Hello Again!
For those of you who don't know me, I am KyleCole (obviously) and I love making RMTs for Doubles. This is only my fourth so far and if you want to take a look at my best RMTs for Doubles check out Hail Buddies and Stepping on Shadows. This one will be a little different. Welcome to my first (and the first ever in fact) rmt for the new tier Doubles UU. Because it is the first of its kind, I am going to be putting a little extra into this RMT and not only explain how the team works and how I built it, but also a lot of thoughts I have on the new tier and how to be successful in Doubles UU whether or not you choose to use my team. Also because this is a new tier, this RMT will go over things in a more new-person-friendly way than my other RMTs. If you have never seen a Doubles team before, you will have no trouble understanding the team by the time you've finished reading and I am always available for questions if you have them.
I'm going to start with a brief introduction to the team, then go over the teambuilding process, an indepth look at the team itself, alternatives I have tried, how I play against popular play styles/threats, threats to the team, and my closing thoughts on the new tier as a whole. There will also be a "light sprinkle" of promotion for my Doubles oriented youtube channel and if you know me at all, then it will come as no surprise to you that I will literally take every excuse I can to plug it. This is something you will have to deal with, and again, if you are familiar with me then you will know what C.M.A. stands for.
Well without anymore droning on, let's get right into C.M.A., the team that has begun and ended each day as rank 1 since the tier started (and is currently ranked 1 at the time I am writing this).
Introduction
The idea for C.M.A. came from two points that hit me as soon as Doubles UU was introduced roughly 3 weeks ago. The first point was that Mega Blastoise was allowed in the tier (my favourite mega) and the second was that spread spam + tailwind would appear to be even more successful at crushing the ladder than it is in Doubles OU. The team came together after a look at the available support for Blastoise and Pokemon that would be powerful under Tailwind. It was not a quick process however, and even though the team rose to the top of the ladder quickly, it wasn't perfect at that point and I have tried different Pokemon, EV spreads, and items (often all 3) in each "slot". What I have today is I believe the perfect Tailwind team for the tier as it is today, capable of dealing with all forms of speed control, opposing weather, and popular threats on standard goodstuffs teams. Let's jump into teambuilding.
Teambuilding
Blastoise and Raichu are perfect together. Thanks to Raichu's ability Lightningrod, Blastoise is unable to be hit by electric attacks when Raichu is on the field. This allows Blastoise to beat a whole bunch of Pokemon that would otherwise give it trouble (more on that later) and Fake Out can give Blastoise an opportunity to fire off an overwhelmingly powerful Water Spout and smash both opponents. Lightningrod also prevented future members from being targets of Thunderwave which was a huge draw for me.
The team became a Tailwind team with the addition of Crobat. What drew me to Crobat initially was it's ability Inner Focus (which prevents it from flinching) and combined with Raichu it made for the perfect Tailwind lead. Seriously, there has never been a single game where the lead of Raichu+Crobat cannot get Tailwind set up turn 2 at the latest (if I want to set it up that is).
Typhlosion came next after I quickly realised that Water Spout + Eruption under Tailwind was resisted only by bulky water types and Dragons which Raichu and Blastoise beat anyway (for the most part). Typhlosion also helped me set up Tailwind sometimes because most opponents expect it to be Choice locked and Double target it when Tailwind goes down. When it uses Protect, my tailwind setter does what it does and we get to start an Eruption/Water Spout rampage all over again.
Latias was added as my second Tailwind setter and while not nearly as reliable as Crobat, provides a more Offensive/Support role than Crobat whom I use more for Utility. Latias hits super hard and provides perfect resitances for Blastoise (Electric + Grass) and Raichu (ground). Latias holds the team together and is what I would consider my "glue" even though it wasn't the Pokemon I added last. That honour goes to...
shake it Parasect :3
Parasect! This moveslot went through the most changes before I finally came to the mushroom/crab thing but once I found it I never looked back. Parasect provides a pure support role for the team and also is the main answer on this team to opposing Trick Room if they are able to set it up. Parasect also completes a Fire/Water/Grass tri-core and the lesser known "rain" Bug/Water/Electric tri core. The other members of the team have a small number of weaknesses each and because the defensive pressure for my 6th slot was high, but the pressure to take super effective hits was not (if that makes sense, I don't know how to explain it better) I could afford a Pokemon that has 2 4x weaknesses naturally (fire and flying).
Now let's get to the most important part! The in-depth look at each individual member of the team.
Blastoise
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Modest Nature
- Water Spout
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Fake Out
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- ProtectI was first tempted to use Raichu because of Lightningrod (which I have explained enough I think) and with a base 110 speed stat, it is the second fastest Fake Out user in the tier (only sneasel is faster at 115). I'm running max speed for just that reason, and while Infernape is only base 108 speed and it makes sense that only being able to outspeed that would be fine (especially if I have Tailwind support later), Latias is base 110 speed as well. Because I carry Hidden Power Ice, I would like to do a chuck of damage to opposing Latias if possible so this Raichu will speed tie at worst. I have 0 attack IVs for reducing confusion damage, and 30 defence IVs because using Hidden Power Ice forces me to run an even number of defence IVs.
