the life orb. Knock off is essential for the many levitating psychics and ghost types. I was reluctant to use rock slide with its shaky accuracy, but it worked out fine in the end. Hitting both targets 81% of the time, and only one 18% of the time, was good enough apparently. Having a rock move helped a lot against the Kanto birds and fliers in general. I wouldn’t change anything about this spread if I tried the team again.
Your chance to OHKO base gallade with EQ goes down by 6%, I believe, compared with 252 Atk.
Kommo-o:
Level ball
Nickname: ‘auana-a
A corruption of the native Hawaiian dances’ traditional name.
Nature: Modest
20 Atk / 4 Def / 252 spA / 4 spD / 228 Spe
Item: Kommonium Z
Ability: Overcoat
Moves:
Clanging scales (clangorous soulblaze)
Close Combat
Flamethrower
Protect
OHKOs electrode with CC. Out speeds base 130s with a boost outside of tailwind. Under tailwind without the boost, Kommo-o outspeeds Latios with a dragon dance up by one point. Survives MegaZam psychic at +1 barring a crit. Investing the leftover 8 points into defense is much more efficient since with a boost, you don't have a decimal place being left over in the calculation. 150 HP also minimizes residual damage from all sources. Cobalion 3 has a 13% chance to survive boosted CC from full. Aside from this, everyone should know what this thing does by now. In practice, the attack investment wasn't very useful. A dangerous situation with air balloon soundproof electrode never occurred. The 12% higher chance to OHKO blissey3 is nice though.
Although some might question attack investment on modest (just use rash), and Kommo-o has less stat points overall with this spread, but the points are distributed in a way where they can contribute more.
Celesteela:
Beast ball
No nickname
Nature: Adamant
20 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 12 spD / 244 Spe
Item: none
Ability: Beast Boost
Moves:
Heavy Slam
Acrobatics
Wide guard
Protect
Attack EVs hit a jump point. Out speeds base 150s in tailwind. OHKOs Togekiss with heavy slam. Survives thundurus2's thunderbolt once specs is knocked off. HP minimizes residual damage. The massive speed investment did pay off, as I would have likely lost to Mega aerodactyl without it, although I didn’t record the battle… at 112 speed, Celesteela ties with Incineroar3 and Garchomp4, and I considered investing the last attack point into speed to avoid this, but I wanted the extra attack. I honestly don't know if it made any difference in this streak, but perhaps something to consider in the future. As for the item, the moon rocket pokemon doesn’t do enough damage with non stab moves, owing to its low base 101 attack. I decided that the full power acrobatics was the best approach, and its damage output is effectively exactly equal to that of Murkrow’s brave bird. I don’t really think of it as not having an item, rather its item doubles the power of one of its stab moves consistently. This gives celesteela enough power to contribute, with 120 and 110 base power moves. Just don't use heavy slam on metagross.
With this being the last pokemon added to the team, it shows, now that I am finding a flaw in its spread, namely the Thundurus calc. One of the things you can learn even after finishing a team, is possible flaws. It really does take hundreds of battles, and a lot of practice, to get a good feel on how something plays and can be improved. A good lesson for anything in life.
QR team
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-5A3D-4F8E
...and the uploaded image file is too large. Whatever, maybe tomorrow.......... EDIT: finally. Thanks to First letter of the alphabet for helping.
Until next time, have fun.
After having some annoying failures with a trick room team I was working on, I decided to switch to tailwind for speed control. From previous experience, I knew that having 3 turns to utilize tailwind was a huge hindrance to its effectiveness. Thus, I decided to go the hyper offense route and mostly ignore defensive strategies or tactics, but a few of these were integrated into the final version of the team. A good way to destroy opposing pokemon quickly is to hit them both at once. With this though in mind, I already knew that Kommo-o is perfect for this, but I didn’t want it be a lead, since it works great as a cleaner and getting soulblaze off in tailwind is easy. Other great Spread moves include Diamond storm, Origin Pulse, Thousand waves...oh wait, all of these are illegal in the tree! How unfortunate. Looking at legal options, earthquake and blizzard are obvious choices but blizzard requires too much support and earthquake hits your pokemon as well. After tossing around my options for a few days, I decided to take inspiration from Eisenherz’s rain teams, and utilize the synergy between pelipper and swampert, to fire off powerful earthquakes while having my speed boosted and not hitting my partner pokemon, which is now free to attack, instead of using protect and eating precious turns contributing nothing after setting tailwind. Eventually I settled on Murkrow since it is the only priority using tailwind setter not on the leaderboard as far as I know, except volbeat/illumise, which wouldn’t work with this strategy anyway. It also seemed like something interesting to try. Since the line up of murkrow and Kommo-o was extremely vulnerable to blizzard, I added Mamoswine and charizard-Y to the line up, completing the initial version of the team. Leading with Mamoswine and Murkrow, the team did alright, making it to 123 wins, before falling to… scientist robyn. I decided that Water types were a problem, and charizard couldn’t do very much against dangerous fairy types that counter kommo-o. I decided to swap it out for HP ice Rotom-W without Hydro pump, also mitigating the electric weakness somewhat. I also found Mamoswine to be lackluster despite it resisting ice, and swapped it for Landorus-I. This was a nice excuse to put my adamant lando which had been sitting in a box since early ORAS days to good use. This version of the team made it 195 before losing, and the team was still having problems with fairies. I also felt that the team was just one rock slide miss away from losing to Articuno or glaceon4 much too often, so I wanted some insurance. Also realizing that the team was extremely vulnerable to grass types, speed trainers, and Mallow in particular, I made the final changes to the team.
I bred a new Kommo-o going from rash to modest, and added Celesteela as the final pokemon. Wide Guard and Heavy Slam worked as intended, and Celesteela perfectly rounds out the team (well, mostly), destroying fairy types and sceptile, and providing blizzard insurance, a switch into fairy moves, and lots of power, especially after a beast boost. Its flying type also lets Lando spam earthquake much more freely, a near requirement for a team based on hyper offense in the battle tree.
The final version of the team is still highly vulnerable to electric, ice, and fairy moves, and I occasionally had to sack both leads for a safe setup opportunity against blizzard, but this team was never meant to be well balanced, only to take absolute advantage of tailwind. Still, there were a not insignificant number of games where murkrow survived long enough to set it twice.
Final Team EV spreads and explanations. The beginning of the notes are a bit bad as far as elegant writing goes. I copy pasted it from my phones notepad, and I don't bother writing well for my own notes, here.
Murkrow:
Dream ball
Nickname: Tulukaruq
The Yup’ik (an Alaska native indigenous culture) name for raven
Nature: Adamant
12 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Def / 60 Sdef / 124 Spe
Item: Evilolite
Ability: Prankster
Moves:
Brave bird
Taunt
Tailwind
Protect
OHKOs Megagross with BB + earthquake. Highest chance to KO Milotic4 with EQ, since this is an annoying threat. Outspeeds scarfchomp in tailwind. Comfey4's draining kiss is always a 2HKO, barring crits. This spread could probably be improved, but you can’t survive crit brave bird from talonflame4 without significantly nerfing your offensive potential. Investing more into special defense would likely be a waste, as the common and strong electric, fairy, and ice attacks dished out by the tree do over 120% to this spread in most cases. I decided to go with max attack to help differentiate it just a bit from talonflame, and the damage is quite good for what can be expected.
