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Battle Tree Discussion and Records

Hello everyone,

I'm a long time lurker here and first time poster. Here's a team I've been using in the Tree that got me a streak of 124 in Super Doubles. Not the most impressive streak, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

Before I show the team, here's the losing battle (I had another battle I wanted to share as well, but I forgot to save the video): V22G-WWWW-WWW6-BW6L

The loss happened because Charizard's Heat Wave didn't knock out Magnezone since it was holding (I'm assuming) an Assault Vest. Because of this, Charizard Y ended up going down pretty early thanks to Thunderbolt but I do manage to land a Sleep Powder on the Heatran (which missed its Magma Storm, thank god). Once Charizard went down, I sent out Garchomp and used Earthquake, but the AI did an unexpected switch from Magnezone to Latios (probably because I used a Fire move on the Magnezone the previous turn). The battle went downhill when I ended up missing the Sleep Powder on Latios, causing Venusaur to fall to a Psychic from the Espeon. After that, Latios took out Garchomp with a Draco Meteor (which I probably could have protected from), and Terrakion finally fell to a Psychic from the Latios.

Anyway, here's the team:

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Mega Charizard Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

Pretty much the perfect partner (in my opinion, of course) for Venusaur. With Heat Wave & Drought, Charizard Y can dish a lot of spread damage that can crush a lot of the Tree Pokemon in one or two hits. Solar Beam allows me to hit water types, and HP Ice for anything that other two moves can't hit. Protect is there for scouting. Nothing too special.

venusaur.gif

Venusaur
@ Miracle Seed
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect

Venusaur was chosen as Charizard Y's leading partner as I wanted to take advantage of the sun as much as possible. With Chlorophyll and the 144 Speed EVs, Venusaur can outspeed a good number of the Tree Pokemon. While inaccurate, Sleep Powder shuts down some set-up sweepers and annoying Trick Room setters. It sucks if it misses, of course but I actually had a lot of good luck with it. Giga Drain & Sludge Bomb are used STABs, and Protect is used for scouting, as well. It's also used to usually stall a turn as Charizard mega evolves so it can get its Chlorophyll boost without taking too much potential damage.

garchomp.gif

Garchomp
@ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab
- Protect

I originally used this Garchomp on a VGC team but I don't really play VGC or Battle Spot anymore so it's been rotting in my box. Tectonic Rage is a nice nuke that demolish a lot of things Charizard Y and Venusaur can't touch, like Heatran. Dragon Claw is there since I didn't really like the idea of using Outrage, and Poison Jab is there to hit Fairy-types, and any other Grass-types if Charizard falls. And once again, Protect is used for scouting and stalling turns.

terrakion.gif

Terrakion
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Poison Jab
- X-Scissor

Originally, I was planning on using a Life Orb Terrakion with Jolly nature, but I thought I'd give this a shot, and it worked extremely well. With the Choice Scarf, Terrakion will outspeed a lot of Pokemon in the Tree except for faster Scarf users. Close Combat is there to hit various Steel and Rock-types. Rock Slide is for spread damage as well as a nice flinch chance to screw with the AI a bit, and Poison Jab and X-Scissor are there for filler - I never really used those two moves unless I absolutely had to.
 
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Since my stamp run of Super Doubles, I decided to see if I could land a stamp for Super Singles. It was frustrating work, and at times my run would end at battle 10 thanks to Anabel, Cynthia, and Wally hating my guts and destroying my team (I hate Mega Lucario especially. It just tears my team apart and nothing I have one-shots it without getting obliterated)

But, finally I cleared battle 50, and continued onward, before my streak came to a sudden and unfortunate halt at round 65

8F3W-WWWW-WWW6-B3AF

I'm not sure if there was anything here I did wrong. I knew Cobalion carried Iron Head, so I swapped straight into Celesteela, then noticed the LO and knew Celesteela was going to have a very rough time. Celesteela comes out on top barely alive, and T-bolt from Azelf kills it off, cementing my fears since now I know Sharpedo can't one-shot it because sash. So I had to sac Nihilego to break its sash, then Sharpedo cleans up house... but once Torn-I survived, I knew it was game over.

WGAG-WWWW-WWW6-B3AE

a filler match to throw in for fun, and also to show how much I HATE double team... especially Registeel, which only Celesteela could reliably deal with without being crippled by status or EQ. Thank goodness it kept swapping out after having nothing else to do against Celesteela.

Nihilego@Sash
Mild
Sludge Wave
Grass Knot
Thunderbolt
Power Gem

This is my primary lead, and as one it works pretty well. Thanks to her coverage, she can land SE hits and a large chunk of the usable mon roster. Granted Timid would be much better, but there are times where I do enjoy the extra power Mild offers.

Celesteela@Assault Vest
Quirky
Flamethrower
Heavy Slam
Giga Drain
Air Slash

This is where I REALLY wish I had a better nature... but oh well. Heavy Slam is the generic nuke of choice and obliterates quite a few things. However, the EV spread I have, and the IV's on it make Special Attacks be the ones that get boosted, hence the massive special attack coverage. I DID have EQ before Air Slash, but I like the STAB more, especially in singles.

Sharpedo@Sharpedoite
Adamant
Crunch
Waterfall
Psychic Fangs
Protect

This little number I have to thank Lily for, since she handed me a breeding egg reject. Anyways, Sharpedo makes a pretty good cleanup sweeper in case the other guys fail, and hits hard with both STABS and Psychic Fangs. Due to her frailty, I can't switch her into ANYTHING, so she has to be a RKer.
 
I've got 1,000+ straight in Singles. Unfortunately the nice round milestone win vs Colress can't be uploaded for whatever reason (faster than normal set-up against Metagross-3 lead, then Alolan Muk-2 and Magnezone-3 each missed Glalie with attacks en route to being 2HKOed, in case you're really curious as to whether there was a counterteam on the threshold of 4 digits). Here's the one I just finished, #1017 (shout out Brick Squad). FD6G-WWWW-WWW6-BG2B

Definitely not a routine sequence of moves for Glalie at first as I wanted to keep the lead Tsareena alive for a while rather than KO it by Protecting against High Jump Kick. 18 turns in Glalie had -3 Evasion and Special Attack, which wasn't exactly ideal. I contemplated using Taunt on the battle's last turn to ensure a flawless victory in case Custap Drifblim used Destiny Bond, but that would have been on the unnecessary side.

