Discharge Core: Smogon Doubles Team
The Pokemon
Core (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
Part one of the inspiration for the team. I was looking around for ways to improve my old Hail team, and I was interested by a Water Absorb/Storm Drain sort of set. I decided to go with a Volt Absorb combo because Thundurus-Therian and Jolteon are fast, and I prefer speedy Pokemon.
Discharge was the first move I went for. Hits every Poke on the field and heals Jolteon. HP Ice is for dragons, Landorus, some Grass types, and other Volt Absorb Pokemon. Grass Knot covers Gastrodon, who would cause problems for my team otherwise. Focus Blast is last for another coverage move, and it’s useful against Ferrothorn.
I went with an Expert Belt because I wanted all of my moves boosted and not locked in to a move with Choice Band.
Cory (Jolteon) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Signal Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Part two of the core of the team. Jolteon is far more fragile, but a fast Discharge is sometimes the difference between life and death for Thundurus. Jolteon also has a good late game synergy with Gastrodon or Volcarona with Protect+spread move.
Discharge for the reasons already explained. Signal Beam is great for neutral coverage against some stuff that resists Electric and against Psychics and Darks. Thunder Wave doesn’t get as much use as I expected it would, so I’m looking to replace it. Protect is when I have another Pokemon with a spread move on the field.
Weather (Politoed) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 3 Spd
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Protect
I felt a Discharge team needed rain coverage. Politoed helps in weather wars and has actually been an effective last Pokemon before. Iron Ball and low Speed IVs almost guarantee that rain wins the initial weather battle.
Surf is for spread Water coverage. Ice Beam is useful against the same Pokemon Thundurus’ HP Ice covers. Encore hasn’t seen much use, so I’m going to replace it. Protect is to prolong Politoed’s life.
Control (Gastrodon) @ Rindo Berry
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
I like Gastrodon. Paired with Politoed, Gastrodon’s ability is awesome. He also catches Water attacks aimed for Landorus. Surf is for coverage, Earth Power is nice STAB, Recover is to prolong life, and Toxic is to attack Pokemon I can’t cover well. Rindo Berry is to half Grass attacks which Gastrodon is prone to attracting.
Rock (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Protect
While this team was made with a Discharge core in mind, Landorus-T is probably the single most valuable Pokemon on my team. He pairs well with every one of my other Pokemon. Intimidate weakens opponents’ attack. Yache Berry prolongs life against Ice attacks.
I’d replaced Hitmontop with Landorus because I needed Rock Slide coverage, and Hitmontop wasn’t synergizing with the rest of the team. Earthquake is an obvious spread move. Explosion is a last ditch effort to take out some Pokemon that just need a swift kick in the ass. Protect prolongs Landorus’ life, like every other time it’s on my team.
Waves (Volcarona) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
The newest member of my team, Volcarona came on for STAB Fire and Bug attacks. Heat Wave is a nice spread move against Ferro and other Grass or Steel types. Bug Buzz is for Psychics. HP Ice is a coverage move in case both Thundurus and Politoed are down. Protect is for when one of the other Pokemon is going to use a spread move that could kill Volcarona.
Battle Strategy
I lead with Politoed and Landorus. Poli for rain, Landorus for Intimidate. I immediately switch Poli for either Thundurus or Gastrodon, depending on the opponent’s Pokemon and what move Landorus is going to use. With Thundurus, I spam Discharge and Earthquake for as long as possible. With Gastrodon, the attacking strategy depends more on the individual Pokemon. If I have to, I use Explosion after switching to a Pokemon that knows Protect. After these initial Pokemon, the strategy depends on the team.
Rain
This is one of the trickiest types of teams for me to battle, because many Pokemon end up being the same or similar. I tend to keep Thundurus or Jolteon out, but I often use the others just to get rid of certain Pokemon (Volcarona’s Bug Buzz is nice against Starmie after Jolteon is dead, for example).
Sun
Surprisingly easy to battle, once I got the hang of the team. I use Volcarona a lot because his STAB Heat Wave is great against Venusaur and Ferrothorn. I also use Landorus because Ninetales is weak to his Rock Slide and Earthquake.
Sand
I use Landorus and Gastrodon if I can’t control the weather. Usually, Politoed is slower than Tyranitar/Hippowdon, so I get the weather I want. Surf spamming with Gastrodon and Politoed works well, because a lot of these Pokemon are weak to water, and Rain-boosted Surf hits well on even Pokemon that resist it.
Mixed Weather
This just gets weird with the weather changes. Usually one of the weathers is rain, so it helps my Pokemon. Similar strategies to the other weather teams.
Goodstuff
I usually do pretty well against these, although it depends on what Pokemon there are. I have good coverage between my Pokemon, so I can often counter the different Pokemon.
Overall, my Pokemon can pair with pretty much any of the others on my team and work well. I’m looking to improve movesets and maybe EV spreads, although the ones I have tend to work well.
Importable
The Pokemon
Core (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
Part one of the inspiration for the team. I was looking around for ways to improve my old Hail team, and I was interested by a Water Absorb/Storm Drain sort of set. I decided to go with a Volt Absorb combo because Thundurus-Therian and Jolteon are fast, and I prefer speedy Pokemon.
