Resource Doubles OU Teambuilding Frameworks

[Fran]

If you're stuck on where to go next when building a team, or unsure of where to start, you can check out this thread to find out what successful Doubles teams have looked like and what some of these teams have in common.

Viewing teambuilding frameworks can also be helpful to notice similarities and differences accross compositions to get a better grasp of building with a particular Pokemon or core or archetype.

If you want to contribute feel free to post similarities between successful teams that you've spotted. Your post can be a framework for me to add to the OP, or a comment on an existing framework. Please contribute as much as possible: good discussions are always healthy and welcome on the forums, and it's good practice in team analysis. Also feel free to suggest what team should be added to the frameworks if you think theres something i missed out on.

Tagging stax Level 51 Jhon qsns MajorBowman AuraRayquaza miltankmilk marilli Demantoid talkingtree Memoric Z strats nvakna Nido-Rus Biosci EmbCPT Croven GenOne Kaori in case you want to share your thought process for making the teams. Thank you to all you guys, literally everyone that i asked agreed to share their movesets, which in my oppinion makes it so much better.

Mega Metagross

Mega Metagross Framework

Aurarayquaza Electrium Zapdos

miltankmilk DD Zygarde

Frania Sand

Stax Cresselia BO

EmbCPT Incineroar

1: Metagross-Mega
2: Steel Type Check
Things like Ferrothron, Celesteela or opposing Metagross are very important to cover as they tend to be the go to Metagross answer. This mon is often viewed as the glue to the Landorus-Electric-Fini core. Victini offers revenge killing support, Volcarona can act as a win condition, while Incineroar can work as a pivot and pressure the opposing team with Fake Out. I went with Tyranitar that gives Excadrill sand support and allows it to fullfill both roles 2 and 3.
3: Ground Type
Another steel check, also covers things like opposing Tapu Koko. Landorus-T is the most common choice as it also provides Intimidate and a switch into opposing Landorus. Formes a strong defensive with Metagross as it breaks through steel and fire types for it, while Metagross can threaten ice type pokemon with its steel STAB move, while Excadrill provied an offensive with Swords Dance and also can works as a revenge killer. Zygarde can switch into Charizard Y and use its STAB alongside Metagross.
4: Tapu Fini Check
Dedicated water type check, Tapu Koko offers the highest damage output, while Zapdos offers speedcontrol and a ground immunity.
5: Rain Check
The team requires a strong answer to Kingdra and other water types, while it also benifits from a consistent Heatran switch in. Tapu Fini was the choice on most of the teams as its the strongest water type in the format, fulfilling both the tasks mentioned. When its paired with Zapdos it allows it to run Misty Seed, while for Tapu Koko it can change the terrain allowing it to make use of Nature Power. Stax went with Calm Mind Cresselia that can set up on all common rain sweepers.
6: Zapdos Check
Featured on most of the teams above, KyuremB offers secondary speed control via icy wind, helps check Mega Swampert and Zapdos finishing both the defensive and offensive core with its exceptional typing. In most chooses to run Hidden Power Fire as coverage allowing it to hit Ferrothorn/Kartana for the rest of its teammates. Miltankmilk went with Scrafty as it can endlessly switch into Zapdos and wear it down e.g. with the help of Zygarde, while EmbCPT chose Amoonguss that can switch into it and Spore it.