Q♠ (Durant) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Entrainment
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor

In Hearts, the queen of spades is the most dangerous card in the deck. It's worth 13 points (points are bad in the game) while all the other hearts in the deck are worth 1 point each. Most players treat the card as a ticking time bomb that must be dumped onto another player the first time the opportunity presents itself. However, the more experienced ones know that through situational awareness and long-term planning, the queen of spades can be deployed even more precisely.

Incidentally, Q♠'s outsize influence is what once led a family member who works for the Los Angeles Clippers to simply remark "They had the queen of spades" after this performance from Kevin Durant I was (un)fortunate enough to witness in person:

Durant's EVs allow it to outspeed Scarf Manectric while the rest maximize its physical bulk - Mimikyu can cripple problem special attackers well enough on its own. X-Scissor is mostly for Espeon leads, and against trainers with smaller rosters whose threats I'm more aware of I'll take a shot with it against things like Alakazam or Absol. Iron Head is in the event Minior gets forced in through Red Card. Substitute's mostly been used to preserve a little of Durant's health on turn 1 against leads that already have Truant; its most important function is to make Arena Trap Dugtrio burn through at least some, if not all, of its Fissure PP. Durant is male for the matchup against Nidoking-4; if it has Rivalry Earthquake will do enough to definitely 2HKO, so less worry about it using Protect twice and forcing a switch to Mimikyu.


☺ (Mimikyu) @ Red Card
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Sp. Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief
- Thunder Wave
- Confide
- Taunt

Mimikyu is always there with a lopsided smile to switch in and say "Have a nice day!" to anything Durant wouldn't like to deal with. Mold Breaker does damage through Mimikyu's disguise, so if it can OHKO Mimikyu the Red Card won't activate. Sheer Force hits the disguise first but doesn't trigger the Red Card. Other than that, all of Mimikyu's moves are for whatever gets dragged out 2nd. In most cases Mimikyu can just Thunder Wave and spam Confide until it faints to allow Glalie to have its Substitute broken even less often while setting up. Thief is to get rid of Choice items, Quick Claws, Bright Powders, Lax Incenses, etc - I try to not use it unless absolutely necessary out of paranoia that hitting something may prompt the opponent to switch in a Dark resist the next turn. Taunt is to prevent Substitute and set-up moves and also to help Mimikyu gets KOed in a timely fashion so the opponent can't block Entrainment with Protect or Detect.

The scouting information Mimikyu provides is invaluable; it entering the field of play most often means I've seen 2 of the opponent's team members without taking any HP damage. Keeping the item clause in mind helps further narrow down what might appear 3rd. After a KO, the AI sends out the Pokemon with the highest base power move against the Pokemon you have, and knowing that allows me to make a more informed decision as to whether I should stay in with Glalie and Sub/Protect stall to try to KO Pokemon #2 from behind a Sub or pick up a more guaranteed win by switching in Mimikyu and letting Durant Entrain Pokemon #3.

I try to be judicious in when to burn the Red Card; for example, if Durant's Entrainment misses against Zapdos-2 as it uses Double Team, I'm going to try Entrainment at least a couple more times until Durant's on the verge of being KOed. Another somewhat common case is against something like Sceptile-3, which when not using Detect will target Durant with a Fighting move and Mimikyu with a Grass move; rather than letting Mimikyu get hit immediately I'll switch back and forth a few times to see if Durant can sneak in an Entrainment. Often it's good for Durant to have its HP whittled down (as long as it's not statused) in order to increase the likelihood of an opponent going for the KO rather than Protect later on if need be.

Mimikyu's EVs mirror Durant's, which is a total coincidence. It sits at an empty speed tier close to its max speed and the rest goes to maximize its special bulk. Not many unboosted physical attacks are going to OHKO it, especially considering that Durant can easily come in on Steel attacks.

○ (Glalie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Moody
EVs: 172 HP / 140 SpA / 4 Sp. Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Frost Breath
- Taunt

For the time being, I've struck a deal that allows my team to escape death. My punishment from the Pokegods? Being forced to continually push an ice-covered boulder up the mountain (er, Tree). I've got it pretty good compared to Sisyphus though since Moody's very nature means that each step backward is accompanied by two steps forward.

At the Leftovers number of 177 HP, a Glalie behind a Sub at full health has 16 turns of safe Sub/Protect stalling against a faster opponent that can break its substitute every turn. In those 16 turns, Glalie has the opportunity to transform into a wall with bulk that puts Mega Aggron's or Cresselia's to shame, a nuke with a Frost Breath that deals twice as much damage as a Glaceon Blizzard, a blinding speedster that outruns an Accelgor with Unburden activated, a cheap piece of crap that dodges multiple attacks, or something in between - all as it wastes the PP of the opponent's strongest attack(s) against it. More often than not, the AI chooses an inaccurate super-effective attack when the 100% accurate STAB would have done the trick, neutralizes itself with recoil damage or stat drops, or provides Glalie a free substitute through use of a status move.

Glalie has enough Speed EVs to move before Scarf Tsareena at +1, which can give Glalie a few more chances to KO it from behind a Sub rather than forcing it to KO itself by High Jump Kicking into Protect. If you're here reading about strategies for the Battle Tree, you don't need to be told too many times about the usefulness of moving first and throwing up a Sub. The 4 EVs in Special Defense prevent a OHKO if Primarina-4 gets a max damage critical hit Sparkling Aria. I wanted Glalie's Frost Breath to be able to 2HKO Mega Metagross at +5 and may have been willing to drop a little Speed to make that happen, but fortunately putting the remaining EVs in Special Attack accomplishes just that. This Glalie has 88 Attack, which corresponds to about a 26 IV; now that I think of it I could level it up and Hyper Train, but the main point there is that a situation where you need to do some damage with Struggle is significantly more likely than Glalie dealing with confusion in the first place, so 31 is preferable to 0 if you're going for one with 6 IVs.