Murkrow does offer a few advantages over competitors like Tornadus or whimsicott, With its dark type making it immune to prankster taunt from the genies and the ability to kill yourself with recoil, to get your backline out faster. In practice, this last part was more of a mixed bag than I had hoped. Occasionally Landorus would be forced to take an unnecessary attack, but this was still pretty rare overall. I chose to go with eviolite over other items, since some trainers carry bulky, weakish pokemon that can’t KO you with the item. Against some teams, this was helpful to dish out more damage in games where Murkrow wasn’t annihilated turn one. Golispod first impression crits, Talonflame4 brave bird crits, some electric Z moves, Rhyperior4 Techtonic rage crit through protect, and a combination comfey draining kiss and brave bird can stop you from setting tailwind, depending on your choice of action.
I initially considered using modest with dark pulse, but decided on brave bird instead. Having 50% more power, or equal after intimidate, really helped plow through teams and use the precious tailwind turns effectively. It also helps that flying and ground makes an effective attacking combination, destroying grass and rock types that can be difficult to KO for the other. With taunt, the better matchup against trick room setters was not as needed.
Landorus:
Ultra ball (this animation matched so much better in gen 6…)
Nickname: Terra Preta
After the soil type.
Nature: Adamant
116 HP / 236 Atk / 4 Def / 4 spD / 148 Spe
Item: Life orb
Ability: Intimidate
Moves:
Earthquake
Knock Off
Rock Slide
Protect
This Lando outspeeds everything in TW except Aerodactyl1 (lol), and hits a life orb number with 179HP. Reduced attack does not change its damage against garchomp, Metagross, Milotic, Mawile, and some others. Healthy meta genie strikes again. Once again its almost perfect for its role here. The strongest earthquake available for a tailwind team in the tree, after the life orb. Knock off is essential for the many levitating psychics and ghost types. I was reluctant to use rock slide with its shaky accuracy, but it worked out fine in the end. Hitting both targets 81% of the time, and only one 18% of the time, was good enough apparently. Having a rock move helped a lot against the Kanto birds and fliers in general. I wouldn’t change anything about this spread if I tried the team again.
Your chance to OHKO base gallade with EQ goes down by 6%, I believe, compared with 252 Atk.
Kommo-o:
Level ball
Nickname: ‘auana-a
A corruption of the native Hawaiian dances’ traditional name.
Nature: Modest
20 Atk / 4 Def / 252 spA / 4 spD / 228 Spe
Item: Kommonium Z
Ability: Overcoat
Moves:
Clanging scales (clangorous soulblaze)
Close Combat
Flamethrower
Protect
OHKOs electrode with CC. Out speeds base 130s with a boost outside of tailwind. Under tailwind without the boost, Kommo-o outspeeds Latios with a dragon dance up by one point. Survives MegaZam psychic at +1 barring a crit. Investing the leftover 8 points into defense is much more efficient since with a boost, you don't have a decimal place being left over in the calculation. 150 HP also minimizes residual damage from all sources. Cobalion 3 has a 13% chance to survive boosted CC from full. Aside from this, everyone should know what this thing does by now. In practice, the attack investment wasn't very useful. A dangerous situation with air balloon soundproof electrode never occurred. The 12% higher chance to OHKO blissey3 is nice though.
Although some might question attack investment on modest (just use rash), and Kommo-o has less stat points overall with this spread, but the points are distributed in a way where they can contribute more.
Celesteela:
Beast ball
No nickname
Nature: Adamant
20 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 12 spD / 244 Spe
Item: none
Ability: Beast Boost
Moves:
Heavy Slam
Acrobatics
Wide guard
Protect
Attack EVs hit a jump point. Out speeds base 150s in tailwind. OHKOs Togekiss with heavy slam. Survives thundurus2's thunderbolt once specs is knocked off. HP minimizes residual damage. The massive speed investment did pay off, as I would have likely lost to Mega aerodactyl without it, although I didn’t record the battle… at 112 speed, Celesteela ties with Incineroar3 and Garchomp4, and I considered investing the last attack point into speed to avoid this, but I wanted the extra attack. I honestly don't know if it made any difference in this streak, but perhaps something to consider in the future. As for the item, the moon rocket pokemon doesn’t do enough damage with non stab moves, owing to its low base 101 attack. I decided that the full power acrobatics was the best approach, and its damage output is effectively exactly equal to that of Murkrow’s brave bird. I don’t really think of it as not having an item, rather its item doubles the power of one of its stab moves consistently. This gives celesteela enough power to contribute, with 120 and 110 base power moves. Just don't use heavy slam on metagross.
With this being the last pokemon added to the team, it shows, now that I am finding a flaw in its spread, namely the Thundurus calc. One of the things you can learn even after finishing a team, is possible flaws. It really does take hundreds of battles, and a lot of practice, to get a good feel on how something plays and can be improved. A good lesson for anything in life.
QR team
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-5A3D-4F8E
...and the uploaded image file is too large. Whatever, maybe tomorrow.......... EDIT: finally. Thanks to First letter of the alphabet for helping.
Dangerous opponents:
Speed trainers
Punks with mawile
Wally
Cynthia
Mallo
Lea
Mawile trainers: Kikujiro, punks, Grimsley, Office worker Savir (not a complete list)
Speed trainers can carry Sceptile, which has unburden leaf storm, or mega, which outspeeds Kommo-o without tailwind even after a boost.
Ace trainer Lea can carry Whimsicott with tailwind, alongside darmanitan4 and infernape3/4. She also carries incineroar4.
Mallow is probably the single most dangerous trainer to face. Murkrow can't take draining kiss + BB, or crit BB by itself. Sceptile can threaten with unburden leaf storm or rock slide flinches. Celesteela doesn't like flare blitz either. Her toucannon can also set tailwind. The version of the team with Mamoswine and Rotom was even more vulnerable, obviously.
Fairy trainers like Perri should be easy bait, but Audino can carry fire moves on two different sets, so destroying it first is ideal, if possible.
Speed trainers
Punks with mawile
Wally
Cynthia
Mallo
Lea
Mawile trainers: Kikujiro, punks, Grimsley, Office worker Savir (not a complete list)
Speed trainers can carry Sceptile, which has unburden leaf storm, or mega, which outspeeds Kommo-o without tailwind even after a boost.
Ace trainer Lea can carry Whimsicott with tailwind, alongside darmanitan4 and infernape3/4. She also carries incineroar4.
Mallow is probably the single most dangerous trainer to face. Murkrow can't take draining kiss + BB, or crit BB by itself. Sceptile can threaten with unburden leaf storm or rock slide flinches. Celesteela doesn't like flare blitz either. Her toucannon can also set tailwind. The version of the team with Mamoswine and Rotom was even more vulnerable, obviously.
Fairy trainers like Perri should be easy bait, but Audino can carry fire moves on two different sets, so destroying it first is ideal, if possible.