Fake Out is used to flinch opponents that threaten Crobat turn 1. Focus Sash gives me the freedom to hit the opponent that threatens Crobat and not the one that threatens Raichu, because I know I will be around next turn if my opponent is only hitting me once. An example of this would be when facing an opponent that I believe is running Choice Scarf Landorus I. If the opponent leads this Landorus and a Pokemon that threatens Crobat (say for example Gallade) I can Fake Out Gallade turn 1, knowing that I will be able to KO Landorus turn 2 with Hidden Power Ice (I will outspeed thanks to Tailwind) and KO Gallade with Brave Bird from Crobat.
Thunderbolt is the STAB move of choice and Hidden Power Ice gives Raichu that outstanding Electric + Ice coverage you are probably familar with.
As I've said already, Raichu is my most common lead beside Crobat, and I will save it only if my opponent looks to have a Pokemon like Klefki or Jirachi that will want to spam Thunderwave. With a base 110 speed, it may not seem like Raichu needs much Tailwind support, but if my Sash stays intact, Raichu can defeat opponents like Mega Aerodactyl or Choice Scarfed ground types once it can outspeed them. Otherwise, Raichu is an easy sack so that I can get in Typhlosion or Blastoise in for free and start doing massive damage.
Crobat
Crobat @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Protect
Typhlosion @ Charcoal
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Extrasensory
- Protect
Latias @ Haban Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
Parasect @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
Ivs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Seed Bomb
- ProtectParsect is the Amoonguss of Doubles UU (get out Tangrowth). The mushroom crab has a really cool & unique typing that unfortunately gives it some pretty bad weaknesses (4x weak to flying and a whopping 8x weak to fire with Dry Skin) but also gives Parasect good resistances and a typing that polishes off the team.
I am using Dry Skin for my ability because Effect Spore can conflict with Spore, I don't want something to get Poisoned after hitting Parasect when I wanted to Spore it instead. Dry skin does give Parasect an 8x weakness to Fire, but Parasect wasn't exactly snacking on any fire attacks to begin with.
The EV spread gives Parasect the best chance of surviving an Air Slash from Life Orb Shaymin (50%, it always survives non Life Orb) with the remaining 12 EVs put into Defence. Parasect runs minimum speed to move first should my opponent manage to set up Trick Room, and fire off Spore before my opponent can even attack. For those of you new to the Doubles format, there is no Sleep Clause which means that you and your opponent can put as many Pokemon to sleep as you want (so be prepared)! Ragepowder is great for supporting Blastoise and Typhlosion to user Water Spout and Eruption for maximum damage, and for allowing Crobat and Latias to set up Tailwind. Seedbomb is used for STAB and with 0 Atk investment will always KO 252HP Gastrodon.
Parasect doesn't put in exceptional work unless my opponent brings Trick Room, to which Parasect is an amazing answer. If the opposing setter is not Slowbro/King (which can carry Fire Blast) they are going to lead against Parasect who is only too happy to put the setter to sleep before they can use Trick Room. If they do set it up, then Parasect starts putting everything to sleep.
Alternatives
1. Fake Out > Protect on Blastoise
Fake Out was used on the original version of the team, and was used to theoretically assist Crobat and Latias set up Tailwind. In practice however, Crobat and Latias could get Tailwind up on their own or with Raichu support every time, and Blastoise was better served using Protect to conserve HP and therefore use more powerful Water Spouts.
2.
I have tried Mienshao on the team in Raichu's slot while testing other Pokemon for Crobat's slot because Mienshao has access to all of Fake Out, Taunt, and Wide Guard. In practice I found that Lightningrod support was far too beneficial to give up, and Mienshao could not run all of the support moves I wanted, an attack, and Protect all on the same set. It also has worse coverage unless I don't want to run any support, and then why even bother at all. I didn't even really need Wide Guard because I never played my own team ;].
3. Encore/Nuzzle > Hidden Power Ice on Raichu
Encore was originally on the set to deal with Trick Room setters or opposing Fake Out. I quickly switched to HP Ice because fast Encore literally does nothing against Trick Room at all, and Hidden Power Ice lets Raichu beat Pokemon like Landorus that want to come in against it. Nuzzle was used as an untauntable method of Speed Control, but in practice Tailwind was more than enough with the support I had in place already, and HP Ice served me better.
4.
I have tried both Tornadus and a supportive Aerodactyl in place of Crobat and Latias, but neither are as reliable as Crobat, or provided the defensive and offensive support that Latias does. Simply put, they were outclassed.