WB8G-WWWW-WWW6-BFPS (#790) Durant KOs Dexio's Espeon. Mimikyu switches in on Braviary's Tailwind, which allows it to be outsped and get a free shot at crippling the incoming Slowbro. With Confide, Slowbro gets weakened to the point that Glalie doesn't even need Entrainment to set up.
TFSG-WWWW-WWW6-BFL6 (#841) What's cooler than being cool? Ice cold! Mimikyu switches into Azelf's predictable Explosion and the 2nd Pokemon that comes out is Articuno-2. Spoiler: the AI isn't wise to the fact that Sheer Cold doesn't affect Ice types.
P2BG-WWWW-WWW6-BFLU (#965) Glalie shows off a little and sets up on non-Truant Klinklang-4 after Specs Serperior switches out. Note that it also would have been possible to Taunt Klinklang and switch Durant in for a guaranteed Entrainment; there are almost always multiple paths to victory with this team
QLEW-WWWW-WWW6-BFN5 (#970) Mimikyu is sacrificed to make sure lead Darmanitan isn't Zen Mode. I count Darmanitan's Flare Blitz PP and as a result am able to effectively OHKO Delphox by hitting it on the switch-in. Glalie's accuracy boosts stay bad throughout the battle but is never in danger because its Sub can tank moves like -2 Overheat from Heat Rotom.

Switch to Mimikyu on turn 1 (if possible): Mimikyu, Minior, Wishiwashi, Komala, Darmanitan (ability can't be changed), Magnezone (don't want crit Volt Switch turn 1), Dugtrio, Drampa, Incineroar, Mismagius, Gothitelle, Turtonator (if Turtonator-3 is possible for trainer to have), Slowbro (if Slowbro-2 is possible), Glaceon.

Protect/Detect/Fake Out/evasion items: This generation I've noticed weird stuff where even something like Heatran will occasionally use Protect the first turn against Durant. The AI has also figured out that if you switch on the turn it uses Protect, it's free to Protect again the following turn, so you have to count PP at times. These will be touch and go where you try Entraining turn 1 and switch Durant out only if it's in danger of being KOed with a crit or statused.

U-Turn/Volt Switch/Explosion: I err on the side of caution and use Protect more often than normal. Once Glalie has 10 Protect PP left or so I'll see about trying to KO the lead rather than setting up all the way and risking getting the Sub broken on a turn the opponent uses one of these three moves. Against something like Magnezone-4 that Durant had to stay in and Entrain due to Magnet Pull, I can be reasonably confident it'll use Flash Cannon at least a few times before trying to Volt Switch, but past a certain point trying to predict what move the AI will choose is futile. A full health Glalie behind a Sub with 10-15 turns of boosts is a very safe proposition on its own, and if I don't like the 2nd Pokemon that comes out I can always switch to Mimikyu (or PP stall a move that threatens Durant before switching back to it).

Low-PP Choice users: The most likely scenario for a loss with this team (and I'm at least pretty sure I'm not saying this just because it's how the only loss in ~1500 battles occurred). Alakazam, Archeops, Heatran, and Manectric are a few leads that can OHKO Durant while choice-locked into a 5 PP move. When I see these I check the trainer roster; if there aren't too many other Pokemon that qualify as trouble leads I'll switch to Mimikyu (or hit Alakazam with X-Scissor). Otherwise the worst-case scenario is that the lead KOs Durant (in the case of something like Archeops, that's a 40% chance factoring in it being Archeops-3 and Head Smash hitting) and then Glalie will be at full health from behind a Sub after 9 turns of boosts and get a free hit with Frost Breath on the opponent's switch-in by the time anything gets to move against it. An opponent would need to have a Sub-bypassing move (Glalie at +1 at least 2HKOs all Infiltrators except Chandelure and Assault Vest Malamar) or 15+ PP of 100% accurate super-effective moves to have much of a chance of breaking through at that point. I don't know of any 10 PP moves a Choice user would have to OHKO Durant with, but that gives Glalie enough turns that it would take something really crazy like being at negative accuracy and missing a bunch of attacks against a bad match-up to somehow lose.

Z moves: Normally they're not a big deal because of Glalie's bulk but I had a battle in the 1st streak where Glalie was at something like -3 Defense 25 or so turns in and Arcanine's All-Out Pummeling would have KOed through Protect had it gotten a critical hit. So just gotta be careful of that.

Baton Pass: Ribombee and Decidueye are the main culprits here. Glalie is about as well-equipped for these as any Truant sweeper can be thanks to Taunt as well as Frost Breath being able to crit through Quiver Dance boosts, but Decidueye's Bright Powder and/or untimely accuracy drops can still make things a little hectic. Generally I treat them the same as I do Volt Switchers where I'll sacrifice a few turns of boosts to KO from behind a Sub.

Here I'm referring to stuff that has a shot of beating a Glalie that I'd consider to be reasonably well set-up (+4 or more in all relevant stats). If Durant is OHKOed or otherwise incapacitated it's important to set up as much as possible; the Special Attack EVs on Glalie were set to do at least half to Mega Scizor at +5, which would make it attempt to Roost rather than go for a Bullet Punch that could crit and OHKO if it managed to break Glalie's Sub the first turn it was out. Obviously the list increases if coupled with a bad lead match-up, but the vast majority of the time Mimikyu can come in and cripple something enough for Glalie to set up without Entrainment support.

Quick Claw: Sturdy Steelix-3 and Incineroar-4 are the main ones that can take a hit from a fully-boosted Glalie, break its Sub, and then Quick Claw crit to take it out. However, this is a very minor problem considering they first have to hit through boosted evasion. If one comes out 2nd and breaks Glalie's Sub, Mimikyu can switch in (in Sturdy Steelix's case I'd protect first with Glalie in the event it uses Explosion). If one comes out last, Mimikyu and Durant can take off that last bit of health. Durant can easily OHKO Malamar and do 54 HP minimum to Incinerorar, which adds to the 59 HP of Flare Blitz recoil and Frost Breath hit it would have taken from KOing Glalie.