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking: 118-140 (58.4 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking: 102-121 (50.4 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Trevenant: 161-190 (100.6 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 12 HP / 60 SpD Eviolite Murkrow: 56-68 (40.8 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lilligant: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aromatisse: 111-132 (53.3 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Aromatisse: 129-152 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cofagrigus: 125-148 (75.7 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Glaceon: 74-87 (52.8 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Regice: 90-107 (48.1 - 57.2%) -- 89.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Regice: 78-93 (41.7 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking: 102-121 (50.4 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Trevenant: 161-190 (100.6 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 12 HP / 60 SpD Eviolite Murkrow: 56-68 (40.8 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Lilligant: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aromatisse: 111-132 (53.3 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Aromatisse: 129-152 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cofagrigus: 125-148 (75.7 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Glaceon: 74-87 (52.8 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
236+ Atk Life Orb Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Regice: 90-107 (48.1 - 57.2%) -- 89.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Murkrow Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Regice: 78-93 (41.7 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Until next time, have fun.
Last edited:
Reporting a streak of 521 wins in Ultra Sun Doubles.
If this goes up on the leaderboard, please don’t credit me. Just put it under the name:
Dual Core Processing
Named so because the team happens to feature overlapping fire-water-grass and dragon-fairy-steel cores, this team is comprised of familiar faces, playing mostly familiar roles.
Megabuster (Salamence-Mega) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Dragon Pulse
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
Litterboxer (Incineroar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Clam Jam (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Protect
Plantinum (Ferrothorn) @ Zoom Lens
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Toxic
Overview
The team aims to leverage its tight defensive synergy to create as many strong match-ups as possible, and the opportunities to switch into them. Offense is viewed first and foremost as threat removal, for the purpose of seeking a stable game state in which to generate an advantage.
Incineroar and special Mega Salamence form the defensive yet proactive frontline. Calm Mind Fini and max bulk Ferrothorn sit and wait on the backline, until the time is right for them to come out and sit and wait on the battlefield. These 'mons have the sheer stat totals and brute force to wreck some dudes just by pressing buttons, but when combined, I believe they can become an air-tight machine. I believe that in the right hands, DCP has what it takes to go on indefinitely.
If you like defensive play and generating incremental value, then this strategy might be for you. If you want to train yourself into the habit of looking up rosters, sets, and calculations, this team requires doing so. If you want to try out a facility doubles team with a hint of facility singles flavor, this team could be that change of pace you're looking for. If you just want to see for yourself how a team with no clear path to victory, founded around the premise of getting hit a lot can function so decently, I can advise taking it, or something like it, for a spin.
I may have failed this team as its pilot, but I hope that I did it justice in its writeup. I hope that I have accurately and usefully communicated Dual Core Processing's structure, function, and most importantly, its overall philosophy. In the end, I was left with the feeling that this team's potential was limited not by external factors, but by its player. Whether or not that is actually the case, I find the idea beautiful. If I have conveyed to you a fraction of that beauty - thank you.
If this goes up on the leaderboard, please don’t credit me. Just put it under the name:
Dual Core Processing
Named so because the team happens to feature overlapping fire-water-grass and dragon-fairy-steel cores, this team is comprised of familiar faces, playing mostly familiar roles.
Megabuster (Salamence-Mega) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Dragon Pulse
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
Litterboxer (Incineroar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Clam Jam (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Protect
Plantinum (Ferrothorn) @ Zoom Lens
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Toxic
Overview
The team aims to leverage its tight defensive synergy to create as many strong match-ups as possible, and the opportunities to switch into them. Offense is viewed first and foremost as threat removal, for the purpose of seeking a stable game state in which to generate an advantage.
Incineroar and special Mega Salamence form the defensive yet proactive frontline. Calm Mind Fini and max bulk Ferrothorn sit and wait on the backline, until the time is right for them to come out and sit and wait on the battlefield. These 'mons have the sheer stat totals and brute force to wreck some dudes just by pressing buttons, but when combined, I believe they can become an air-tight machine. I believe that in the right hands, DCP has what it takes to go on indefinitely.
If you like defensive play and generating incremental value, then this strategy might be for you. If you want to train yourself into the habit of looking up rosters, sets, and calculations, this team requires doing so. If you want to try out a facility doubles team with a hint of facility singles flavor, this team could be that change of pace you're looking for. If you just want to see for yourself how a team with no clear path to victory, founded around the premise of getting hit a lot can function so decently, I can advise taking it, or something like it, for a spin.
In many games, I tend to gravitate towards defensive play patterns, especially ones that involve high amounts of decision-making, low to no payoff, and some sort of unusual jank. This team follows that trend to a degree - but over time, the harsh environment of the battle tree weeds out the useless and the weak.
I’d been aimlessly messing with random tree setups, and became addicted to tapu fini. No matter what team I build around her, my megamence seemed to always end up claiming a slot. I started messing with incineroar in doubles, and instantly fell in love.
One day, I came across Eisenherz's ZapFini team. I didn’t understand its nuances at the time, but I sensed in his team everything I’d ever wanted my ideas to be, and was inspired to give tree a serious shot. At this point, I began identifying the identity of my dream team.
-Defensively oriented strategy, with offense viewed as a threat removal tool
-Centered around tapu fini and its misty terrain
-As much switch-in potential and pair flexibility as possible
My concept of a dream team differed from ZapFini in a few ways:
-access to spread moves
-fini in the back, both for safekeeping, and to fully abuse her switch-in potential
-aversion to pinch berries (most naive in conception, but perhaps one of the most impactful differences)
And so I got to work.
That work being, putting fini mence, ince, and some rando in my party and flailing around for a while.
The wonderful people in this community provided me with the resources and the means to learn about team building, the tree, and the AI. Without access to their knowledge, advice, and expertise, I would either have long since given up, or would still be flailing around to this day.
I’d been aimlessly messing with random tree setups, and became addicted to tapu fini. No matter what team I build around her, my megamence seemed to always end up claiming a slot. I started messing with incineroar in doubles, and instantly fell in love.
One day, I came across Eisenherz's ZapFini team. I didn’t understand its nuances at the time, but I sensed in his team everything I’d ever wanted my ideas to be, and was inspired to give tree a serious shot. At this point, I began identifying the identity of my dream team.
-Defensively oriented strategy, with offense viewed as a threat removal tool
-Centered around tapu fini and its misty terrain
-As much switch-in potential and pair flexibility as possible
My concept of a dream team differed from ZapFini in a few ways:
-access to spread moves
-fini in the back, both for safekeeping, and to fully abuse her switch-in potential
-aversion to pinch berries (most naive in conception, but perhaps one of the most impactful differences)
And so I got to work.
That work being, putting fini mence, ince, and some rando in my party and flailing around for a while.
The wonderful people in this community provided me with the resources and the means to learn about team building, the tree, and the AI. Without access to their knowledge, advice, and expertise, I would either have long since given up, or would still be flailing around to this day.
Special vs Physical: I’d been running the classic physical mega salamence in tree since SM, and was captivated by its awesome power. However, over the years, I’d had a few minor recurring qualms about him in doubles. Special megamence circumvents a good number of physical megamence’s little demons, and is able to spread his aerialate love.
Timid Hyper Voice is often slightly too weak to secure a 1HKO in doubles. When fake out can’t spot the difference, usually that means it’s time for a Tailwind if they’re faster than ince. In maybe half the cases, even a Timid Double-Edge does the job. In the other half of cases, it usually calls for some switching. Additionally, soundproof mons throw a wrench into your flow, especially in the cases of abomasnow and kommo-o, who should normally be mence food, and air balloon electrode that mence otherwise wouldn’t need to waste his entire turn on. A neutral-hitting HV is often slightly too weak to get a guaranteed 2HKO on innumerable random mons, but a fake out will usually push them past the red zone.