Mega Salamence

Mega Salamence Framework

Stax Tapu Koko Offense

Jhon Shaymin Sand

Qsns Z Move Deoxys

Marilli Tailwind Mew

1: Salamence-Mega
2: Psyspam Check
Deoxys can be very problematic for fast, offensive teams, so either sand from Tyranitar or U-Turns from AV Genesect can go a long way in helping that match up.
3: Rain Check
Decidated rain check, is supposed to cover Kingdra and Swampert that threaten most of the other members. Also switches in and shuts down Tapu Fini. Amoongus / Ferrothorn help deal with trick room that most offensive teams struggle with.
4: Steel Type Check
One of the things Salamence might struggle against is steel types that can resists its flying coverage, so a dedicated counter is often useful and can work alongside it. Volcanion and Excadrill are more traditional choices that check them naturally, while Deoxys can lure them in with Z Focus Blast.
5: Offensive Support
Here the teams differ the most, Marilli decided to go with Mew that helps out Salamence with Fake Out, while supporting the team with Tailwind, Stax went with Groundium Z Landorus that can set up stealth rocks while providing a substantial damage output. Qsns's Lando is AV providing a strong defensive pivot and Jhon added Tapu Lele for additional offensive coverage and synergy with the sand core.
6: Tapu Fini Answer
While the grass types may be checking Tapu Fini defensivly fast teams need a more direct way of dealing with it. Tapu Koko may deal a lot of damage/OHKO depending on its set, while Shaymin can also set up Tailwind.

Mega Scizor

Mega Scizor Framework

miltankmilk Scizor + Scrafty

MajorBowman Icium KyubremB

Nido-Rus Gothitelle

Frania Sand

1: Scizor-Mega
2: Ferrothorn Answer
While Scizor itself isn't very much threatened by Ferrothrons STAB moves, it can get worn down by Leech Seed and its teammates appreciate a faster way of getting rid of it (most Scizor might struggle to KO it even at +4). I decided to run KyuremB to help against the ground types allowing me to run Heat Wave Zapdos in slot 5.
3: Ground Type
A ground type is almost mandatory on every Scizor team for its fantastic defensive and offensive synergy with the Mega. They switch in and threaten the fire and steel types, while Scizor takes advantige of ice type moves.
4: Water Type
They switch into Kingdra and fire types and check Landorus-T that might want to switch in to Intimidate the Scizor. Lv51 went with Volcanion that covers both Ferrothorn and Kindra and that allowed him to run Gothitelle in this slow to offer Trick Room support to its team members.
5: Electric Type
Electric Types hit bulky waters and improve the offensive pace of the teams with either immidiate damage output (Tapu Koko) or speedcontrol in tailwind (Zapdos).
6: Zapdos Check
Finallly something Scizor struggles against is Zapdos that either gets of a free Taiwlind against it or KOs it with Heat Wave. Tyranitar checks Charizard Y and KyuremB helps against rain and offers speedcontrol. Scrafty, while not a traditional counter, offers Fake Out support that allows Zygarde to beat Zapdos more easly.

Mega Manectric

Mega Manectric Framework

EmbCPT Tornadus

Demantoid TW Kartana

Frania Semiroom

MajorBowman Gothitelle

1. Manectric-Mega
2. Rain Check
Most players opted to go for Tapu Fini, while MajorBowman went with Tapu Bulu. Both options are very common and consistent rain answers, they also help deal with ground types that Manectric might struggle with.
3. Speedcontrol
Even though Manectric base speed is pretty high as it is, you still need speedcontrol to support your teammates and to ensure you don't get outrun if you opponent is using it. HoopaU and Gothitelle benefit from Manectric's wide coverage and Intimidate support, while Tornadus and Kartana are both offensive TW setters that allow for a TR-less alternative.
4. Ground Type
Ground types help hit opposing electrics and benifit from Manectric being able to hit bulky waters. Landorus-T was used the most as it provides the much wanted ground immunity, still Zygarde is an equally viable option that can make up for it with its ability to use its STAB move next to grounded partners and resistance to fire type moves.
5. Zapdos or Ferrothron Check
While Manectric in regular form can redirect electric type moves from Zapdos the teams still need a direct way of hitting it, disallowing it from setting up Tailwind or using its overage. Teams based around Tailwind choose to run a direct counter to it in this slot, while teams that run TR use their setters to take advantage of it and run something that can hit Ferrothorn in TR.
6. Steel Type
Steels round up the defensive core, making sure the team doesn't loose to Psyspam or Metagross also they provide a secondary switch into Salamence. Its worth noting that all players decided to run a slower, bulky pokemon in this slot, acknowledging that, while Manectric teams can run offensive, hard hitting mons, they always want a good defensive backbone.