Infiltrator/sound moves: Malamar-4 and Chandelure can't be OHKOed and can OHKO back with a crit. I don't see Malamar too often; if some Sun-exclusive trainer has it on their roster that's some unintended luck on my part and you should use a copy of Moon if you're trying to maximize your chances at a 1000+ streak. Infiltrator is a 1-in-3 ability in addition to the previous caveats about needing to land a critical hit and not missing. Infiltrator Chandelure in my experience will attempt Will-O-Wisp or Calm Mind first against a Glalie with boosted Special Defense, which allows for a Frost Breath 2HKO without even risking a crit. Also with Malamar I have the option of switching directly into a healthy enough Durant or pivoting with Mimikyu to waste some Superpower PP.

Heatran-1: Takes 4-5 Frost Breaths to KO even at +6 and has 20 PP of moves that will break even a +6 Special Defense Sub. This is the one Pokemon in the Tree that really requires some evasion "luck" to break past (to the extent that evading 2-3 attacks when a move has 33% accuracy counts as luck).
 
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Posting a completed streak of 106 wins in Super Doubles.

IMG_0469.JPG IMG_0470.JPG

Still rolling with Repto's QR team, I managed to reach this point with Araquanid/Megawile as backups. Then:

Battle #107: vs. Cadel (Slowking?/Drampa3/Oranguru?/Dhelmise4)--Although it probably would have been wise to not sac Hariyama on Turn 2 and try to have it handy for Dhelmise, and when I brought Megawile out was pretty badly timed, at the end of the day these opponents (Dramps3, mostly) just outlasted me.
JYHG-WWWW-WWW6-AQPK

No Grimsely encounters here, and a subsequent 65-win attempt with Araquanid/Torkoal as backups didn't yield any either--sorry Repto.

Kinda wanted to put this out there and get the whole QR team question definitively out of the way, but the longer-term effect of this and other runs with this team has been to get me trying out the QR Code function for this. Now, I'll be antsy to use other QR squads featured on PGL, see what helps me accumulate more suitable "sample battles" (I actually nabbed another one on my most recent run):

Battel #58, vs. Niara (Meganium?/Feraligatr3/Typhlosion?/Infernape3) (w/Araquanid/Torkoal)--business as usual with this team, but the significance is more personal than anything else. See, in the past, when facing starter Trainers in past facilities, I've looked for instances of all-Gen opposing teams (in Maison Triples) or all three members of a particular starting trio appearing together (in all formats). In the case of the latter, the Johto trio is the one that has first banded together against me in both Maison Triples & Subway Doubles, and now it has occurred again here. If I were to ever play Gen IV Frontier or DP Tower and ran into Idols Kristi/Trista/Elaine/Sidney, the same phenomenon could occur there, I bet.
JUZG-WWWW-WWW6-C33U
 
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I haven't tried browsing PGL's QR Team listings, so I dunno how focused or helpful their search function is, but I did happen to randomly see a Durant team posted around the time mine was added, so there are definitely more tree-specific teams.

If you're curious, the Durant team looked to be mostly generic and poorly thought, with more focus on the sweeping aspect and not ensuring survival. I see a lot of

Edit: god damnit phone internet/smogon eating my post

Smuckem I have no idea exactly how the rest of that specific sentence went (I wondered what those profile messages were for lol) but I'm pretty sure it was something along the lines of many posts from people who believe Durant teams are a free and easy win, and think it's 1-2-3 Entrainment Setup Sweep with zero acknowledgement of the hardware store's worth of wrenches that can pop up at any time. The team in question had a Blaziken and Cloyster with their obvious moves/traits and little in the way of safeguards. I want to say there was a Whimsicott but I'm pretty sure I'm thinking of another QR team. Anyway, the misguided players I find (gfaqs) just see the supposed braindead factor and make no contingency plans for Protect/Volt Switch/Fake Out/etc let alone the numerous new abilities that never change. It's all Baton Pass and sweep. Which for 50 wins is eventually going to succeed, I guess (Durant teams are nearly always suggested when someone wants to know the "best" team for the tree)
 
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Hello everyone, just got to 101 wins in Super Battle Tree Doubles! I used the seemingly popular Tapu Koko + Alolan Raichu lead combo with a Mega Salamence and Golisopod thrown in.

The losing battle: K3KW-WWWW-WWW6-C7HG (battle 102) This battle came down to my Golisopod and Mega Salamence vs a Latios and Chandelure, and I lost due to a Draco Meteor miss (I couldn't use First Impression on Golisopod on this turn, as Golisopod was already out )

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Taunt

The first three moves are fairly standard, really. Thunderbolt is going to be the move used on most ocacsions, as it packs quite a punch, especially when backed up by electric terrain. Dazzling Gleam also is useful, especially since it hits both opposing Pokemon. Grass Knot is mainly for the bulky ground / rock Pokemon like Rhyperior and Gigalith, and Taunt was added fairly recently, mainly to stop Trick Room from being set up. The other stuff doesn't need much explanation; Life Orb is there to give Tapu Koko some power, max speed EVs are there to outspeed most opposing threats, and max special attack is needed to give Tapu Koko as much power as it can get.

Raichu-Alola @ Psychisium-Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic (Shattering Psyche)
- Fake Out
- Encore

The second lead, Raichu-Alola, really compliments Tapu Koko well. The EV spread might look odd, but it still works well. Under Electric Terrain, it hits 260 speed, which outspeeds almost any Pokemon in the Battle Tree (with the exception being the Choice Scarf Aerodactyl), and the lack of terrain-move users makes this spread work despite the lack of speed investment. It also is able to get rid of many electric and poison Pokemon by using Shattering Psyche, which really helps Tapu Koko out. Raichu also has good utility moves, as it can use Fake Out to neutralize an opposing lead, and it can use Encore to lock an opposing Pokemon into an unfavorable move for a while. It can even lock certain foes into set up moves like Dragon Dance and Shell Smash, as Raichu will usually still outspeed these Pokemon, even after they have boosted.