Dragon Pulse might seem like a parallel to the oft-maligned Dragon Claw on physical mence. It also might look a little comical on a team built around misty terrain. It is both, but I’ve found pulse to be indispensable. Pulse allows mence to halve many worrisome rock and electric threats. It also oneshots a small handful of worrisome dragon-type threats. And here’s the kicker - most of these threats happen to float anyway.
-atk Double-Edge still hits pretty hard. Not hard enough to oneshot everything weak to it, which does cause problems sometimes. For the most part, though, it's here to allow this mence to pull his weight against specially bulky walls, or simply to have a slightly harder-hitting move against anything that just extremely needs to be dead right now.
Tailwind: For about 100 battles, I had Roost in this slot. Across those battles, I think I used it once, and it was probably incorrect to do so. After a hair-raising near loss vs a sun team, I scrutinized my team, and made the swap to Tailwind. That swap singlehandedly turned this team legit. Just like how I can't imagine life without misty terrain, I now can't imagine life without a lead Tailwind user. Absolutely essential.
Timid Hyper Voice is often slightly too weak to secure a 1HKO in doubles. When fake out can’t spot the difference, usually that means it’s time for a Tailwind if they’re faster than ince. In maybe half the cases, even a Timid Double-Edge does the job. In the other half of cases, it usually calls for some switching. Additionally, soundproof mons throw a wrench into your flow, especially in the cases of abomasnow and kommo-o, who should normally be mence food, and air balloon electrode that mence otherwise wouldn’t need to waste his entire turn on. A neutral-hitting HV is often slightly too weak to get a guaranteed 2HKO on innumerable random mons, but a fake out will usually push them past the red zone.
Dragon Pulse might seem like a parallel to the oft-maligned Dragon Claw on physical mence. It also might look a little comical on a team built around misty terrain. It is both, but I’ve found pulse to be indispensable. Pulse allows mence to halve many worrisome rock and electric threats. It also oneshots a small handful of worrisome dragon-type threats. And here’s the kicker - most of these threats happen to float anyway.
-atk Double-Edge still hits pretty hard. Not hard enough to oneshot everything weak to it, which does cause problems sometimes. For the most part, though, it's here to allow this mence to pull his weight against specially bulky walls, or simply to have a slightly harder-hitting move against anything that just extremely needs to be dead right now.
Tailwind: For about 100 battles, I had Roost in this slot. Across those battles, I think I used it once, and it was probably incorrect to do so. After a hair-raising near loss vs a sun team, I scrutinized my team, and made the swap to Tailwind. That swap singlehandedly turned this team legit. Just like how I can't imagine life without misty terrain, I now can't imagine life without a lead Tailwind user. Absolutely essential.
Not much needs to be said about his set, this guy’s kind of a legend.
Earthquake as the fourth move is a welcome spread move that cleans up stragglers, and notably hits fire and electric threats to the backline just hard enough to get a 2HKO, often sped along with mence's help. It doesn't hit your partners very hard, and if it does, they can protect it - which works out, because the those aforementioned threats will usually target the protector so you can get their first half free.
Stat Investment: HP investment helps this team sleep at night. Assault Vest as its item frees up a ton of special defense points, which I dumped wholeheartedly into speed. I had been running into some major roadblocks with 0 speed incineroar, and holy crap is fast cat night and day for this entire team. This investment most notably takes him above the rotoms that plague fini and any one random other team member. I pushed a little further to 109 to outspeed Excadrill, which I was incredibly thankful for on a regular basis. It also incidentally surpasses marowaks, magmortars, vanilluxe, most heatrans, nidos, and the list goes on and on.
Earthquake as the fourth move is a welcome spread move that cleans up stragglers, and notably hits fire and electric threats to the backline just hard enough to get a 2HKO, often sped along with mence's help. It doesn't hit your partners very hard, and if it does, they can protect it - which works out, because the those aforementioned threats will usually target the protector so you can get their first half free.
Stat Investment: HP investment helps this team sleep at night. Assault Vest as its item frees up a ton of special defense points, which I dumped wholeheartedly into speed. I had been running into some major roadblocks with 0 speed incineroar, and holy crap is fast cat night and day for this entire team. This investment most notably takes him above the rotoms that plague fini and any one random other team member. I pushed a little further to 109 to outspeed Excadrill, which I was incredibly thankful for on a regular basis. It also incidentally surpasses marowaks, magmortars, vanilluxe, most heatrans, nidos, and the list goes on and on.
Calm Mind Fini is my idea of stability. She easily switches in, nullifies status hax, and serves as a win condition. Her moveset is relatively set in stone. I find more comfort in the predictability of Leftovers over a berry, but maybe that's just limiting her potential.
Her speed investment pushes her over Tyranitar to make him dance, zapdos, enteis, volcaronas, tentacruels, electivires, uxies, and a host of others along the way, most notably the bulk of the rotoms.
Her speed investment pushes her over Tyranitar to make him dance, zapdos, enteis, volcaronas, tentacruels, electivires, uxies, and a host of others along the way, most notably the bulk of the rotoms.
When I said Fini is my idea of stability, fuck that. This guy IS stability. I arrived at ferrothorn after tireless teambuilding efforts and scrutiny, but he also stood out to me as criminally underrepresented in the leaderboards. In any case, I can't say most would have predicted his build would look like this.
Zoom Lens turns Leech Seed and Toxic into the reliable moves I always imagined they were. In absence of a recovery item, turning leech seed reliable is of the utmost importance - the problem seems to create and resolve itself. However, zoom lens carries another important function - enabling Power Whip.
Power Whip as its only attacking move might not seem intuitive. It wasn't to me, either - I started with Gyro Ball and Seed Bomb - but once I started looking into accuracy items, I made the swap to whip instead. Over time, I realized that the threats that Ferro needed to hit were slow and bulky, or electric or water-type. After a day of calculations, it turned out Iron Head was almost universally straight up better than gyro ball for ferro's role on this team, and after coming to grips with that wild fact, phasing out the steel move for the grass one was natural. It didn't feel natural at first, but after 50 battles, I couldn't imagine it being any other way.
Leech Seed and Toxic seem redundant and slow for doubles. That's mostly correct, but the recovery of seed is too good, and the inevitability of toxic is a treasured surgical tool against some of the most notorious tree sets. Non-combat damage allows for dodging destiny bonds, retaliation moves, and making contact; in addition, a hands-off death allows you to swap in Incineroar for a fresh Fake Out against the wildcard replacement, or to protect against a faster mon who's about to die to leech seed for safety and value.
Zoom Lens turns Leech Seed and Toxic into the reliable moves I always imagined they were. In absence of a recovery item, turning leech seed reliable is of the utmost importance - the problem seems to create and resolve itself. However, zoom lens carries another important function - enabling Power Whip.
Power Whip as its only attacking move might not seem intuitive. It wasn't to me, either - I started with Gyro Ball and Seed Bomb - but once I started looking into accuracy items, I made the swap to whip instead. Over time, I realized that the threats that Ferro needed to hit were slow and bulky, or electric or water-type. After a day of calculations, it turned out Iron Head was almost universally straight up better than gyro ball for ferro's role on this team, and after coming to grips with that wild fact, phasing out the steel move for the grass one was natural. It didn't feel natural at first, but after 50 battles, I couldn't imagine it being any other way.
Leech Seed and Toxic seem redundant and slow for doubles. That's mostly correct, but the recovery of seed is too good, and the inevitability of toxic is a treasured surgical tool against some of the most notorious tree sets. Non-combat damage allows for dodging destiny bonds, retaliation moves, and making contact; in addition, a hands-off death allows you to swap in Incineroar for a fresh Fake Out against the wildcard replacement, or to protect against a faster mon who's about to die to leech seed for safety and value.
Battle 522 vs Veteran Candy
Raikou-4, Azelf-4, Cobalion-4, Terrakion-4
Negligence. Playing while staring into space and listening to a stream gets me what I deserve, and this team what it doesn’t.
Opening raikou and azelf. Raikou reveals non-inner focus, prime fake out target. Tailwind to bring ince up to speed, mence takes a psychic to yellow health. Standard opening, looking great.
I predict that raikou is likely to set up reflect, but begin acting carelessly. Ince should have been able to solo azelf at that point, why risk mence dying when ferro could take the hit easily? Why was azelf deemed the threat anyway, ferro would take a psychic any day, and raikou threatens fini too much to let live. If I was keeping mence in, why not dragon pulse raikou instead? Something tells me I was banking on an earthquake to finish raik off the next turn for free, but I get more than I bargained for as mence goes down to a thunder.
Somehow, I'm still zoning out after that. Fini comes in, as does cobalion. I remember this turn vividly, though - waffling between flare blitzing cobalion and earthquaking. I lock in EQ, but then run some calcs, and determine flare blitzing and moonblasting cobalion would be safer. I go back, but then fear letting raikou live, and worry about cobalion-4's protect costing me the entire turn and then some. Waffle back and forth again, locking in and canceling ince’s moves back and forth, until I mindlessly lock in fini’s move. The turn begins to play out as I slowly realize what I've done. Cobalion protects, fini’s moonblast is eaten, and I get to find out what move I had chosen for ince. EQ, which I think is not bad, since it didn’t completely waste the turn. Raikou’s thunder finishes fini off, possible only thanks to ince’s help, and I wake up just in time to realize it’s all over.
Ince is pressured into flare blitzing cobalion, and ferro into leech seeding it. Terrakion comes out versus a lone ferrothorn, and I press a couple of buttons. Those buttons should have been Run, then yes, but instead I go with denial. To be fair, I could’ve still won, if the thunders had missed and I crit my power whip. Sacred sword flinches me to remind me where the fuck I was. Or rather, should have been. The end.
I didn't follow a single basic philosophy of the team. I didn’t remove threats. I didn’t seek good matchups. I didn't even switch once. I didn’t think. I didn’t try.
I’m sorry, Dual Core Processing. I failed you.
I'm sorry.
Raikou-4, Azelf-4, Cobalion-4, Terrakion-4
Negligence. Playing while staring into space and listening to a stream gets me what I deserve, and this team what it doesn’t.
Opening raikou and azelf. Raikou reveals non-inner focus, prime fake out target. Tailwind to bring ince up to speed, mence takes a psychic to yellow health. Standard opening, looking great.
I predict that raikou is likely to set up reflect, but begin acting carelessly. Ince should have been able to solo azelf at that point, why risk mence dying when ferro could take the hit easily? Why was azelf deemed the threat anyway, ferro would take a psychic any day, and raikou threatens fini too much to let live. If I was keeping mence in, why not dragon pulse raikou instead? Something tells me I was banking on an earthquake to finish raik off the next turn for free, but I get more than I bargained for as mence goes down to a thunder.
Somehow, I'm still zoning out after that. Fini comes in, as does cobalion. I remember this turn vividly, though - waffling between flare blitzing cobalion and earthquaking. I lock in EQ, but then run some calcs, and determine flare blitzing and moonblasting cobalion would be safer. I go back, but then fear letting raikou live, and worry about cobalion-4's protect costing me the entire turn and then some. Waffle back and forth again, locking in and canceling ince’s moves back and forth, until I mindlessly lock in fini’s move. The turn begins to play out as I slowly realize what I've done. Cobalion protects, fini’s moonblast is eaten, and I get to find out what move I had chosen for ince. EQ, which I think is not bad, since it didn’t completely waste the turn. Raikou’s thunder finishes fini off, possible only thanks to ince’s help, and I wake up just in time to realize it’s all over.
Ince is pressured into flare blitzing cobalion, and ferro into leech seeding it. Terrakion comes out versus a lone ferrothorn, and I press a couple of buttons. Those buttons should have been Run, then yes, but instead I go with denial. To be fair, I could’ve still won, if the thunders had missed and I crit my power whip. Sacred sword flinches me to remind me where the fuck I was. Or rather, should have been. The end.
I didn't follow a single basic philosophy of the team. I didn’t remove threats. I didn’t seek good matchups. I didn't even switch once. I didn’t think. I didn’t try.
I’m sorry, Dual Core Processing. I failed you.
I'm sorry.
What's with the double Intimidate lead?
It's a lot more sound than you'd think. Sure, there's diminishing returns, but every little bit counts when your team does nothing. Sure, some abilities punish stat drops, but few of them actually turn that into a threat. Braviary and the Quick Claw proccing Lurantis are the only ones I've run into that have seriously threatened this lead strategy.
Don't you just lose if you get crit?
Due to the way this team takes hits, most of them are resisted. However, yes, if an untimely crit eats through intimidate drops or calm mind boosts and takes out a crucial member ahead of schedule, things can get dicey. Because of this, I double-check rosters any time one of my available options entails taking one or more super-effective or strong neutral hits. In the end, rock slide flinches are much more problematic, with status - or rather, status threat induced suboptimal switches, following closely behind. I usually calculate assuming a crit when a crit move or a strong neutral hit is involved, and there's usually one team member who's more than willing to take that risk.
Is there anything you would change?
The way this team is set up, all its parts are tightly fitted around the others. If there's a major problem with these sets, it's because I am overvaluing or undervaluing certain aspects of tree/this game - and unfortunately, I'm not much of an expert on my own misconceptions. As for minor changes, I think stat investment could be more closely tailored around thresholds, especially when it comes to spread move chip damage. A Modest mence might make more 'mons manageable (or perhaps even better, a non-attack-lowering nature). Also, ince might be able to use more speed, and fini less. Ince could make use of more attack to push into many guaranteed 2HKO territories. Hold item distribution also haunts me sometimes - use what you find most comfortable and impactful to work with. However, the possibilities boggle my mind.
It's a lot more sound than you'd think. Sure, there's diminishing returns, but every little bit counts when your team does nothing. Sure, some abilities punish stat drops, but few of them actually turn that into a threat. Braviary and the Quick Claw proccing Lurantis are the only ones I've run into that have seriously threatened this lead strategy.
Don't you just lose if you get crit?
Due to the way this team takes hits, most of them are resisted. However, yes, if an untimely crit eats through intimidate drops or calm mind boosts and takes out a crucial member ahead of schedule, things can get dicey. Because of this, I double-check rosters any time one of my available options entails taking one or more super-effective or strong neutral hits. In the end, rock slide flinches are much more problematic, with status - or rather, status threat induced suboptimal switches, following closely behind. I usually calculate assuming a crit when a crit move or a strong neutral hit is involved, and there's usually one team member who's more than willing to take that risk.