Mega Tyranitar

Mega Tyranitar Framework

Aurarayquaza 'fire team'

Stax Togekiss

Croven Excadrill Sand

Frania Subsitute Celesteela

Biosci BD Azumarill

1: Tyranitar-Mega
2: Offensive Support
Tapu Lele being the most common partner for Tyranitar here, it blocks opposing priority with Psychic Terrain and threatens most of its checks with boosted STAB attacks. Tapu Koko is an alternative option that can hit water types for super effective damage and offer a faster option for revenge killing.
3: Intimidate / Landorus-T Switch In
Intimidate helps the DD Tyranitar set up, while Landorus-T needs to have a solid counter as its the biggest and most common answer to MTar. Croven decided to go with Excadrill that doesnt switch into Landorus but provides extra offensive support, making use of Tyranitar's Sand Stream.
4: Ferrothron / Grass Answer
Ferrothorn is one of the harders Tyranitar counters avaliable, while Amoongus can take take any of its moves even at +2 and put it to sleep with Spore. Volcanion gives the teams a secondary rain answer, while Heatran switches into Tapu Lele better. Celesteela can set up substitutes and hit steels with flamethrower, but what made me decide to run it was its ability to switch into Metagross lacking Thunder Punch.
5: Redirection / Rain Check
Redirection helps Tyranitar set up Dragon Dances and Amoongus as a grass type also helps check rain sweepers that can outrun it with Swift Swim and threaten with water moves. Stax decided to run Togekiss (that offers Follow Me) in his other slot so he decided to run Ferrothorn as it checks rain even better.
6: Speedcontrol
Tyranitar is naturally rather slow, so even with Dragon Dance the team requres another form of speed control that will allow it to deal with faster teams, weather sweers or to match opposing Tailwind. While Azumarill doesn't run a move that supports its teammates it can threaten the opposing team with boosted Aqua Jets that have +1 priority.

Semi Trick Room

Semi-Trick Room Framework

Demantoid Stakataka

marilli CS Tapu Lele

Frania Thunder Punch Mawile

SMB Camerupt

1: Mega Evolution
Most often SemiTr teams choose to run Salamence as their Mega of choice. It offers Intimidate, Tailwind with its mixed flying coverage it synergizes well with HoopaU and can offer a strong fast most option for this kind of team. Alternative options inlude Gengar that can revenge kill with its high base speed and allow the team to position better with Shadow Tag, while Gardevoir is able to set up Trick Room and check KyuremB. Mawile and Camerupt offer support to the Trick Room mode with their offensive pressure.
2: Salamence Counter
Due to the slower nature of the team a mixed sweeper like Salamence could be very problematic. Every team chooses a strong flying resists that can either take its hits comfortably or outspeed and OHKO it. Demantoid run HP Ice Gengar in slot 1, so he decided on a soft check in Tapu Fini, that can reward him in other areas.
3: Rain Check
A bulky water or grass is necessary for the team not to get overpowered by rain. Amoongus helps set up Trick Room with redirection, KyuremB synergizes offensivly with Tapu Koko, while Assault Vest lets it funtion as a solid defensive answer to Kingdra and Swampert. Tapu Bulu can check all of the viable water types and threaten with terrain boosted attacks.
4: Trick Room Setter
The core member of the team, HoopaU is the most common choice, due to its fantastic special defense and ability to break protect with Hyperspace Fury/Hole. Porygon2 is an viable alternative that holds a better Landorus-T match up and can set up Trick Room more consistently thanks to its good bulk and access to recovery moves. Stakataka is more of an offensive option that trades the shaky defensive typing for very high damage output.
5: Fast Mode Suport
Helps function the fast mode outside of Trick Room. Players have a little bit more freedom here: Marilli decided to go with Tapu Lele allowing Amoongus to use Spore with Psychic Terrain Support, while me and SMB went with Landorus-T that offers Intimidate, Stealth Rocks. Demantoid chose Zygarde that can set up DD outside of TR and switch into fire types.
6: Ferrothorn/Metagross Check
Both steel types can threaten this kind of team offensively: the former in TR and the latter outside of it.

Full Trick Room

Full Trick Room Framework

GenOne Double Steel

Croven Meloetta

Frania 3atk Mawile

Marilli Sky Drop Thundurus-T

1. Mega Evolution
The mega evolution tends to be the more important offensive member of the team and both Camerupt and Mawile are that - TR attackers. The former is the most popular option, is preferred for its strong synergy with Tapu Bulu and very high damage output, while the latter can break through a lot of offensive teams, with its coverage often teams don't have a proper counter.
2. Tapu Bulu
Every team has the same pokemon in slot 2 and that is Tapu Bulu. Its a perfect rain check, it threatens out Tapu Fini too, in general the fire+grass core seems to be very very effective on Trick Room teams as there isn't much that can handle grassy terrain boosted attacks if the other teammate can take care of the steel types.
3. Bulky TR setter
Every team above has a pokemon that can set Trick Room 'no matter what', meaning its bulky enough to take even super effective attacks and with the right ev's should be able to get it up at least once, especially if paired with Fake Out support. It allows the player to trade big damage on the pokemon the turn its set up for the momentum afterwards. Bronzong can also run Stealth Rock and put opposing pokemon to sleep with Hypnosis, while both Porygon and Meloetta are immune to ghost type attacks with the former having access to Recover and the latter being able to use Sing.
4. Offensive Support
Another dedicated TR attacker, GenOne and Croven decided to go with Stakataka as it can also function as another setter, i went with Safety Goggles Heatran to make sure i can get around Amoonguss. Marilli went with CS Thundurus-T that can try to revenge kill opposing pokemon and help set up TR with Sky Drop.
5. HoopaU
With its good bulk and ability to break Protect, while having access to Trick Room makes it a perfect attacker that is almost a necessity on most full-TR teams.
6. Scrafty
Scrafty provides Fake Out and Intimidate, two things that are considered clutch for setting up Trick Room. While people have thought and tried possible alternatives for this slot, none of them have proven to be consistent/worth running.

Psyspam

Psyspam Framework

Nvakna Psychic Seed Milotic

Z Strats Mega Gyarados

Biosci Ludicolo Psyspam

Marilli Zygarde Psyspam

1: Tapu Lele
Terrain Setter.
2: Deoxys-A
Terrain Abuser.
3: Speedcontrol
While Deoxys and Tapu Lele (possibly Choice Scarf) make up for a fast duo already, they often need Tailwind to either outrun faster CS users or opposing weather sweepers. Nvakna decided to run better coverage on his Salamence over any speedcontrol options and rely on his defensive backbone to handle opposing sweapers.
4: Rain Check
The psyspam core is outspeed and ohko'd by any viable weather sweeper so naturally the team needs a way of checking them. Marilli decided not to run a traditional rain counter, instead he chose to have his own Draco Meteor Kingdra that at least forces a speed tie and a -2 drop in the worse case scenario. Biosci run a Ferrothron fulfills the requirement for both 4 and 6, giving him a 'free slot' where he decided to run Ludicolo, making use of rain that Politoed sets on his team.
5: Steel Type Check
Steel types are one thing that psychic types can't break through and while every team featured here uses a diffrent pokemon in this slot all are used to break though the most common steels. Biosci decided to run Gengar that only hits Metagross, with life orb Deoxys and other offensive movesets, he was hoping to overpower Ferrothorn and other steel types that he didn't have direct counters for.
6: Steel Type
Another member with defensive utility purpose, steel types help check opposing Scarf Lele/Psyspam teams. Metagross is a worth noting choice as it also benifits from the Psychic Terrain.

General checklist:

• 1 Mega Evolution
• Form of speed control
• At least 1 Ground immunity
• At least 1 Steel Type check (you need to cover both Celesteela and Ferrothorn)
• At least 1 Psychic Spam check
• At least 1 Tapu Fini check
• At least 1 Kyurem-B check
• At least 1 Zapdos check
• At least 1 Hoopa-U check
• At least 1 Eruption Heatran check
• At least 1 Venusaur check
• At least 2 Rain soft checks (both for Swampert and Kingdra)

Individual player teambuilding process:

miltankmilk - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-teambuilding-frameworks.3619759/#post-7568877
AuraRayquaza - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-teambuilding-frameworks.3619759/#post-7568911
Level 51, Frania, GenOne - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-teambuilding-frameworks.3619759/#post-7603679
EmbCPT - https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-teambuilding-frameworks.3619759/post-7714367
Marilli, MajorBowman, Croven, Jhon - https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-teambuilding-frameworks.3619759/#post-7715463

The point of noticing frameworks like this isn't to limit creativity or say "you MUST build this way." This framework catalogue exists as a resource for when you're starting out on a new team to help you take a top level thing and put your own spin on it.

I really want to make frameworks for Mega Diancie, Venusaur or Charizard Y, but you guys gotta start winning with them more, so i have some material. Hope you enjoy.

 

[miltankmilk]

Here are my teambuilding thoughts on some of my teams that were included

specs koko hail

This team started from the idea of Specs Koko + Mega Abomasnow. Offensively this core is pretty potent with nothing resisting BoltBeam coverage while also covering a range of speed tiers, able to function in and out of trickroom. The next steps of the team were finding ways to better dent Steels like ferro and tran; my solution was a core of Z marsh and Volcanion. I've been loving Volcanion for a while and I felt it fit well on this sort of team with Trick Room support and good ways of breaking past bulky waters that can annoy Volc + a great koko answer in Aboma. Next step was to add trick room and I felt Aurora Veil/Trick room mew would do well here. I saw Jhon try this out as well as Level 51 so I thought I'd put my spin on it. Went with Psychic to hit harsh harder on the switch. Last was shuca Ice Beam tar. This was a glue mon that was able to soft check landorus-t while also handling Gengar via pursuit. Together I think its a pretty cool hail team.

Scizor + Scrafty

This started pretty last minute but I think it ended up as a pretty complete team. Idea was to build around SD Scizor and see what came out of it. I went with a very fast scizor that outpaces neutral nature Volcanions because I knew I wanted tailwind on this team. I also liked it to generally outspeed Pokemon like Fini, Kyurem-B, Milotic; those sort of middle speed tier mons. Next step in building was CB zyg + zapdos, a balanced core that compliments Scizor quite well in that it deals with both fire types and bulky waters. Zap also gives tailwind and helps vs Lando-t which annoys the first 2. Tapu Fini also helps vs fires, gives Zapdos a misty seed boost and can heal pulse back Zygarde and Scizor. Scrafty provides intimidate and fit better than Lando because of weird type stacking with Zygarde. Fake out is also very nice here as well as knocking off berries for Zygarde and Zapdos. Counter provides a panic check to some physical attackers as well. Last mon was Z move volcanion which is a really cool nuke and sludge bomb lets you hit fini/bulu harder than its Stabs.

Fire Punch Lax

This team started with the idea of building lax semiroom. Lax was falling off a bit in usage but I still felt fire punch curse lax was very good. One of its best partners is hoopa because of its role as an offensive trick room setter which can often act as a natural redirection for lax, (that is where its hard for the opponent to not attack hoopa in fear of trick room going up, which can give Lax a free curse). Another pokemon that complimented this well was CB tar, a very strong pokemon that I felt does very well on semiroom teams. Heal pulse fini once again helps ttar/hoopa/lax survive longer and provides a good fighting type answer here. Salamence gives secondary speed control, a secondary fighting answer and generally compliments the weaknesses of ttar and hoopa quite well. Last mon is once again volcanion because of its ability to break steel types and eat up hits while still being very strong.

Psychium Deo

This was a bit of a weird team but I was inspired to use Z move deo + lele because of how powerful these two are. Kaori and I were also talking a lot about HP fire on Deoxys as a way to catch checks on the switch and not drop stats and keep a "potential sash" in tact. Lele is choice scarf here because the team otherwise lacks a scarfer but this could be changed to a taunt variant of tapu lele for a better trick room answer. Marsh is LO hp ice because I didn't feel shadow sneak fit very well on a psyspam team and Deo already had the team's z move. Amoonguss provided a way to soak up some hits and allow deo to fire off more attacks while also helping Salamence set tailwind. As mentioned, mence sets tailwind and helps to chunk pokemon for marsh and celesteela late game. The celes is a pretty cool set that works as a late game cleaner. Its able to be quite bulky with the Seed boost while also having the coverage to break down a weakened team late game.

hope this is helpful to some people!