5. Poison Jab > Brave Bird on Crobat
Pretty unusable alternative to be honest, there aren't any great fairies in Doubles UU (Florges and Clefable are semi-viable at best) and Brave Bird is the polar opposite in viability to Poison Jab - it hits everything. Brave Bird gets the OHKO on Mega Medicham as well which I love.
6.
I tried them all, eventually I landed on Parasect because none of these 4 offered the right amount of or reliability in support the way Parasect did. Shaymin was 0 support at all, Virizion was nice for Taunt and Fighting coverage but ultimately just wasn't enough. Rotom-mow only had Will-O-Wisp which i didn't find useful, and Tangrowth missed Sleep Powder enough times to make me hate it forever. None of these beside Tangrowth helped at all versus Trick Room, which is ultimately the most important thing Parasect brings to the team.
Let's Play Against...
Trick Room
"Bring it on" - Parasect 2014. If Taunt from Crobat, Fake Out from Raichu, and Dark Pulse from Mega Blastoise aren't enough to stop Trick Room from going up (they almost always are) Parasect comes in for the rescue! Both Blastoise and Raichu beat Slowbro/King, and Blastoise beats Escavalier and Torkoal, so after those Pokemon are removed or are not in play, Parasect goes in to sleep everything.
Tailwind
Raichu + Crobat means that I get up Tailwind before Tornadus 100% of the time, and if it wants to stay in and take a thunderbolt from Raichu then be my guest. Haban Latias > All other Latias, and once I have Tailwind and you don't its always GG from there.
Rain
DID I MENTION I BEAT TORNADUS. I think I might've because it is overwhelmingly true, and Rain torns aren't carrying both Tailwind and Rain Dance so my whole team outspeeds Kingdra when Tailwind is up besides Parasect and Blastoise, even with a Swift Swim Boost. Also Blastoise beats Kingdra no matter how fast it is. As does Haban Latias. The Blastoise + Raichu + Parasect core beats every rain duo I have played against.
Sun
I haven't seen a solid Sun team besides one from Audiosurfer (which I have not played), but when I do play sun I just make sure to get Tailwind up ASAP to outspeed Mega Houndoom and KO Ninetails as quickly as possible (Brave Bird + Thunderbolt always does). Sun teams suffer from the natural hinderance of using Ninetails, but when people start using Prankster Sunny Day Pokemon instead this match up might be a little scarier, as it is, I crush it :3.
Goodstuffs
The thing about standard Goodstuff in Doubles UU is that the Pokemon that are commonly on these teams (Mega Medicham, Krookodile, Suicune, Landous, Shaymin, Deoxys-A, Jirachi, etc.) are either super weak to something on my team or really really weak to my team under Tailwind. I can OHKO every single Pokemon in that list but Suicune, and Calm Mind Cunes get Taunted or lose to Parasect + Raichu real quick, and Deoxys carrying sash are hit before they can attack when I have Tailwind up, and Deoxys is the first thing Raichu's Fake Out is headed for.
Threatlist
I have never come across it, but a theoretical Assault Vest, Hidden Power Fire Lanturn with Ice beam and Volt Absorb demolishes this team almost single handedly and I would need both Raichu and Blastoise on the field at once to beat it, and Raichu wouldn't be able to touch it.
Porygon2 with Eviolite can be a pain for this team if it is carrying Recover and I cannot take it out before Taunt runs out from Crobat. It is just too bulky and bulky normal types in general can give this team trouble. Particularly those with Recovery (this is one of the main draws to Virizion if you want to try it). Parsect can put it to sleep but meh. (shoutout to Benja299 for making me realize this).
Mixed Mega Houndoom carrying Sucker Punch does heavy damage to Latias, and Draco Meteor is the most reliable way of taking it out that I have (in the sun), not many carry that however and even those that do do not OHKO. Not too much of a problem, but if you see one play smart.
Closing Thoughts
This team is great for the Doubles UU tier as it is today, but I would be lying if I said it would be great for a tier that forms in the future. People are still figuring out what works and what doesn't, and while aggressive speed control & spread spam works now, this sort of strategy is generally considered to be a "newb stomper" more than anything else, and since everyone is a newb at this point, it works!
The most popular and powerful Pokemon at the moment are Latias, Tornadus, and a well played Mega Blastoise or Mega Ampharos (at least in my opinion) so when you build a team make sure you are prepared for these threats. Deoxys-A is in my mind not the right metacall for the time being, but as teams start coming that reduce the viability and frequency of teams that use Tailwind or Trick Room, Doubles UU will become more friendly to it. In a viability ranking list (in my opinion), Latias would be the only S Ranked Pokemon so far, and the other 3 would be A+ with Deoxys at A-.