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate (Aerialite)
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Double Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Flamethrower

Salamence is a valuable member of this team. It has a great spread move in Hyper Voice, a great ability in Intimidate, an immunity to Ground moves, and a fairly high speed when mega-evolved. It's moves don't need too much explanation really, however I do have Flamethrower over Fire Blast here, as Fire Blast's inaccuracy made me lose a battle on a previous run.

Golisopod @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
Evs: 196 HP / 180 Atk / 132 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet

This slot originally belonged to Kartana, but after being destroyed by a Trick Room team, I tried out Golisopod instead, and it has worked quite well. It's priority moves mean that it will be attacking first most of the time, and it's low speed means that it can work well if Trick Room does get set up. Since Golisopod isn't one of the two leads, Emergency Exit doesn't really hurt too much, which makes it more viable to use. Golisopod's moves don't need too much explanation; First Impression and Aqua Jet give Golisopod some priority moves, Liquidation is it's strongest Water move, and Leech Life allows it to recover some health and gives it a strong bug move to use if First Impression isn't an option. The EVs are maybe not the most optimized for Battle Tree (it was designed to take under 50% damage from Timid Choice Scarf Tapu Lele's Psychic), but it still works fairly well.

My strategy is simple. On the first turn, I usually lead with Raichu's Fake Out and an appropriate damaging move from Tapu Koko and proceed from there. I usually use Fake Out against the stronger threats while Tapu Koko delivers a strong hit on the weaker threat, but Fake Out can be used against other users of Fake Out, Sucker Punch, and First Impression, as Raichu outspeeds them all. If I need to switch for some reason, Golisopod or Salamence are usually effective, mainly because they both resist Ground moves, something that Tapu Koko and Raichu are both weak to. Salamence's Intimidate also helps matters against certain foes, and Golisopod's strong priority plus its low speed under Trick Room can really help at times.

If anyone has some helpful advice to make this team better, I would appreciate it. I feel that this team has potential to do very well, but is being held back by certain things
 
Two possibilities AwesomeDave980 that may help improve your team (without changing the line up):
*It would require rebreeding, but replace Draco Meteor on Salamence for Dragon Pulse. 90% accuracy is just too shaky to be consistent for long runs... You could use Dragon Claw, but given the EV spread you presently have it would possess inferior power.
*I'd also suggest replacing one of Golisopod's moves as Bug/Water doesn't have the best match up against a fair number of opponents. Sucker Punch could help out immensely with your Trick Room match up as most Pokemon that carry the move are weak to it. Given its low base power, I'd suggest replacing Aqua Jet but that depends on your play style.
 
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Hey Smogon, just posting a 56 streak in Super Multi with an AI Partner

QTNG WWWW WWW6 DWZX

My team

Mega Gyarados
Nature- Adamant
Ability- Intimidate
EVs- don't remember exact EVs. Near max attack, less speed, more HP.

-Waterfall
-Substitute
-Dragon Dance
-Crunch

Garchomp
Nature- Jolly
Ability- Rough Skin
Item- Groundnium-Z
EVs- 252 attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp

-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Poison Jab
-Protect


My Allie was Veteran Kikujiro with

Mega Manectric
EVs- I believe 252 special attack, 252 Speed

-Thunderbolt
-Quick Attack
-Snarl
-Overheat

Jolteon
Ability- Volt Absorb
Item- King's Rock
EVS- Max special attack and speed

-Thunder
-Rain Dance
-Shadow Ball
-Yawn

Gyarados and Mega Manectric's Intimidate is very useful. Garchomp can switch into incoming Electric attacks.
I depend on Overheat to deal with Grass types. I am honestly amazed I made it as far as I did with Jolteon being so bad. Sometimes it uses Rain Dance when there is nothing Thunder hits even neutrally. Sometimes it yawns the same Pokemon twice.

I lost this last battle in my opinion due to Gyarados being Frozen by Walrein's Blizzard on the first turn. I didn't Mega Evolve because I was expecting a Grass attack onto Gyarados. Then you see me Protect in hopes Jolteon will use Rain Dance, and it did. I was not sure if Thunder would KO Walrein, so I went for Dragon Claw. I think I would have still lost even if I had used the ground z move on Cobalion. The last Pokemon the Opponent had was a Gyarados with Ice Fang, which Dragon Claw was a 3 hit KO against
 
Ongoing doubles streak of 250. 7XLW-WWWW-WWW6-D55W

Kangaskhan's super easy to build around since she's stupid strong and has very few weaknesses or things she's bad at. Kangaskhan / Landorus-Therian / Tapu Fini / Zapdos is a common core in Smogon's doubles format that I more or less just copied into the tree. That Kangaskhan usually carries Seismic Toss but when I went to transfer from Emerald the game locked me out for 24 hours (I guess I'd been messing around with my DS's clock heh).

Team's super slow without a Tailwind up and no Psychic or Fairy resists means strong Pokémon like Choice Specs Latios and Gardevoir are potentially dangerous but we've pulled through so far. Kangaskhan can't touch Ghost-type Pokémon after evolution either.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Low Kick
- Fake Out
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Protect

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Protect

Zapdos @ Misty Seed
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Tailwind
- Roost
Wouldn't have a clue what the EV spreads are for. I think Fini's speed is for uninvested Rotom-A and Zapdos is for uninvested Landorus.
I'd post a QR link but Global Link's undergoing maintenance at the moment.
 