Is there anything you would change?
The way this team is set up, all its parts are tightly fitted around the others. If there's a major problem with these sets, it's because I am overvaluing or undervaluing certain aspects of tree/this game - and unfortunately, I'm not much of an expert on my own misconceptions. As for minor changes, I think stat investment could be more closely tailored around thresholds, especially when it comes to spread move chip damage. A Modest mence might make more 'mons manageable (or perhaps even better, a non-attack-lowering nature). Also, ince might be able to use more speed, and fini less. Ince could make use of more attack to push into many guaranteed 2HKO territories. Hold item distribution also haunts me sometimes - use what you find most comfortable and impactful to work with. However, the possibilities boggle my mind.
Set/roster lookup isn’t your friend. It’s your life.
The same goes for damage calculations, especially when incidental spread move damage is a major aspect of your game plan.
This team has rock and fighting type weakness overlaps. The rock overlap is often a source of anxiety, and the fighting overlap is often a source of grief. This team really feels when its switch-in options are hampered, and when dealing with the high stakes games of focus blast, stone edge, rock slide, superpower, head smash, and close combat, it’s tough to stay in control. Games quickly and often centralize around the holders of these moves. Another incarnation of this team might look to try make the weakness overlaps, if any, be for more manageable types - ice/water, for example, were almost auto-wins for the team thanks to its backline, and it would probably not mind in the slightest if the frontline was deathly weak to both.
One-hit KO moves have never caused me problems, in part because I got lucky, and in part because I played to give myself the best odds against them. Ince handles a good portion of them, and fake out + two double edges handles most of the rest. The game plan upon seeing a potential 1HKO mon is to, if given the opportunity and the means, determine what set it is, and then upon inevitably finding out it’s the 1HKO set, going for an all-out blitz on it. Thankfully, these mons rarely were accompanied by other meaningful threats. However, even if they were, the risk of exposing my backline to them - fini, unable to touch them, or ferro, unable to outspeed them - is typically far greater than any other risk present.
When you can bring out ferro, you usually should. He has many perfect matchups, but also many unwinnable ones - this dictates that you need to get your ferro value while the getting’s good. Ferrothorn's mere presence actually makes the AI too scared to use trick room, and he eats rain teams for breakfast. Even when it's not safe to keep him out, its magnetic attraction to fire type attacks allows you to script the battlefield for multiple turns at a time.
Boosting fini is a risk/reward decision based on the cost of the damage she and her teammate will take doing so, the benefit of the offensive power (and to some degree, the defense) she gains, and the risks of the unknown AI backline. I started out boosting way too much, at the cost of the team’s longevity. By the end, though, I had progressed to boosting way too little, not taking full advantage of favorable situations. At my peak, I factored in the risk of speedy backline physical attackers, how a crit would affect each gameplan, and the health of my entire team, and every boost or foregone boost was done with purpose and conviction.
Leech seed converts a good gamestate into HP recovery to spread around your entire team, and at least one completely free switch. AV Ince healing up often feels like cheating, and a fini with leftovers and double leech seed recovery can boost even in the presence of some beasts.
In the best of times, this team takes enemy Overheat and Draco Meteor to generate setup value. For this reason, ferrothorn is often the unintuitive dragon-type switch in instead of fini. In a similar way, this team often tries to bait out and absorb the fight’s Z-move - but the AI is unfortunately a little unpredictable in its usage.
The same goes for damage calculations, especially when incidental spread move damage is a major aspect of your game plan.
This team has rock and fighting type weakness overlaps. The rock overlap is often a source of anxiety, and the fighting overlap is often a source of grief. This team really feels when its switch-in options are hampered, and when dealing with the high stakes games of focus blast, stone edge, rock slide, superpower, head smash, and close combat, it’s tough to stay in control. Games quickly and often centralize around the holders of these moves. Another incarnation of this team might look to try make the weakness overlaps, if any, be for more manageable types - ice/water, for example, were almost auto-wins for the team thanks to its backline, and it would probably not mind in the slightest if the frontline was deathly weak to both.
One-hit KO moves have never caused me problems, in part because I got lucky, and in part because I played to give myself the best odds against them. Ince handles a good portion of them, and fake out + two double edges handles most of the rest. The game plan upon seeing a potential 1HKO mon is to, if given the opportunity and the means, determine what set it is, and then upon inevitably finding out it’s the 1HKO set, going for an all-out blitz on it. Thankfully, these mons rarely were accompanied by other meaningful threats. However, even if they were, the risk of exposing my backline to them - fini, unable to touch them, or ferro, unable to outspeed them - is typically far greater than any other risk present.
When you can bring out ferro, you usually should. He has many perfect matchups, but also many unwinnable ones - this dictates that you need to get your ferro value while the getting’s good. Ferrothorn's mere presence actually makes the AI too scared to use trick room, and he eats rain teams for breakfast. Even when it's not safe to keep him out, its magnetic attraction to fire type attacks allows you to script the battlefield for multiple turns at a time.
Boosting fini is a risk/reward decision based on the cost of the damage she and her teammate will take doing so, the benefit of the offensive power (and to some degree, the defense) she gains, and the risks of the unknown AI backline. I started out boosting way too much, at the cost of the team’s longevity. By the end, though, I had progressed to boosting way too little, not taking full advantage of favorable situations. At my peak, I factored in the risk of speedy backline physical attackers, how a crit would affect each gameplan, and the health of my entire team, and every boost or foregone boost was done with purpose and conviction.
Leech seed converts a good gamestate into HP recovery to spread around your entire team, and at least one completely free switch. AV Ince healing up often feels like cheating, and a fini with leftovers and double leech seed recovery can boost even in the presence of some beasts.
In the best of times, this team takes enemy Overheat and Draco Meteor to generate setup value. For this reason, ferrothorn is often the unintuitive dragon-type switch in instead of fini. In a similar way, this team often tries to bait out and absorb the fight’s Z-move - but the AI is unfortunately a little unpredictable in its usage.
As this strategy resolves around careful planning to generate small advantages, unpredictability is the ultimate enemy. Set mixups and, in unfortunate situations, targeting mixups will be the primary sources of unnecessarily foregone and lost value.
Anyone that limits this team’s options can, in the in the right place at the right time, rise to the level of a threat. Fast and strong or bulky and powerful pokemon of all colors can threaten unacceptable amounts of health loss without a flawless answer. Taunt, encore, speed control, and flinch control can directly invalidate options.
The way the team is assembled, there are many readily-apparent surgical extreme threats to its individual members. However, there are also a few notable all-around threats.
Crobat
Move over Grimsley, this here is the coin flip master. 50% of shrugging off Fake Out. 50% of being the 50% sleep set. 50% of being the 50% crit chance set. Can target either ince or mence, with either Brave Bird or Cross Poison. Even uses the move choice mixup against fini, just to make even second level switching risky, and even routinely brave birds ferro over cross poisoning fini. I desperately want Tailwind against him, but misty terrain can’t save mence from hypnosis. 50% of the time, crobat is 100% of a menace, which is all it really needs to be to warrant a top place on my shit list. Unpredictable, versatile, and potentially devastating.