There are really no good fairy types in the tier (or at least no effective sets for them that I have seen) so go absolutely crazy stacking Dragon attacks, Dragon attacks on Non-Dragon types are particularly effective. Mega Blastoise is the perfect user because it takes on both Ice and Steel types that beat Dragons.
One of the reasons that this team does well is because the Wide Guard options available aren't very good aside from Hariyama and maybe Gigalith, so somebody figure out how to play those mons properly.
No one is using Sand + Mega Aerodactyl because Hippowdon is terrible, but a few people have started to realize that Mega Aero is a monster and easily one of the best Pokemon in the tier.
Lastly, not one team I have played against is adequately prepared for a tier without Sleep Clause so go absolutely crazy with Spore or Sleep Powder because you will win a lot of games just by packing a sleep move somewhere.
Thanks for reading! I hope you give Doubles UU a try if you haven't already because it really is super fun, and because some of the more annoying gimmicks are locked away in Doubles OU, you can be a little more flexible with your teambuilding (but seriously bring Taunt on the ladder in any Doubles format, especially low ladder).
For those of you who don't know me, I am KyleCole (obviously) and I love making RMTs for Doubles. This is only my fourth so far and if you want to take a look at my best RMTs for Doubles check out Hail Buddies and Stepping on Shadows. This one will be a little different. Welcome to my first (and the first ever in fact) rmt for the new tier Doubles UU. Because it is the first of its kind, I am going to be putting a little extra into this RMT and not only explain how the team works and how I built it, but also a lot of thoughts I have on the new tier and how to be successful in Doubles UU whether or not you choose to use my team. Also because this is a new tier, this RMT will go over things in a more new-person-friendly way than my other RMTs. If you have never seen a Doubles team before, you will have no trouble understanding the team by the time you've finished reading and I am always available for questions if you have them.
I'm going to start with a brief introduction to the team, then go over the teambuilding process, an indepth look at the team itself, alternatives I have tried, how I play against popular play styles/threats, threats to the team, and my closing thoughts on the new tier as a whole. There will also be a "light sprinkle" of promotion for my Doubles oriented youtube channel and if you know me at all, then it will come as no surprise to you that I will literally take every excuse I can to plug it. This is something you will have to deal with, and again, if you are familiar with me then you will know what C.M.A. stands for.
Well without anymore droning on, let's get right into C.M.A., the team that has begun and ended each day as rank 1 since the tier started (and is currently ranked 1 at the time I am writing this).
Introduction
The idea for C.M.A. came from two points that hit me as soon as Doubles UU was introduced roughly 3 weeks ago. The first point was that Mega Blastoise was allowed in the tier (my favourite mega) and the second was that spread spam + tailwind would appear to be even more successful at crushing the ladder than it is in Doubles OU. The team came together after a look at the available support for Blastoise and Pokemon that would be powerful under Tailwind. It was not a quick process however, and even though the team rose to the top of the ladder quickly, it wasn't perfect at that point and I have tried different Pokemon, EV spreads, and items (often all 3) in each "slot". What I have today is I believe the perfect Tailwind team for the tier as it is today, capable of dealing with all forms of speed control, opposing weather, and popular threats on standard goodstuffs teams. Let's jump into teambuilding.
Teambuilding
Blastoise and Raichu are perfect together. Thanks to Raichu's ability Lightningrod, Blastoise is unable to be hit by electric attacks when Raichu is on the field. This allows Blastoise to beat a whole bunch of Pokemon that would otherwise give it trouble (more on that later) and Fake Out can give Blastoise an opportunity to fire off an overwhelmingly powerful Water Spout and smash both opponents. Lightningrod also prevented future members from being targets of Thunderwave which was a huge draw for me.
The team became a Tailwind team with the addition of Crobat. What drew me to Crobat initially was it's ability Inner Focus (which prevents it from flinching) and combined with Raichu it made for the perfect Tailwind lead. Seriously, there has never been a single game where the lead of Raichu+Crobat cannot get Tailwind set up turn 2 at the latest (if I want to set it up that is).
Typhlosion came next after I quickly realised that Water Spout + Eruption under Tailwind was resisted only by bulky water types and Dragons which Raichu and Blastoise beat anyway (for the most part). Typhlosion also helped me set up Tailwind sometimes because most opponents expect it to be Choice locked and Double target it when Tailwind goes down. When it uses Protect, my tailwind setter does what it does and we get to start an Eruption/Water Spout rampage all over again.
Latias was added as my second Tailwind setter and while not nearly as reliable as Crobat, provides a more Offensive/Support role than Crobat whom I use more for Utility. Latias hits super hard and provides perfect resitances for Blastoise (Electric + Grass) and Raichu (ground). Latias holds the team together and is what I would consider my "glue" even though it wasn't the Pokemon I added last. That honour goes to...