Discharge was the first move I went for. Hits every Poke on the field and heals Jolteon. HP Ice is for dragons, Landorus, some Grass types, and other Volt Absorb Pokemon. Grass Knot covers Gastrodon, who would cause problems for my team otherwise. Focus Blast is last for another coverage move, and it’s useful against Ferrothorn.
I went with an Expert Belt because I wanted all of my moves boosted and not locked in to a move with Choice Band.
Cory (Jolteon) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Signal Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Part two of the core of the team. Jolteon is far more fragile, but a fast Discharge is sometimes the difference between life and death for Thundurus. Jolteon also has a good late game synergy with Gastrodon or Volcarona with Protect+spread move.
Discharge for the reasons already explained. Signal Beam is great for neutral coverage against some stuff that resists Electric and against Psychics and Darks. Thunder Wave doesn’t get as much use as I expected it would, so I’m looking to replace it. Protect is when I have another Pokemon with a spread move on the field.
Weather (Politoed) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 3 Spd
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Protect
I felt a Discharge team needed rain coverage. Politoed helps in weather wars and has actually been an effective last Pokemon before. Iron Ball and low Speed IVs almost guarantee that rain wins the initial weather battle.
Surf is for spread Water coverage. Ice Beam is useful against the same Pokemon Thundurus’ HP Ice covers. Encore hasn’t seen much use, so I’m going to replace it. Protect is to prolong Politoed’s life.
Control (Gastrodon) @ Rindo Berry
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
I like Gastrodon. Paired with Politoed, Gastrodon’s ability is awesome. He also catches Water attacks aimed for Landorus. Surf is for coverage, Earth Power is nice STAB, Recover is to prolong life, and Toxic is to attack Pokemon I can’t cover well. Rindo Berry is to half Grass attacks which Gastrodon is prone to attracting.
Rock (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Protect
While this team was made with a Discharge core in mind, Landorus-T is probably the single most valuable Pokemon on my team. He pairs well with every one of my other Pokemon. Intimidate weakens opponents’ attack. Yache Berry prolongs life against Ice attacks.
I’d replaced Hitmontop with Landorus because I needed Rock Slide coverage, and Hitmontop wasn’t synergizing with the rest of the team. Earthquake is an obvious spread move. Explosion is a last ditch effort to take out some Pokemon that just need a swift kick in the ass. Protect prolongs Landorus’ life, like every other time it’s on my team.
Waves (Volcarona) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
The newest member of my team, Volcarona came on for STAB Fire and Bug attacks. Heat Wave is a nice spread move against Ferro and other Grass or Steel types. Bug Buzz is for Psychics. HP Ice is a coverage move in case both Thundurus and Politoed are down. Protect is for when one of the other Pokemon is going to use a spread move that could kill Volcarona.
Battle Strategy
I lead with Politoed and Landorus. Poli for rain, Landorus for Intimidate. I immediately switch Poli for either Thundurus or Gastrodon, depending on the opponent’s Pokemon and what move Landorus is going to use. With Thundurus, I spam Discharge and Earthquake for as long as possible. With Gastrodon, the attacking strategy depends more on the individual Pokemon. If I have to, I use Explosion after switching to a Pokemon that knows Protect. After these initial Pokemon, the strategy depends on the team.
Rain
This is one of the trickiest types of teams for me to battle, because many Pokemon end up being the same or similar. I tend to keep Thundurus or Jolteon out, but I often use the others just to get rid of certain Pokemon (Volcarona’s Bug Buzz is nice against Starmie after Jolteon is dead, for example).
Sun
Surprisingly easy to battle, once I got the hang of the team. I use Volcarona a lot because his STAB Heat Wave is great against Venusaur and Ferrothorn. I also use Landorus because Ninetales is weak to his Rock Slide and Earthquake.
Sand
I use Landorus and Gastrodon if I can’t control the weather. Usually, Politoed is slower than Tyranitar/Hippowdon, so I get the weather I want. Surf spamming with Gastrodon and Politoed works well, because a lot of these Pokemon are weak to water, and Rain-boosted Surf hits well on even Pokemon that resist it.
Mixed Weather
This just gets weird with the weather changes. Usually one of the weathers is rain, so it helps my Pokemon. Similar strategies to the other weather teams.
Goodstuff
I usually do pretty well against these, although it depends on what Pokemon there are. I have good coverage between my Pokemon, so I can often counter the different Pokemon.
Overall, my Pokemon can pair with pretty much any of the others on my team and work well. I’m looking to improve movesets and maybe EV spreads, although the ones I have tend to work well.
Importable
*Core (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
Cory (Jolteon) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Signal Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Weather (Politoed) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 3 Spd
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Protect
Control (Gastrodon) @ Rindo Berry
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
Rock (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Protect
Waves (Volcarona) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
Cory (Jolteon) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Discharge
- Signal Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Weather (Politoed) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 3 Spd
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Encore
- Protect
Control (Gastrodon) @ Rindo Berry
Trait: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
Rock (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Protect
Waves (Volcarona) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect