VGC Blowin' in the Wind (Tailwind HO team, 1700 and still climbing on Battle Spot)

This is the most successful VGC team I have been able to make; I have been able to do relatively well in premier challenges with it. It is built around my favourite playstyle, being Hyper-Offense. Basically, the goal is to set up Tailwind with Suicune, and then overwhelm the opposition with a brutal onslaught from the rest of the team.

Inspiration: First of all, I cannot go on without giving massive credit to Laga's Hypersonic Demolition team (Link here). So Laga, your team is awesome and I stole a large part of it. Sorry!

(if someone can tell me where to get the menu sprites instead of the models that would be great)

I started out with Laga's core of Suicune and Breloom; it works amazingly well. Suicune is bulky enough to set up Tailwind consistently throughout the match while still attacking, and Breloom provides Spore support, while still putting on offensive pressure that Amoongus just doesn't have.


Now I had Tailwind support, but nothing to really use it. Enter Mega Metagross, who has extreme bulk, power, speed, and... 4MSS.


For another Pokemon to abuse Tailwind, I went with Heracross, who is quite an underrated anti-meta Pokemon. I chose to run Guts + Flame Orb as a way to counter Rotom-W, Will-o-wisp users and, most importantly, the dreaded Dark Void Smeargle.


Three Physical attackers and only one Special one. That just won't do! So I added Zapdos for backup Tailwind support, as well as being a strong Special attacker.


At this point the team was looking pretty good, but it still had one slot left to fill. So I browsed through the boxes and found Chandelure, who hits like a truck with base 145 SAtk and has the speed to work in or out of Tailwind.


It was when I was swept by Mega Manectric in the finals of a local tournament that I realized that I had absolutely no Ground coverage at all. Trouble is, I really liked Chandelure's Heat Wave, and I wanted a Special attacker for the 6th slot. So I swapped out Chandelure for Heatran, who fulfills pretty much the same role but also gets Earth Power.


Zapdos just wasn't pulling its weight. Like, at all. I never brought it to any battles, and I found I never needed a backup Tailwind user. Furthermore, because I caught Zapdos before I knew the tricks of SRing, it had a Naive nature and 0 Def. So I replaced it with Support Thundurus-I, mainly because Prankster Taunt is a godsend for Liepard and Smeargle shenanigans. Best change I ever made.


Team at a glance in case you tl;dr'd the teambuilding process:



Team in detail:


Aeolus (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Modest
EVs: 118 HP / 252 SAtk / 140 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Tailwind
-Protect
  • Outspeeds neutral-natured fully invested Base 70s
  • Survives Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge with 10% HP remaining
  • Max Special Attack to hit as hard as possible
When most people see Suicune, they expect a defensive set along the lines of Tailwind, Calm Mind, Scald, and Protect. But this is an offensive Suicune, whose purpose is to set up Tailwind throughout the match while still hitting hard with Hydro Miss. Despite Hydro Pump's shaky 80% accuracy, I run it over Scald because the 30BP increase allows Suicune to net several OHKOs that Scald would miss. The other three attacks are standard; Ice Beam is for coverage, swatting targets such as Lando-T and Mega Salamence. Protect is, well, Protect, and it is especially useful against Mega Kangaskhan, because it will usually Fake Out Suicune to try to stop Tailwind from going up.
252+ SpA Suicune Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 176-210 (106 - 126.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Suicune Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 128-152 (77.1 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Suicune Hydro Pump vs. 56 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 152-182 (87.8 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Suicune Scald vs. 56 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 114-134 (65.8 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Suicune Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 218-258 (117.8 - 139.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Suicune Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 158-188 (85.4 - 101.6%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

And these are just examples.