Parasect! This moveslot went through the most changes before I finally came to the mushroom/crab thing but once I found it I never looked back. Parasect provides a pure support role for the team and also is the main answer on this team to opposing Trick Room if they are able to set it up. Parasect also completes a Fire/Water/Grass tri-core and the lesser known "rain" Bug/Water/Electric tri core. The other members of the team have a small number of weaknesses each and because the defensive pressure for my 6th slot was high, but the pressure to take super effective hits was not (if that makes sense, I don't know how to explain it better) I could afford a Pokemon that has 2 4x weaknesses naturally (fire and flying).
Now let's get to the most important part! The in-depth look at each individual member of the team.
Blastoise
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Modest Nature
- Water Spout
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
As I said in the teambuilding section, Mega Blastoise came first on the team, and is the one of two team members that have never been changed since I created this team. The EV spread gives Blastoise enough speed to outpace Adamant Mega-Aerodactyl while under Tailwind, with the remaining EV's put into HP after making sure of course that I had maximum special attack. The HP investment is enough with Blastoise's natural bulk to survive a Seed Flare from Shaymin (not that I plan to stay in against one, it's just a testament to the bulk). I have 0 attack IV's to mimimize potential confusion damage.
Water Spout was my main draw to using Blastoise in the first place. A powerful base 150 (at 100% HP) crushes any Pokemon that doesn't resist the hit and even with the spread drop, is powerful enough to OHKO Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Krookodile. Dragon Pulse is Mega Blastoise's strongest Pulse move aside from Water Pulse (Pulse moves are boosted by Mega Launcher) and lets me beat opposing Dragon types, including Mega Ampharos while Raichu is on the field. Dragon Pulse is also Mega Blastoise's best way to hit opposing Blastoise and with a significant speed investment, I always win the mirror. Dark Pulse is mainly present to hit opposing Trick Room setters like Slowbro/King or Reuniclus, doing significant damage to the former and OHKOing the latter. Tailwind as a rule doesn't like facing Trick Room and while building this team I took every excuse I could to improve my matchup against it.
Blastoise mainly plays after Tailwind is set up, but in some situations where Fake Out support is not required to ensure a safe Tailwind set up for Crobat, I will often lead Blastoise right away and Protect turn 1 while Crobat does what it does best. Leading Blastoise will sometimes force my opponents to Protect, fearing my Blastoise carries Fake Out (it used to) and saving me some HP on Crobat. This article explains Protect in Doubles better than I ever could.
When playing beside Raichu, Blastoise reliably defeats Mega Ampharos, Jirachi, Raikou, Klefki, other Raichu, and many other Pokemon that like to use Thunder Wave or fire off powerful electric attacks thanks to Lightningrod. For those of you who don't know, Lightningrod draws all Electric attacks towards Raichu and gives it a boost for each hit. It also is immune from damage from these attacks.
Raichu
Water Spout was my main draw to using Blastoise in the first place. A powerful base 150 (at 100% HP) crushes any Pokemon that doesn't resist the hit and even with the spread drop, is powerful enough to OHKO Pokemon like Nidoqueen and Krookodile. Dragon Pulse is Mega Blastoise's strongest Pulse move aside from Water Pulse (Pulse moves are boosted by Mega Launcher) and lets me beat opposing Dragon types, including Mega Ampharos while Raichu is on the field. Dragon Pulse is also Mega Blastoise's best way to hit opposing Blastoise and with a significant speed investment, I always win the mirror. Dark Pulse is mainly present to hit opposing Trick Room setters like Slowbro/King or Reuniclus, doing significant damage to the former and OHKOing the latter. Tailwind as a rule doesn't like facing Trick Room and while building this team I took every excuse I could to improve my matchup against it.
Blastoise mainly plays after Tailwind is set up, but in some situations where Fake Out support is not required to ensure a safe Tailwind set up for Crobat, I will often lead Blastoise right away and Protect turn 1 while Crobat does what it does best. Leading Blastoise will sometimes force my opponents to Protect, fearing my Blastoise carries Fake Out (it used to) and saving me some HP on Crobat. This article explains Protect in Doubles better than I ever could.
When playing beside Raichu, Blastoise reliably defeats Mega Ampharos, Jirachi, Raikou, Klefki, other Raichu, and many other Pokemon that like to use Thunder Wave or fire off powerful electric attacks thanks to Lightningrod. For those of you who don't know, Lightningrod draws all Electric attacks towards Raichu and gives it a boost for each hit. It also is immune from damage from these attacks.
Raichu
Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Fake Out
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Fake Out is used to flinch opponents that threaten Crobat turn 1. Focus Sash gives me the freedom to hit the opponent that threatens Crobat and not the one that threatens Raichu, because I know I will be around next turn if my opponent is only hitting me once. An example of this would be when facing an opponent that I believe is running Choice Scarf Landorus I. If the opponent leads this Landorus and a Pokemon that threatens Crobat (say for example Gallade) I can Fake Out Gallade turn 1, knowing that I will be able to KO Landorus turn 2 with Hidden Power Ice (I will outspeed thanks to Tailwind) and KO Gallade with Brave Bird from Crobat.