 

[AuraRayquaza]

Ill go into a bit more depth on the mgross + victini team since i rmt'd the m ttar team so my teambuilding process can be found there, with gyarados added by suggestion from stax and clear smog over tect to reflect that change since i needed a way to keep lax in check without lando.

So I built the team before facing toxigen for ssnl, so after metagross had gone 4-0 in snake. Id seen level 51 use hammer arm as coverage which i wanted to try out (originally had brick break for veils owo). I thought victini would be an interesting partner to help break steels and get some nice 1 for 1 trades to potentially give gross some momentum/free turns. Lando was the easy next choice with rocks + max hp to pivot around well and be a decent marsh switchin. Rocks also let gross/tini pick up some nice ohkos/2hkos like v create on marshadow and iron head 2hko on bulkier lando. I was then looking for rain/better mence checks so i added the fini zap core which gives me a nice bit of both. It was initially seed zap but then i realised i didnt have a z move and thought a faster electrium zapdos would be cool after jhon told me about it. Finally i added kyurem b just to solidify the mence/rain matchup, extra speed control and a good volcanion check with hp fire as another way to lure ferro.

Hope this helped!

 

[GenOne]

I'm really happy to see this revived - in ORAS this was probably the resource that was most helpful for me to improve as a player.

Although I have a few nitpicks on the fine details of this revamped Frameworks thread, for the most part it looks great and Frania did a great job of compiling a list of solid, high-level teams, so thanks for all of this, Frania!

My first comment is, given how many good teams are in this thread, why not compile a "DOU Starter Pack" so those keen to get good at DOU (or even experienced users that just want a fresh perspective on the meta) can easily test and cycle through all these teams? I've conveniently gone ahead and compiled all of the above teams into a single Hastebin, in case people want to do a bulk download of all of them: https://hastebin.com/wuyekecero.diff

(To import these, go into your teambuilder, go down to the bottom, and select "Backup/Restore all teams." Paste the above hastebin content to the bottom of the text that shows up in your Backup/Restore text.)

Now, for my specific comments re: this initial version of the Frameworks:

• Mega Salamence
  • Arguably, Tyranitar isn't a Psyspam check - especially now that Z Move Deoxys-A is more popular and doesn't care about sand chip damage. I think the teams you selected for this framework are great, but most of them already have Psyspam checks that aren't TTar. Level 51 had Aegislash, Marilli has Mew and Ferrothorn, and qsns has a Deoxys-A mirror. If there isn't another role you can assign to this slot, imo there's no harm in just making this a "filler" slot given Salamence builds tend to be pretty forgiving in terms of team composition, but "Psyspam Check" doesn't really resonate with me given that 3/4 of these teams are using TTar in this slot.
• Mega Gengar
  • Where you mention Tapu Lele - another really important reason why all these teams run Lele is because Mega Gengar loses to Marshadow without protection against Shadow Sneak.
• Psyspam
  • I'd just list another version of the rain Psyspam team that has Marshadow > Zygarde, since that's arguably the most common composition for this build. You could use Miltankmilk's version of this team since it's already a sample, but really, it's such a common build that there's probably no shortage of teams you could post here. But yeah, there should definately be a Marsh Rain Psyspam team here since Marsh arguably beats down Ferrothorn / steels more efficiently than Zygarde.

 

[Fran]

Thanks for the feedback GenOne, on the Salamence framework i decided to list Tyranitar as a Psyspam Check, since some of these teams appriciate sand breaking the Deo sash + a CS user that is able to rk it, as much as if they were to run a proper counter. You bring up a good point about Gengar, ill add that. While Marshadow is the more common option (featured on 3/4 rain teams) Zygarde has a case for itself, with its surperior bulk and diffrent typing. Marilli also runs Hammer Arm Metagross so Ferrothorn shouldn't be as much of a problem. I try to keep the teams diverse, so id rather avoid having two teams in one framework by the same builder.