Hey guys, I'm trying to build a team around Araquanid in Doubles. Are there any suggestions for improvements? Currently I have these Trick Room based setup:

Comfey @ Leftovers
Ability: Triage
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Bold Nature
Moves: Trick Room, Draining Kiss, Floral Healing, Protect

Araquanid @ Waterium Z
Ability: Water Bubble
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Brave Nature
Moves: Liquidation, Leech Life, Wide Guard, Protect

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 Def
Quiet Nature
Moves: Trick Room, Recover, Ice Beam, Tri Attack

Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP/4 Def/188 SpA/12 SpD/84 Spe
Modest Nature
Moves: Scald, Perish Song, Rain Dance, Protect

I got to 30 wins before losing due to a misclick and opposing Dugtrio spamming Fissure. Any suggestions will be much appreciated :)
 
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Hey guys, I'm trying to build a team around Araquanid in Doubles. Are there any suggestions for improvements? Currently I have these Trick Room based setup:

Comfey @ Leftovers
Ability: Triage
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Bold Nature
Moves: Trick Room, Draining Kiss, Floral Healing, Protect

Araquanid @ Waterium Z
Ability: Water Bubble
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Brave Nature
Moves: Liquidation, Leech Life, Wide Guard, Protect

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 Def
Quiet Nature
Moves: Trick Room, Recover, Ice Beam, Tri Attack

Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP/4 Def/188 SpA/12 SpD/84 Spe
Modest Nature
Moves: Scald, Perish Song, Rain Dance, Protect

I got to 30 wins before losing due to a misclick and opposing Dugtrio spamming Fissure. Any suggestions will be much appreciated :)

It seems like your team is too reliant on Araquanid. While it can be powerful, I think having two trick room setters and a rain setter is a bit excessive, and you would struggle with things with Storm Drain and Water Absorb. Personally, I would replace Politoed with a ground type like Mudsdale to deal with electric and rock types, and possibly change one of your trick room setters to something else that can tackle grass types.
 
So I managed to get 92 wins in the Battle Tree Singles, my highest record so far!
(NoCheese note: The proof pic shows 94, so I'm crediting this streak with 94 wins.)

Sadly I lost to a Latios with Thunder and some power-boosting item (probably a Choice Specs, which I didn't expect), so I lost mostly on the switch ins.

The team I used was:

Tapu Fini @ Choice Specs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Nature: Modest
Ability: Misty Surge
Dazzling Gleam
Scald
Moonblast
Muddy Water

This is my doubles Fini, I was too lazy to change its moveset. Going forward I think I want to play it with Taunt and Calm Mind, as I mostly spammed Moonblast/Muddy Water, using effectively 2/4 moves in the whole run.

Metagross @ Metagrossite
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Clear Body
Earthquake
Bullet Punch
Meteor Mash
Zen Headbutt

Standard Metagross, using 90% moves as STABs is always risky, but liked its raw power overall.

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Multiscale
Dragon Dance
Outrage
Fire Punch
Earthquake

I noticed that this had a bit of anti-synergy with Tapu Fini (Outrage does less damage), but usually this was my late-game sweeper and there wasn't misty terrain anymore. Could have won more easily some games if I noticed that anti-synergy earlier.
I think a Roost version could be better for singles.

Overall I liked the team, it had enough firepower to punch through most teams, probably for the next times I'll take some Electric moves, seeing how bulky some water pokemons were.


I want to try some stall team on battle tree, any advice on which pokemons should I use? (probably Sub Gliscor could be a nice choice here)

Proof photo:
20p99br.jpg
 
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Looking for any input on in EV spread for Gliscor thinking of running

Gliscor Toxic Orb
Careful with Posion Heal
-Protect
-Toxic
-Knock Off
-Earthquake

Not sure how to distribute EVs focusing on Battle Tree singles.
 
Hi all! I'm very new here so would really like to get all your helpful comments on the team I'm trying to build for Battle Tree Doubles.

Basically its a pseudo-rain team built around Pelipper and Araquanid, largely inspired by a video on Verlisify's youtube channel.

Pelipper @ Life Orb
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Surf
- Tailwind
- Protect

Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Calm Nature
- Entrainment
- Leech Life
- Liquidation
- Protect

The core idea is for Pelipper to use Tailwind and Araquanid to use Entrainment on Pelipper. Pelipper's Surf would then have insane damage, like insane to any pokemons that are not Grass, Dragon or Water itself. Entrainment can be used on opponent pokemon with ability such as Water Absorb/Storm Drain so surf will hit to a certain extent on the 3rd turn. This would be the core I want to build around. However, the other 2 slots are largely up for debate.

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Facade

Mega Salamence mainly switch in for Pelipper if I see opponent with potential OHKO Thunderbolt/Thunder. It also serves as counter to any Grass typing that Hurricane somehow can't kill and Earthquake for the electric typings.

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike

I try not to use a UB or Tapu in my game (personal preference) but in my Smogon experiments, Kartana served as an invaluable cleanup because of all the Tapus out there and Leaf Blade mainly for any water typings.

I am looking at Garchomp to replace M-Salamence, and hopefully a different option from Kartana, Thank you!
 
Hi all! I'm very new here so would really like to get all your helpful comments on the team I'm trying to build for Battle Tree Doubles.

Basically its a pseudo-rain team built around Pelipper and Araquanid, largely inspired by a video on Verlisify's youtube channel.

Pelipper @ Life Orb
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Surf
- Tailwind
- Protect

Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Calm Nature
- Entrainment
- Leech Life
- Liquidation
- Protect

The core idea is for Pelipper to use Tailwind and Araquanid to use Entrainment on Pelipper. Pelipper's Surf would then have insane damage, like insane to any pokemons that are not Grass, Dragon or Water itself. Entrainment can be used on opponent pokemon with ability such as Water Absorb/Storm Drain so surf will hit to a certain extent on the 3rd turn. This would be the core I want to build around. However, the other 2 slots are largely up for debate.

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Double-Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Facade

Mega Salamence mainly switch in for Pelipper if I see opponent with potential OHKO Thunderbolt/Thunder. It also serves as counter to any Grass typing that Hurricane somehow can't kill and Earthquake for the electric typings.

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike

I try not to use a UB or Tapu in my game (personal preference) but in my Smogon experiments, Kartana served as an invaluable cleanup because of all the Tapus out there and Leaf Blade mainly for any water typings.

I am looking at Garchomp to replace M-Salamence, and hopefully a different option from Kartana, Thank you!