Thunderbolt is the STAB move of choice and Hidden Power Ice gives Raichu that outstanding Electric + Ice coverage you are probably familar with.
As I've said already, Raichu is my most common lead beside Crobat, and I will save it only if my opponent looks to have a Pokemon like Klefki or Jirachi that will want to spam Thunderwave. With a base 110 speed, it may not seem like Raichu needs much Tailwind support, but if my Sash stays intact, Raichu can defeat opponents like Mega Aerodactyl or Choice Scarfed ground types once it can outspeed them. Otherwise, Raichu is an easy sack so that I can get in Typhlosion or Blastoise in for free and start doing massive damage.
Crobat
Crobat @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Protect
By combining Mental Herb and Inner Focus, the only way you can stop Crobat from getting up Tailwind is to move faster than it and OHKO it. The only Pokemon capable of doing both of these things are the Deoxys forms, which Raichu can interupt with Fake Out. It is this reliability that lead me to using Crobat over the more popular Tornadus, not to mention that Brave Bird from Crobat decimates Pokemon like Medicham and Mienfoo, OHKOing both of them easily. People often think that Crobat is frail, but 85/80/80 bulk is respectable, and Crobat can be relied on to take a neutral hit + Brave Bird recoil and survive against most opponents.
The EV spread is simple, max attack and max speed. Running max speed is important to speed tie (at worst) with opposing Aerodactyl, which comes in handy if I want to skip leading Raichu and just start with Crobat + Blastoise. Brave Bird is for STAB and Taunt is possibly the most important attack you can carry in Doubles UU. Every good team has something to be Taunted in this tier, be it a Tailwind setter, a Trick Room setter, a Thunder Wave user, a sleep inducer,or even Skill Swap Spinda. I have used this team with Double Taunt before, and while Virizion (spoilers :3) wasn't the right fit for the team, having double Taunt in Doubles UU is a totally viable thing to do (I think AuraRayquaza does that on his team).
Like Raichu (but admittedly more frequently), I often sack Crobat at the start of the game for a free switch in for Blastoise or Typhlosion.
Typhlosion
The EV spread is simple, max attack and max speed. Running max speed is important to speed tie (at worst) with opposing Aerodactyl, which comes in handy if I want to skip leading Raichu and just start with Crobat + Blastoise. Brave Bird is for STAB and Taunt is possibly the most important attack you can carry in Doubles UU. Every good team has something to be Taunted in this tier, be it a Tailwind setter, a Trick Room setter, a Thunder Wave user, a sleep inducer,
Like Raichu (but admittedly more frequently), I often sack Crobat at the start of the game for a free switch in for Blastoise or Typhlosion.
Typhlosion
Typhlosion @ Charcoal
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Extrasensory
- Protect
Eruption the Pokemon! Typhlosion is the second member of the team that I haven't changed and that's because no other Pokemon fires off fast and overpowered Eruptions like this monster! Eruption is the fire type equivalent of Water Spout, and is further boosted thanks to Charcoal. Charcoal (or Flame Plate if you prefer) also let's me bluff having a Choice Item which is what other Typhlosion carry most of the time. That was my main incentive to using Charcoal over Life Orb, and of course I couldn't use Protect with a Choice item. The spread reduction from Eruption leaves the power equal to Fire Blast on a single opponent from maximum HP, and it is for this reason that I am using both Fire Blast and Eruption on the same set. Extrasensory is used as a coverage option because an Assault Vest + Thick Fat Hariyama carrying Wide Guard is the 110% surefire stop to any Typhlosion, and while Extrasensory is still a 3HKO, I am not always forced to switch out.
The reason that I am running Timid > Modest on this set is that after manymanymany damage calculations, I didn't find anything that is easier to KO (besides Hariyama but shut up) with a Modest Nature. Also, there are a few base 100s in the tier (Shaymin, Staraptor, Jirachi, Mega Medicham, etc.) and I don't want to be outsped if both or neither teams are under Tailwind.
Playing Typhlosion is simple, Eruption until you take some damage, and then Fire Blast. Repeat until KOd. Protect if Tailwind goes down and you don't outspeed both opponents. Make sure Typhlosion gets a safe switch-in to avoid taking damage (it is pretty frail) and thus reducing Eruptions power.
Latias
The reason that I am running Timid > Modest on this set is that after manymanymany damage calculations, I didn't find anything that is easier to KO (besides Hariyama but shut up) with a Modest Nature. Also, there are a few base 100s in the tier (Shaymin, Staraptor, Jirachi, Mega Medicham, etc.) and I don't want to be outsped if both or neither teams are under Tailwind.