Fun Guy (Breloom) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Spore
-Mach Punch
-Bullet Seed
-Protect
  • Max Attack and Speed to hit as hard and fast as possible
  • Breloom is too frail for defensive investment to make a difference
Breloom is on the team for one main reason: Spore. Spore is just amazing, allowing you to instantly neutralize something if it would otherwise survive any attack you have. Spore is also good for shutting down Trick Room, which is awesome. But wait, you say, doesn't Amoonguss also have Spore, along with redirection? Yes, but Amoonguss just has no offensive presence and would ultimately do nothing on my team but waste Tailwind turns. Breloom, on the other hand, with 130 Base Attack and Technician, can hit very hard indeed, with Bullet Seed hitting 187.5 base power if it gets 5 hits. Mach Punch is good for revenge killing once Suicune goes down, but in particular it OHKOs Life Orb Bisharp before it can Sucker Punch Metagross (Over 90% of Bisharp run Adamant, allowing Breloom to outspeed). In terms of Protect, because I run Sash, Breloom is often left with 1 HP, which I have found is an attack magnet, so if I can play my cards right I can give Breloom's partner a free turn to attack.


X-treme 4MSS (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body -> Tough Claws
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
-Iron Head
-Zen Headbutt
-Ice Punch
-Protect
  • Survives Life Orb Bisharp's Sucker Punch 100% of the time
  • Outspeeds Jolly max speed Garchomp by 1 point
  • Remaining investment dumped into Attack to take advantage of Tough Claws
If it's not obvious from the nickname, I wish I could run Iron Head/Zen Headbutt/Ice Punch/Earthquake/Hammer Arm/Bullet Punch/Thunderpunch/Protect on this guy, but that just isn't the world we live in, so... yeah. Anyway, I chose Metagross as my mega because of its immediate power; 145 Attack boosted by Tough Claws is somewhat ridiculous. It also has excellent 80/150/110 defenses, which allows it to tank attacks even with little investment. I run Iron Head over Meteor Miss because, unlike Suicune with Scald vs. Hydro Pump, I felt that the 10 BP difference is negligible, and that I would rather have perfect accuracy than slightly more power (Not to mention, the 30% flinch chance is nifty). Zen Headbutt is rather explanatory, hitting the things that resist Iron Head. I chose Ice Punch as my coverage move because with all the dragons (and Lando-T) running around, the ability to heavily damage, if not OHKO, them is very nice.


The Beatle (Heracross) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Close Combat
-Megahorn
-Rock Slide
-Protect
  • Destroys things
Guts Heracross is, in my opinion, a very underrated Pokemon in VGC 2015. Though it needs Tailwind support to work best, it is a very good anti-meta Pokemon capable of beating many prevalent threats in the metagame, such as Mega Kangaskhan, Cresselia, Ferrothorn, Rotom-W, Amoonguss, and even Thundurus and Mega Mawile with a bit of prior damage. Furthermore, Heracross is immune to things like Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp, and Dark Void because it runs Guts + Flame Orb. Heracross, although difficult to bring in safely because of Talonflame, is usually my win condition if I bring it to a battle.
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 210-248 (92.5 - 109.2%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Amoonguss: 147-174 (66.5 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 135-160 (85.9 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-W: 148-175 (94.2 - 111.4%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 198-234 (109.3 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 330-390 (182.3 - 215.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Heracross Rock Slide vs. 212 HP / 128 Def Thundurus: 116-138 (64 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



King Lakitu (Thundurus-I) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Bold
EVs: 148 HP / 152 Def / 196 SAtk / 4 Spe
-Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Protect
  • I'll confess, I actually don't remember what I EV'd Thundurus for... help with the spread would be greatly appreciated
Look! The only Pokemon on this team whose purpose isn't to attack! Anyway, Thundurus is a glue mon whose role is to dismantle shenanigans such as Swagger, Trick Room, Smeargle, Liepard, Baton Pass, et cetera. He does still have good Special Attack, which allows Thunderbolt to hit decently hard. Thunder Wave I don't often use; usually it only gets used if Suicune has fainted and I really need to outspeed something, or if Thundurus just doesn't have anything better to do. In all, Thundurus-I is very good at what it does; the only gripe I have is that I made a mistake SRing and ended up with HP Ghost instead of HP Ice...