Kartana with Choice Scarf and Swords Dance doesn't work very well.
You could go for LO Kartana (thanks to Tailwind it will outspeed anything) or AV Kartana (so it can tank some hits on the switch in), or replace SD with Night Slash/Razor Leaf.
If you go LO on Kartana, just Focus Sash on Pelipper, so it will always bring up Tailwind+strong hit before dying.

I expecially like Salamence with Hyper Voice, as it does STAB spread damage. A Naive nature and some investment in SpA is needed tho.
 
Kartana with Choice Scarf and Swords Dance doesn't work very well.
You could go for LO Kartana (thanks to Tailwind it will outspeed anything) or AV Kartana (so it can tank some hits on the switch in), or replace SD with Night Slash/Razor Leaf.
If you go LO on Kartana, just Focus Sash on Pelipper, so it will always bring up Tailwind+strong hit before dying.

I expecially like Salamence with Hyper Voice, as it does STAB spread damage. A Naive nature and some investment in SpA is needed tho.

Hi thanks for the reply!

I went ahead and tweaked my team to this, as the old one took too long to set up before the opponents place all the status or Taunt on me.

Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Surf
- Tailwind
- Protect

Reasoning: pretty much standard Pelipper set. Hurricane to hit hard on the grass types that may wall rain team. I'm considering changing Tailwind to U-turn after testing on Battle Tree itself. With Kingdra and M Salamence, speed was not going to be a problem.

Kingdra @ Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse

Again, a very standard Kingdra set. Waterium Z for a powerful nuke on any potential threats to Pelipper (i.e. any pokemons that might have Thunderbolt, this includes Froslass and Gardevoir. Hydro Pump will OHKO but you just want that extra safety accuracy yea. ) and this will go first. If you predict a Fake Out on Kingdra, then just use Protect on Pelipper and then nuke away.

Venusaur @ Grassium Z
Ability: Overgrow
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Energy Ball
- Frenzy Plant

My Venusaur is not meant to stall but to just outright sweep any water pokemons that survive my rain assault. Max HP investment to survive any ice moves coming, although its up for debate if putting into Special Defense would be better, but that requires re-breeding/berries so... Grassium Z in the case that I didn't use Waterium Z for Kingdra, but likely to change to Life Orb or even Choice Specs.

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Return
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance

I use a M-Salamence to cleanup should Kingdra or Pelipper go down (who normally takes down at least 1 or 2 by themselves). Rock Slide for irritating Hail Teams that pretty much walls my team due to weather war and effective against my whole team.

I think so far I'm doing very well with this team, lost to a Hail team as I didn't prioritize targets properly. Overall though, I want to look for alternatives to solve my Ice weakness issue. My typical play when I see Hail team is to switch Venusaur for Pelipper sort of as a sacrifice, then switch back Pelipper. Kingdra would still have taken down one pokemon with the Waterium Z nuke ideally (normally its the pokemon that did not induce the Snow Warning). However I think this isn't that foolproof so I need comments to improve on that situation the most. Walrein walls my entire team pretty much, it can and it will set up Stockpile on the first 2 turns, then proceeds to rest up then I'm done.

252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein: 76-91 (35.1 - 42.1%) -- 89.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Ferrothorn is also a typical threat to this team. I'm hesitant on introducing a Fire move due to the nature of the team with Rain and all. I don't really have access to Kartana since I'm on Moon although that would be a very quick answer to all my worries.

Also to Legolax, how do you get Hyper Voice on Salamence oo? Its not an egg move and not by level up.
252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
Hi thanks for the reply!

I went ahead and tweaked my team to this, as the old one took too long to set up before the opponents place all the status or Taunt on me.

Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Surf
- Tailwind
- Protect

Reasoning: pretty much standard Pelipper set. Hurricane to hit hard on the grass types that may wall rain team. I'm considering changing Tailwind to U-turn after testing on Battle Tree itself. With Kingdra and M Salamence, speed was not going to be a problem.

Kingdra @ Waterium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse

Again, a very standard Kingdra set. Waterium Z for a powerful nuke on any potential threats to Pelipper (i.e. any pokemons that might have Thunderbolt, this includes Froslass and Gardevoir. Hydro Pump will OHKO but you just want that extra safety accuracy yea. ) and this will go first. If you predict a Fake Out on Kingdra, then just use Protect on Pelipper and then nuke away.

Venusaur @ Grassium Z
Ability: Overgrow
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Energy Ball
- Frenzy Plant

My Venusaur is not meant to stall but to just outright sweep any water pokemons that survive my rain assault. Max HP investment to survive any ice moves coming, although its up for debate if putting into Special Defense would be better, but that requires re-breeding/berries so... Grassium Z in the case that I didn't use Waterium Z for Kingdra, but likely to change to Life Orb or even Choice Specs.

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Return
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance

I use a M-Salamence to cleanup should Kingdra or Pelipper go down (who normally takes down at least 1 or 2 by themselves). Rock Slide for irritating Hail Teams that pretty much walls my team due to weather war and effective against my whole team.

I think so far I'm doing very well with this team, lost to a Hail team as I didn't prioritize targets properly. Overall though, I want to look for alternatives to solve my Ice weakness issue. My typical play when I see Hail team is to switch Venusaur for Pelipper sort of as a sacrifice, then switch back Pelipper. Kingdra would still have taken down one pokemon with the Waterium Z nuke ideally (normally its the pokemon that did not induce the Snow Warning). However I think this isn't that foolproof so I need comments to improve on that situation the most. Walrein walls my entire team pretty much, it can and it will set up Stockpile on the first 2 turns, then proceeds to rest up then I'm done.

252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein: 76-91 (35.1 - 42.1%) -- 89.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Ferrothorn is also a typical threat to this team. I'm hesitant on introducing a Fire move due to the nature of the team with Rain and all. I don't really have access to Kartana since I'm on Moon although that would be a very quick answer to all my worries.

Also to Legolax, how do you get Hyper Voice on Salamence oo? Its not an egg move and not by level up.
252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Kingdra Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Walrein in Rain: 81-96 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

You get Hyper Voice for Salamence from ORAS, with Tutor Moves.