Playing Typhlosion is simple, Eruption until you take some damage, and then Fire Blast. Repeat until KOd. Protect if Tailwind goes down and you don't outspeed both opponents. Make sure Typhlosion gets a safe switch-in to avoid taking damage (it is pretty frail) and thus reducing Eruptions power.
Latias
Latias @ Haban Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
It is my opinion that Latias is one of the best, if not the best individual Pokemon in Doubles UU. It has great typing both offensively and defensively, and with a lack of strong Fairy types or bulky steels in the tier, firing off Draco Meteors hasn't been this viable in Gen 6 until now. Combine that with its great natural bulk (80/90/130) and great movepool, and you have a Pokemon that can do literally anything you need it to. These key resistances from Dragon types are common on teams with Fire/Water/Grass cores, and if you are building a team that uses one, try and fit a Dragon type in there somewhere!
Haban Berry allows me to always win the Latias mirror, the most common and scary mirror for this team to face. An unboosted Draco Metoer will always OHKO 4HP variants, and bulky Latias are usually not running speed so I beat them as well.
Latias was mainly chosen not only as a tailwind setter, but because it was a reliable switch in for every member of the team is most cases. Draco Meteor is obvious Dragon STAB, and Psyshock is used to hit Pokemon like Assault Vest Hariyama or Blissey (stop using Blissey in any Doubles format) from the physically defensive side where they are weaker.
Latias is my secondary Tailwind user because it is less reliable, which is ok during middle/late game because my opponent is less likely to have Tailwind answers (and if they do, they don't want to take a Draco Meteor).
Parasect
Haban Berry allows me to always win the Latias mirror, the most common and scary mirror for this team to face. An unboosted Draco Metoer will always OHKO 4HP variants, and bulky Latias are usually not running speed so I beat them as well.
Latias was mainly chosen not only as a tailwind setter, but because it was a reliable switch in for every member of the team is most cases. Draco Meteor is obvious Dragon STAB, and Psyshock is used to hit Pokemon like Assault Vest Hariyama or Blissey (stop using Blissey in any Doubles format) from the physically defensive side where they are weaker.
Latias is my secondary Tailwind user because it is less reliable, which is ok during middle/late game because my opponent is less likely to have Tailwind answers (and if they do, they don't want to take a Draco Meteor).
Parasect
Parasect @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
Ivs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Seed Bomb
- Protect
I am using Dry Skin for my ability because Effect Spore can conflict with Spore, I don't want something to get Poisoned after hitting Parasect when I wanted to Spore it instead. Dry skin does give Parasect an 8x weakness to Fire, but Parasect wasn't exactly snacking on any fire attacks to begin with.
The EV spread gives Parasect the best chance of surviving an Air Slash from Life Orb Shaymin (50%, it always survives non Life Orb) with the remaining 12 EVs put into Defence. Parasect runs minimum speed to move first should my opponent manage to set up Trick Room, and fire off Spore before my opponent can even attack. For those of you new to the Doubles format, there is no Sleep Clause which means that you and your opponent can put as many Pokemon to sleep as you want (so be prepared)! Ragepowder is great for supporting Blastoise and Typhlosion to user Water Spout and Eruption for maximum damage, and for allowing Crobat and Latias to set up Tailwind. Seedbomb is used for STAB and with 0 Atk investment will always KO 252HP Gastrodon.
Parasect doesn't put in exceptional work unless my opponent brings Trick Room, to which Parasect is an amazing answer. If the opposing setter is not Slowbro/King (which can carry Fire Blast) they are going to lead against Parasect who is only too happy to put the setter to sleep before they can use Trick Room. If they do set it up, then Parasect starts putting everything to sleep.
Alternatives
1. Fake Out > Protect on Blastoise
Fake Out was used on the original version of the team, and was used to theoretically assist Crobat and Latias set up Tailwind. In practice however, Crobat and Latias could get Tailwind up on their own or with Raichu support every time, and Blastoise was better served using Protect to conserve HP and therefore use more powerful Water Spouts.
2.
I have tried Mienshao on the team in Raichu's slot while testing other Pokemon for Crobat's slot because Mienshao has access to all of Fake Out, Taunt, and Wide Guard. In practice I found that Lightningrod support was far too beneficial to give up, and Mienshao could not run all of the support moves I wanted, an attack, and Protect all on the same set. It also has worse coverage unless I don't want to run any support, and then why even bother at all. I didn't even really need Wide Guard because I never played my own team ;].
3. Encore/Nuzzle > Hidden Power Ice on Raichu
Encore was originally on the set to deal with Trick Room setters or opposing Fake Out. I quickly switched to HP Ice because fast Encore literally does nothing against Trick Room at all, and Hidden Power Ice lets Raichu beat Pokemon like Landorus that want to come in against it. Nuzzle was used as an untauntable method of Speed Control, but in practice Tailwind was more than enough with the support I had in place already, and HP Ice served me better.