Scaldera (Heatran) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
-Heat Wave
-Earth Power
-Flash Cannon
-Protect
  • Max SAtk and Speed to be as offensive as possible

Rounding out the Hyper Offense team we have Heatran, who lives up to its name in VGC. I chose Heatran because I wanted a strong Special attacker with Ground coverage, and I was not disappointed even though Earth Power doesn't get STAB. Under Tailwind, it is nigh unstoppable unless Landorus-T or another EQ user is in play (in which case I have Suicune or Metagross out at the same time to deal with them). Heatran is also a full stop to BlizzSpam which, though uncommon (largely due to Heatran), is still used occasionally. Heat Wave and Earth Power are necessities for reasons already discussed. I chose Flash Cannon because I wanted a backup plan against fairies (especially Sylveon) if Mega Metagross had been defeated.

Threatlist:
(and Flying-types in general)
Talonflame, aka Smogon Bird, is the bane of my existence; it eats 2 of my team members alive and couldn't care less about Tailwind. My usual defense against it is to lead with Breloom and either Suicune or Thundurus, and then Protect with Breloom to try to lure a Brave Bird so that the other mon can OHKO with Hydro Pump/Thunderbolt. Alternatively, if I think my opponent is smarter than that, I lead with Suicune and Heatran for immediate offensive pressure.



I wonder if there's any team whose threatlist does not include Mega Kangaskhan. But seriously, Mega Kanga is incredibly powerful. Outside of Tailwind, the only Pokemon who can stand up to it is Mega Metagross, who just misses the 2HKO with Iron Head. Of course, Suicune can set up Tailwind and Thundurus can sort of deal with it with Thunder Wave, but it still stands that Mega Kangaskhan will tear through my (and anyone's) team if I don't deal with it.


Opposing Thundurus-I can Taunt Suicune and stop it from Tailwinding, or Breloom to stop Spore. Thunder Wave is also nasty, not to mention those that carry Swagger.


Mega Venusaur is just a <female dog> to take down: it is incredibly bulky, has an ability that removes two of its weaknesses, and can stall for ages with Leech Seed and Sleep Powder. Wait, what's that? It's also immune to Spore? Aw hell...


This team doesn't like Fire-types in general, but Charizard Y is especially dangerous. With 159 SAtk, 100 Speed, and Drought, it incinerates Breloom and Heracross and turns Metagross into a slag heap. Because of Drought removing the Water weakness and Solarbeam being omnipresent, Suicune also loses to it. Heatran walls it if it doesn't have Focus Blast, but can't really do much back.

I'm sure that there are other threats that I have forgotten, but those are the four most prevalent.

And now some videos! The first one was on Battle Spot; the other three were at a Premier Challenge.

HSJW-WWWW-WWXA-L2J5: In which I completely dismantle the dreaded Liepard + Gengar combo.
395G-WWWW-WWXA-L2Q8: In which I remember my practice on Battle Spot to correctly predict a Protect for once.
SXAW-WWWW-WWXA-L36W: In which I take advantage of Spore to counter switching, and finish with Heracross.
U6WG-WWWW-WWXA-L3GH: In which I seriously contemplate Scald as two Hydro Pump misses cause a lengthy stall war.

So, that's it! Tell me what you guys think, and certainly what improvements I could make. Help is always appreciated!
 
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I don't know why nobody else is rating these teams. Probably because all the good raters hang out at Nugget Bridge...

I like the Fire/Water/Grass core you have going there, it has always been a solid core overall, you are either hitting most threats super effectively or very hard neutrally. But there are some other threats you may want to consider. Volcarona and Charizard Y have been on the rise in VGC recently and it tears this team a new one. You have 3 fire weaknesses on your team, and while you do have 2 counters, that is still half of your team that can be lit on fire.

If I were you I would actually replace Heracross with Terrakoin. Heracross is unfortunately not fast enough. Terrakoin out-speeds Charizard Y and ohko's it with the added bonus of out-speeding and ohkoing Mega Kangaskhan.

Otherwise this is a solid team.
 
Thanks for the advice!

I replace Hera with Terra, and it is indeed working well. Terrakion doesn't have as much sheer power, but it really improves my matchup vs. Talonflame, Zard Y, etc. Quick Guard is also really nice against Whimsicott + Gengar BS.

I'll update the OP when I have more time.
 

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