Terrakion
This dude hits hard, where this team hurts most. He’s bulky enough to withstand a hit from the members that aren’t immediately threatened by or outspeed him. When he’s double intimidate dropped, he borders on being manageable, but when he comes out from the backline, the atmosphere immediately turns grim. He also tends to be accompanied by surgical threat rosters, and all it really takes is for one of my options to be restricted for a turn against Terrakion to become a choice of who to sacrifice.
Alakazam
This dude is fast, specially bulky, and has Focus Blast. Again, he has a vexing mixup - either he has a shot at Inner Focus alongside an especially beefy focus blast, or he traces Intimidate, dodging the Knock Off 1HKO. I just fake him out and set up Tailwind the vast majority of the time, because swapping around and trying to position around this wrecking ball is just a flat out losing proposition.
Gardevoir
Focus Blast is a recurring problem for this team, and the gardevoirs pack alongside it a bag of tricks for the fighting resists on my team, with the power to back it up. Again, unpredictability - if it’s mega, it will focus blast someone, but if it’s not, it has a fairy move on turn one. I say “someone,” because it sometimes blasts mence, making the ferro switch-in sweat. Fini can’t even take a Hyper Beam quite well enough to set up on her, and seeing that those beams are often aimed at ince, future unclear. Similar to alakazam, except it seems repeated switching is the right option, albeit a risk-filled and anxiety-inducing one.
Tyranitar
The other insidious killer. It’s easy to ignore the tyranitars as dinky spread attackers. All he does is boost for 20 turns anyway, back though the intimidates to a point where he can actually tickle ferro. However, his huge bulk against my non-ferro members, his slight unpredictability, and his sand damage add up to almost always take a disproportionate chunk of value out of my team to the grave with him, whether I notice it or not. In the off chance that he manages to outlive his dancing fever, he starts denting any and all team members.
That Walrein
Oh, how I hate that walrein. The other 1HKOers are more easily killed, and don’t have very threatening set mixups. I’m amazed at how well this team mitigates bullshit, but no matter what you’ve got going for you, there’s always one bastard lingering around to remind you, “Nothing is perfect. Not on my watch.”
Anyone that limits this team’s options can, in the in the right place at the right time, rise to the level of a threat. Fast and strong or bulky and powerful pokemon of all colors can threaten unacceptable amounts of health loss without a flawless answer. Taunt, encore, speed control, and flinch control can directly invalidate options.
The way the team is assembled, there are many readily-apparent surgical extreme threats to its individual members. However, there are also a few notable all-around threats.
Crobat
Move over Grimsley, this here is the coin flip master. 50% of shrugging off Fake Out. 50% of being the 50% sleep set. 50% of being the 50% crit chance set. Can target either ince or mence, with either Brave Bird or Cross Poison. Even uses the move choice mixup against fini, just to make even second level switching risky, and even routinely brave birds ferro over cross poisoning fini. I desperately want Tailwind against him, but misty terrain can’t save mence from hypnosis. 50% of the time, crobat is 100% of a menace, which is all it really needs to be to warrant a top place on my shit list. Unpredictable, versatile, and potentially devastating.
Terrakion
This dude hits hard, where this team hurts most. He’s bulky enough to withstand a hit from the members that aren’t immediately threatened by or outspeed him. When he’s double intimidate dropped, he borders on being manageable, but when he comes out from the backline, the atmosphere immediately turns grim. He also tends to be accompanied by surgical threat rosters, and all it really takes is for one of my options to be restricted for a turn against Terrakion to become a choice of who to sacrifice.
Alakazam
This dude is fast, specially bulky, and has Focus Blast. Again, he has a vexing mixup - either he has a shot at Inner Focus alongside an especially beefy focus blast, or he traces Intimidate, dodging the Knock Off 1HKO. I just fake him out and set up Tailwind the vast majority of the time, because swapping around and trying to position around this wrecking ball is just a flat out losing proposition.
Gardevoir
Focus Blast is a recurring problem for this team, and the gardevoirs pack alongside it a bag of tricks for the fighting resists on my team, with the power to back it up. Again, unpredictability - if it’s mega, it will focus blast someone, but if it’s not, it has a fairy move on turn one. I say “someone,” because it sometimes blasts mence, making the ferro switch-in sweat. Fini can’t even take a Hyper Beam quite well enough to set up on her, and seeing that those beams are often aimed at ince, future unclear. Similar to alakazam, except it seems repeated switching is the right option, albeit a risk-filled and anxiety-inducing one.
Tyranitar
The other insidious killer. It’s easy to ignore the tyranitars as dinky spread attackers. All he does is boost for 20 turns anyway, back though the intimidates to a point where he can actually tickle ferro. However, his huge bulk against my non-ferro members, his slight unpredictability, and his sand damage add up to almost always take a disproportionate chunk of value out of my team to the grave with him, whether I notice it or not. In the off chance that he manages to outlive his dancing fever, he starts denting any and all team members.
That Walrein
Oh, how I hate that walrein. The other 1HKOers are more easily killed, and don’t have very threatening set mixups. I’m amazed at how well this team mitigates bullshit, but no matter what you’ve got going for you, there’s always one bastard lingering around to remind you, “Nothing is perfect. Not on my watch.”
Dual Core Processing (and friends) QR:
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-4987-90F1
Notable Battles
D7GW-WWWW-WWXX-PDDW The only time post-Tailwind-addition this team's life flashed before my eyes. Horribly mismanaging megamence's life was the culprit here, but most of my plays afterward were fair.
TT3W-WWWW-WWXX-PDHU A 2v4 situation pivots on one legendary turn, in which I realize the AI has a chance of going for a double Sandstorm, and I all-in bet on it.
MDUW-WWWW-WWXX-PDM2 How this team fared against a +4 milotic - hilariously well.
Q3WG-WWWW-WWXX-PDTF How many turns did this ferrothorn stay in versus a moltres? The answer may surprise you. The importance of experience with AI play patterns.
36PG-WWWW-WWWV-K5TG is hilarious. Rough draft of this team brought to its knees at battle 17. Keep in mind that's zoom lens ferro.
Good Examples of Ordinary Functioning
HNLW-WWWW-WWXX-PEY8 Fairy trainers challenge many teams, this one is no exception.
AC2G-WWWW-WWXX-PEMG Careful maneuvering around set mixups.
YGZW-WWWW-WWXX-PEPK More set mixups, more disciplined risk management.
QXAW-WWWW-WWXX-R2XY Each new threat requires reexamination of your game plan.
J3LW-WWWW-WWXX-R2XN Oftentimes, slow and steady wins the race.
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-4987-90F1
Notable Battles
D7GW-WWWW-WWXX-PDDW The only time post-Tailwind-addition this team's life flashed before my eyes. Horribly mismanaging megamence's life was the culprit here, but most of my plays afterward were fair.
TT3W-WWWW-WWXX-PDHU A 2v4 situation pivots on one legendary turn, in which I realize the AI has a chance of going for a double Sandstorm, and I all-in bet on it.
MDUW-WWWW-WWXX-PDM2 How this team fared against a +4 milotic - hilariously well.
Q3WG-WWWW-WWXX-PDTF How many turns did this ferrothorn stay in versus a moltres? The answer may surprise you. The importance of experience with AI play patterns.
36PG-WWWW-WWWV-K5TG is hilarious. Rough draft of this team brought to its knees at battle 17. Keep in mind that's zoom lens ferro.