The team looks good, maybe I wouldn't go with double Z move because unlike in BattleSpot formats, you aren't choosing which pokemons you play, but you are set on those 4.
I'd go with Life Orb on Venusaur, and if you can breed a Charizard Y, you could even try to go with a Chlorophyll Venusaur + Charizard Y backup plan when you see Pelipper + Kingdra don't do much against the first pokemons of the opposing team.
Venusaur with some extra speed is very scary with Life Orb.
Also this way you can get more weather control against Hail and other teams.

How's it going with the team? Which enemies gave you most trouble (other than hail)?
 
You get Hyper Voice for Salamence from ORAS, with Tutor Moves.

The team looks good, maybe I wouldn't go with double Z move because unlike in BattleSpot formats, you aren't choosing which pokemons you play, but you are set on those 4.
I'd go with Life Orb on Venusaur, and if you can breed a Charizard Y, you could even try to go with a Chlorophyll Venusaur + Charizard Y backup plan when you see Pelipper + Kingdra don't do much against the first pokemons of the opposing team.
Venusaur with some extra speed is very scary with Life Orb.
Also this way you can get more weather control against Hail and other teams.

How's it going with the team? Which enemies gave you most trouble (other than hail)?

I haven't play yet haha, still at work but have been reading through the different guides so far.

Breeding for a Charizard Y should be fine but a HA Venusaur would be hard as I got mine through GTS/Wonder Trade haha. But yeah, having another weather inducer is something I am definitely looking at, considering the Tyranitar option. Does pretty much the same stuff as what I want a Salamence to do. I was thinking having Midday Lycanroc to replace Venusaur to revenge kill with any appropriate rock moves. Essentially at this point, they will fight Water/Ice/Dragon of the opponent team so I think this would really work well with my other core.

Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Avalanche
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Thunder Punch

Lycanroc @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Accelerock
- Rock Slide
- Stone Edge
- Protect
 
Made it to 99 battles in Super Singles before falling to Cynthia's Mega Lucario on battle 100. If not for one flinch I probably would have made it, but oh well. I'm happy with how this team performed throughout.

Alolan Ninetales - Light Clay
Timid Nature - Snow Warning
- Aurora Veil
- Encore
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast

Most times I led with Aurora Veil. I was also able to use Encore to punish moves like Protect or the AI buffing themselves, which usually makes them switch out for some reason, and switching A-Ninetales in to shut off their weather back to Hail was fun, and it also did a nice job ruining Sturdy for Rock/Steel/Ground types who would otherwise be unaffected by Sandstorm weather, plus Focus Sash and the like. Freeze-Dry and Moonblast worked well enough as STABs.

Gyarados - Gyaradosite
Jolly Nature - Intimidate
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Crunch

Intimidate is always nice, and whenever I got the opportunity I slipped in a Dragon Dance and mega-evolved to start sweeping. Mold Breaker was nice to cut through things like Rotom-W's Levitate, and mega-evolving threw off the AI throwing Rock or Psychic attacks at Gyarados. Waterfall and Crunch for STAB coverage.

Garchomp - Life Orb
Jolly Nature - Rough Skin
- Poison Jab
- Fire Fang
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

I ended up using Earthquake for the most part on this. Was a swift and hard hitter with Poison Jab for Fairies, Fire Fang for Grass-Bug/Steel types and Dragon Claw for Dragon types and general STAB. I did contemplate using Outrage but I never really needed it.

As for the losing battle, well it went fairly fast.

-Battle led with Alolan Ninetales vs Lucario.
-I switched to Garchomp, Lucario Mega-Evolved and it hit with Bullet Punch for a little damage.
-Next turn it KO'd Garchomp with Close Combat. Switched in Gyarados and Intimidated.
-Mega Evolved and tried to used Dragon Dance, it used Rock Slide as predicted... but it flinched me so I missed out on the DD. At this point I knew it was done pretty much.
-Next turn it KO'd with Close Combat since unfortunately I missed out on the DD and wasn't going to outspeed it now. Switched in Alolan Ninetales with nothing else left.
-Last turn it of course KO'd Alolan Ninetales with Bullet Punch.

In hindsight I probably should have switched in Gyarados first to soak up the incoming Bullet Punch and soften it up with Intimidate before moving to Garchomp maybe so that Garchomp wouldn't have died or perhaps I could have snuck in a second Intimidate later if that plan failed. But I don't know.
 
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Ongoing doubles streak of 250. 7XLW-WWWW-WWW6-D55W

Kangaskhan's super easy to build around since she's stupid strong and has very few weaknesses or things she's bad at. Kangaskhan / Landorus-Therian / Tapu Fini / Zapdos is a common core in Smogon's doubles format that I more or less just copied into the tree. That Kangaskhan usually carries Seismic Toss but when I went to transfer from Emerald the game locked me out for 24 hours (I guess I'd been messing around with my DS's clock heh).

Team's super slow without a Tailwind up and no Psychic or Fairy resists means strong Pokémon like Choice Specs Latios and Gardevoir are potentially dangerous but we've pulled through so far. Kangaskhan can't touch Ghost-type Pokémon after evolution either.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Low Kick
- Fake Out
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Protect

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Protect

Zapdos @ Misty Seed
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Tailwind
- Roost
Wouldn't have a clue what the EV spreads are for. I think Fini's speed is for uninvested Rotom-A and Zapdos is for uninvested Landorus.
I'd post a QR link but Global Link's undergoing maintenance at the moment.
Frauded out about 272. Draco Meteor crit on Zapdos didn't help but there were many things I could've done better to mitigate things. I guess this is how one grows as a trainer.
Team link (I hope this works): https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/BT-4392-8215
 
So Boss, once this streak ends, given that it is Repto's QR Rental Team (or Vol.7 of it), will it be leaderboard-eligible or not?

You played it. So very much eligible. As always, good to acknowledge the creator in your writeup, but you're always careful to do that.

Perhaps I'll can tag them as QR Rentals and give the original creator's name in parenthesis too. That would make things very clear, while still letting people earn a spot on the leaderboard for playing the team well.

EDIT: see more formal policy note below.
 
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