4.
I have tried both Tornadus and a supportive Aerodactyl in place of Crobat and Latias, but neither are as reliable as Crobat, or provided the defensive and offensive support that Latias does. Simply put, they were outclassed.
5. Poison Jab > Brave Bird on Crobat
Pretty unusable alternative to be honest, there aren't any great fairies in Doubles UU (Florges and Clefable are semi-viable at best) and Brave Bird is the polar opposite in viability to Poison Jab - it hits everything. Brave Bird gets the OHKO on Mega Medicham as well which I love.
6.
I tried them all, eventually I landed on Parasect because none of these 4 offered the right amount of or reliability in support the way Parasect did. Shaymin was 0 support at all, Virizion was nice for Taunt and Fighting coverage but ultimately just wasn't enough. Rotom-mow only had Will-O-Wisp which i didn't find useful, and Tangrowth missed Sleep Powder enough times to make me hate it forever. None of these beside Tangrowth helped at all versus Trick Room, which is ultimately the most important thing Parasect brings to the team.
Let's Play Against...
Threatlist
Closing Thoughts
This team is great for the Doubles UU tier as it is today, but I would be lying if I said it would be great for a tier that forms in the future. People are still figuring out what works and what doesn't, and while aggressive speed control & spread spam works now, this sort of strategy is generally considered to be a "newb stomper" more than anything else, and since everyone is a newb at this point, it works!
The most popular and powerful Pokemon at the moment are Latias, Tornadus, and a well played Mega Blastoise or Mega Ampharos (at least in my opinion) so when you build a team make sure you are prepared for these threats. Deoxys-A is in my mind not the right metacall for the time being, but as teams start coming that reduce the viability and frequency of teams that use Tailwind or Trick Room, Doubles UU will become more friendly to it. In a viability ranking list (in my opinion), Latias would be the only S Ranked Pokemon so far, and the other 3 would be A+ with Deoxys at A-.
There are really no good fairy types in the tier (or at least no effective sets for them that I have seen) so go absolutely crazy stacking Dragon attacks, Dragon attacks on Non-Dragon types are particularly effective. Mega Blastoise is the perfect user because it takes on both Ice and Steel types that beat Dragons.
One of the reasons that this team does well is because the Wide Guard options available aren't very good aside from Hariyama and maybe Gigalith, so somebody figure out how to play those mons properly.
No one is using Sand + Mega Aerodactyl because Hippowdon is terrible, but a few people have started to realize that Mega Aero is a monster and easily one of the best Pokemon in the tier.
Lastly, not one team I have played against is adequately prepared for a tier without Sleep Clause so go absolutely crazy with Spore or Sleep Powder because you will win a lot of games just by packing a sleep move somewhere.
Thanks for reading! I hope you give Doubles UU a try if you haven't already because it really is super fun, and because some of the more annoying gimmicks are locked away in Doubles OU, you can be a little more flexible with your teambuilding (but seriously bring Taunt on the ladder in any Doubles format, especially low ladder).
finally you are the best :3 go right ahead and win majors imo
shrop05 everyone message Shrop to write a report for his VGC premier team, seriously pester this guy :]
quickscopenoscope constantly boosting my confidence by losing :]]]]]]
Haruno constantly removing that confidence by reminding me I'm terrible <3
Audiosurfer for working super hard and making this tier a thing at all :D
Lady Gaga : )
Joryn <:]
Benja299 for always being available to beat me in this tier and make me change up something for the better, also check his channel because it is pretty cool (for the love of god please get some channel art).
and lastly to every single person who's subscribed to my youtube channel or promoted it at all (Dashspin looking at you) the support I get from you guys is awesome and it's the reason I play this game
shrop05 everyone message Shrop to write a report for his VGC premier team, seriously pester this guy :]
quickscopenoscope constantly boosting my confidence by losing :]]]]]]
Haruno constantly removing that confidence by reminding me I'm terrible <3
Audiosurfer for working super hard and making this tier a thing at all :D
Lady Gaga : )
Joryn <:]
Benja299 for always being available to beat me in this tier and make me change up something for the better, also check his channel because it is pretty cool (for the love of god please get some channel art).
and lastly to every single person who's subscribed to my youtube channel or promoted it at all (Dashspin looking at you) the support I get from you guys is awesome and it's the reason I play this game
Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Fake Out
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Crobat @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Protect
Typhlosion @ Charcoal
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Extrasensory
- Protect
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
Latias @ Haban Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
Parasect @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Seed Bomb
- Protect
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Fake Out
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Crobat @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Protect
Typhlosion @ Charcoal
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Extrasensory
- Protect
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Dragon Pulse
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
Latias @ Haban Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Tailwind
- Protect
Parasect @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Seed Bomb
- Protect
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