Good Examples of Ordinary Functioning
HNLW-WWWW-WWXX-PEY8 Fairy trainers challenge many teams, this one is no exception.
AC2G-WWWW-WWXX-PEMG Careful maneuvering around set mixups.
YGZW-WWWW-WWXX-PEPK More set mixups, more disciplined risk management.
QXAW-WWWW-WWXX-R2XY Each new threat requires reexamination of your game plan.
J3LW-WWWW-WWXX-R2XN Oftentimes, slow and steady wins the race.
I may have failed this team as its pilot, but I hope that I did it justice in its writeup. I hope that I have accurately and usefully communicated Dual Core Processing's structure, function, and most importantly, its overall philosophy. In the end, I was left with the feeling that this team's potential was limited not by external factors, but by its player. Whether or not that is actually the case, I find the idea beautiful. If I have conveyed to you a fraction of that beauty - thank you.
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Updating, reporting a completed streak of 473 wins in Ultra Moon Super Doubles. I won't elaborate too much, as Coeur has expounded upon this team a ton, but needless to say, that this squad WORKS.
- vs. Dexio, Starf Battle (Passimian3/Whimsicott3/Slowbro4/Espeon) -- Dexio is always a tricky proposition, due to the Tailwind/Trick Room mixups he can throw to counter my Tailwind, and the Fairies sprinkled in there to dissuade the Soulblaze. This is demonstrated here, as well as one of my very few uses of Electroweb, the added bulk to Koko coming into play, and my commemorative first USUM Starf obtained. CE7W-WWWW-WWX2-478L
- vs. Harvey, Battle 232 (Gengar4/A-Golem2/Lanturn4/Vaporeon4) -- Mildly tough, but more shown as a personal footnote for myself, as this was a decent snapshot of the sort of gimmicky team I would run if I were a facility Trainer: Kantomons, Alolan Formes, Johtomons (mandatory), and Megas strictly from those two regions (as you can tell, I'm quite old compared to some other members of this community). E4KW-WWWW-WWX2-47AA
- vs. Christian, Battle 285 (Porygon-Z4/Chandelure4/Drampa3/Espeon) -- the closest battle of the streak, and not surprisingly it's exactly why I advise against throwing Kommo-O out there if anything on the opposition is capable of one-shotting it before you light the Soulblaze. Two Drampa3 Quick Claw procs didn't help matters either. MegaKhan's bulk became incredibly clutch here and was yet another instance of why, if you're stuck for Mega slots and aren't gonna run a JohtoMega, MegaKhan is your next-best option. M4EG-WWWW-WWX2-47EQ
- vs. Gwenny, Battle 314 (Azelf/Cresselia2/Heatran/Articuno) -- 46 turns long, and you can imagine why. Fortunately, if you keep Kartana alive, this becomes less of a grueling trial and more of a source of great embarrassment for my Nemesis... FGAW-WWWW-WWX2-47GY
- vs. Poppy, Battle 361 (Hydreigon/Honchkrow/Greninja/Zoroark4) -- turskain has previously noted on this thread that some weird shit is occasionally going on with Zoroark and "resist switching" when it has its Illusion active. I saved this partly as an instance of backline Zoroark to see if anyone here can help My Liege out and tease this behavior out of it, and partly to note my first recorded instance of Set 4's Focus Band saving its ass in Tree. 4Z6W-WWWW-WWX2-47Y8
- vs. Perri, Battle 362 (Florges/Lilligant2/Aromatisse/Blissey2) -- my most recent Perri Battle, and while not tough, it was an bizarrely Set 2-loaded instance. The other two were likely Set 2 as well, knowing my luck. F8RW-WWWW-WWX2-47LK
- vs. Xio, Battle 444 (Primarina/Mimikyu3/Sylveon3/Togekiss) -- while Xio is normally a huge cunt due to her ability to entirely block Soulblaze, in this instance, the rest of my team didn't particularly seem to mind...one of Kartana's shining moments in this streak. 4CVG-WWWW-WWX2-47LT
- vs. Larry, Battle 474 (Aromatisse/Rotom-Heat/Amoonguss3/Sharpedo4) -- I was in a tight situation and basically gambled myself into a loss once I had this pared down to a 3v2. Always go for the safe play, children. 4WNW-WWWW-WWX2-47NE
NoCheese You can remove my 138-win streak from the leaderboard now, boss: I don't want to clutter things up too much on my end now, and this much more impressive run can essentially replace it while leaving the important streak with 'Buncha Faves, Dood' intact.
cayZ5 Scythes ANTS You have helped flesh out the QR-UNO to a good degree and provided me with material to keep shooting forward in the Ultra Tree for a good while to come. I both love you and hate you for that, I'll have you know...thx!
HeadsILoseTailsYouWin And I guess I'll have to give your team a spin sometime; after all, I still have a UM Singles stamp to acquire...
And now, to keep climbing towards my next goal of maxing out my BP for the first time in UM!
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good lord would it kill you to use normally sized sprites like everyone else? lol jk (sorta)
I'm curious as to how you obtained that Kangaskhan since it was no secret how obnoxiously difficult a time Eisen had in legitimately obtaining an Adamant one from the Safari. You're usually very animated about things which frustrate you, but you began using this thing out of nowhere. Not to mention when asked by Coeur where you'd gotten it, your response was
"gen 3 tutor I believe"
Come on. SM and I've shared some
You also edited your post to say you're using Adamant Lando now and not Jolly, did you gen that change too?
Ooh! The 4000th post in this thread!
I've updated through here. Lots of great streaks. And Tapu Koko is sure coming on strong. A few notes. First, I was going to include Touko's streak, with enough people playing, someone is bound to get ridiculously lucky on the high-rolls, and this is more believable than certain sketchy 4-digit claims. But the "take my ball and go home" walk-away post means I'm absolutely going with the skeptics on this one.
Second, brandonplaysstuff, as you see, I did not include your 462 win streak, due to the genned Kanaskhan. Still a good streak and interesting team, just not leaderboard eligible. I have included your 276 win Landorus / Tapu Koko / Aegislash / Mega Gyarados team, but the loss video code you gave doesn't work. Did you accidently typo? Please update when you get the chance!
You'll note I still have not included my 1000 wins in super singles. Gotta stay true to the "no write up, no leaderboard principle" as bending the rules in my own favor would be pretty hypocritical. But I'll get it done eventually!
Continued good luck with the streaks, everybody!
I've updated through here. Lots of great streaks. And Tapu Koko is sure coming on strong. A few notes. First, I was going to include Touko's streak, with enough people playing, someone is bound to get ridiculously lucky on the high-rolls, and this is more believable than certain sketchy 4-digit claims. But the "take my ball and go home" walk-away post means I'm absolutely going with the skeptics on this one.
Second, brandonplaysstuff, as you see, I did not include your 462 win streak, due to the genned Kanaskhan. Still a good streak and interesting team, just not leaderboard eligible. I have included your 276 win Landorus / Tapu Koko / Aegislash / Mega Gyarados team, but the loss video code you gave doesn't work. Did you accidently typo? Please update when you get the chance!
You'll note I still have not included my 1000 wins in super singles. Gotta stay true to the "no write up, no leaderboard principle" as bending the rules in my own favor would be pretty hypocritical. But I'll get it done eventually!
Continued good luck with the streaks, everybody!