 

[Mr.GX]

Amazing work, Frania ! This will be really helpful for newer players starting out :3

 

[laptops]

I would recommend adding back the general checklist as well. Otherwise, great job!

General checklist as it was before:

• 2 Fire resists/counters
• 1 Ground immunity
• 2 Steels checks
• At MOST 2 pokemon that have difficulty dealing with Steel-Types
• At least 1 Steel Type
• At least 2 Soft Psychic Spam checks
• Counters for both Celesteela AND Ferrothorn
• At least 1 Hoopa-U counter
• At least 1 Water-resist
• At least 2 Mega Salamence counters

 

[Arcticblast]

concidereing

BOI

I don't think adding that specific list that laptops provided is a terrible thing (although I disagree on needing two Mence counters) though

 

[talkingtree]

Given the existence of the Roles Compendium, which already handles most of what that list would be hoping to accomplish, I don't think it's really a necessity.

 

[Checkmater]

I like the general checklist and I feel most of your issues with it arise from interpreting it as a stringent "must-follow" guideline, whereas it's more of an outline. Yeah, you don't always have to have a Ferrothorn counter, but generally you want to have one on most teams. The Roles Compendium first off fulfills a very different function while also not really giving you that checklist and degree to which certain things need to be dealt with. In addition, the Roles Compendium visually is a lot more "noise" or "data" than the general checklist is, in terms of how accessible they are as team building tools - it's more a tool of "ok what can I put when I think I have issues with x" rather than "what are all the boxes I need to check that I may be looking over for my team". The checklist ended up on frameworks mainly because it's both a useful teambuilding tool and also something that circled around but never had a thread to be put into (the original checklist was created and passed around by Stratos during gen 6 before being put into the thread).

Overall I don't think it hurts

also to address one thing

For example for offensive teams you probably always want a Zapdos check, but i wouldn't say it's needed for semitr teams

If the req being checked off in this example is "Zapdos Check" then having TR would be that zap check (ie hoopa beats zap easily both bc tr > twind and bc of coverage stuff)



Onto a more general comment on frameworks, I found it easier to understand if the clearer, more directly interactive roles were placed earlier (ie X-type, or literal X-mon) while things that were more nebulous or varied more between the teams were placed later. Also, could we retitle the semi-tr framework into a "Mence+Hoopa-U" fw? Ordering frameworks by approximate viability could be helpful (ie psyspam and rain before hail)

Overall loving this update, really glad someone took over the frameworks thread and did the work to give it a much needed revitalization!

 

[Fran]

- added checklist
- the order of the frameworks is: mega evolutions in terms of viability, then playstyles in terms of viability.
- if you have any ideas more specific on how to improve the team roles on frameworks i made so far feel free to suggest it here/pm me and ill concider it. only two frameworks (mence and hail) have a slot that isnt a very direct role and in both cases it is in the 5th slot, so i dont really see whats the issue is?
- i like the semiroom name better for the mence-hoopa framework just so i can add something thats not limited to that in the future. you can run hoopa on a salamence offense so i dont want people to be confused on why all the teams there include trick room

 

[Fran]

ok so what i gathered from team dumps and other resources:

from Level 51:

Salamence Offense

Since I don't usually build teams around my speed control option, I had some vague idea that I wanted to use some sort of balance team with Suicune. Unoriginal and VGC-idea-thief Level 51 thus decided that it would be a good idea to run a version of the Sand balance archetype that dominated post-Worlds VGC 2015. Of course, it wouldn't be until semifinals that I actually had the balls to use the Pokemon that I personally called out in the same post in which I enthused about Gothitelle, and thus I eschewed it in favour of Tapu Lele as a "fast Sand abuser". In another departure from the standard choice, I also decided to use a Tyranitar with SR and Pursuit to put some dents in what I presumed would be a switch-heavy team from Jake[his Snake Draft opponent].

Scizor Gothitelle

I've explained this like 2738492348 times to anyone who tries to shittalk Gothitelle, but Gothitelle + Scizor is amazing. Scizor is a Pokemon that does well against most of the format but struggles with a few things: it has a bad time with being chipped slowly due to its lack of a moveslot for Roost, it lands just on the wrong side of getting a few KOs, especially if it's Intimidated, and most importantly, it's 100% forced out by almost any Fire-type that switches into it. Gothitelle fixes both these problems, and more: it prevents Fire-types from switching in, usually; it traps Fire-types that are already in so that Volcanion and Landorus-T can take care of them; it pushes Scizor's offensive capabilities over the edge with Helping Hand; it provides healing for Scizor in the form of Heal Pulse; and it even offers the team an additional Trick Room option for Scizor and Volcanion to take care of. Volcanion in particular appreciates being able to make use of its neat Fire/Water STAB coverage without the opponent switching out a lot. Finally, there's the Koko / KyuB combination to round out the team and give it some immediate speed and bulk. I really like this team and I think it was my favourite from the whole of Snake, so props to Nido-Rus for that :P

Manectric Gothitelle

Essentially, now that Marshadow is gone, GothLax has lost one of its biggest counters. The relatively soft-hitting metagame gives Gothitelle a lot of options on what to trap and Snorlax a lot of options on what to set up in front of. Manectric and Landorus-T are meant to cycle Intimidate while maintaining flexibility on the team with Volt Switch + U-turn, with Manectric also providing Snarl to neuter special attackers. These two Pokemon also feature the team's main ways to damage Ferrothorn, with Overheat and Tectonic Rage respectively. Meanwhile, Celesteela and Tapu Fini are both secondary wincons in themselves, especially Tapu Fini which can set up alongside Gothitelle's Heal Pulse support. Both Pokemon also provide reasonably hard checks for Rain (NB: Acrobatics on Celesteela OHKOs Ludicolo).

from Frania:

Metagross Sand

Metagross provides more immediate offensive pressure and can help excadrill get around bulky lando's with ice punch. This functions in the framework of the old metagross balance team. SD excadrill with the z iron head has been something i was trying to make work for a while now and im happy it provided me with another positive result. Its aimed to punish bulkier, balanced teams, meanwhile the bulky defensive backbone of kyurem-zapdos-fini helps against the more hyper offensive rain teams (and trick room).

Mawile SemiTR

It combined the rather new idea of using Mawile and P2 on serious teams, while showcasing a cool moveset in Thunder Punch with terrain support. I think its a very basic team, with z move landorus and tapu koko functioning as a fast mode that still can support the TR mons with rocks and electric surge and the expanded slow mode was able to get through most defensive match ups and it definitely works as the core of the team with p2 being able to set up multiple trick rooms if needed.

from GenOne:

Camerupt Full-TR

The general idea with this team was to build a full-Trick Room team that leverages two offensive Trick Room setters, one bulky/reliable Trick Room setter and some slow sweeper mons. Bronzong is the a bulky and reliable Trick Room setter that can help create momentum in the early game by boosting its accuracy with a Psychium Z-boosted Trick Room, then spamming Hypnosis once Trick Room is set. In most scenarios, I'll lead this team with Bronzong as my goal is to set Trick Room as early on as possible. Generally I'll go for the Z Trick Room, but if you're faced against a Tapu Fini or Koko you might find it worth saving the z move for later in the match since Bronzong has enough bulk to set TR twice in a game given the right plays. Scrafty gives you obligatory Fake Out support against non-Lele teams. For Lele teams, I'll usually lead two of the three Trick Room setters, creating a 50/50 situation where one will set Trick Room and the other can either punch a hole in the opposing team (given the right matchup) or pivot out into a partner that can take the anticipated attack. Once Trick Room is set, your goal is to switch into strong attackers like Camerupt, Stakataka and Hoopa-U while Trick Room is still up. It’s worth noting that Scrafty and Tapu Bulu have very particular investments in Speed IVs; both are IV’d to move after Hoopa-U so that Hoopa-U can break protection ahead of Scrafty and Tapu Bulu’s targets. The extra speed on Scrafty also lets you win speed ties when clicking Fake Out against opposing min-speed Scraftys outside of Trick Room (e.g. during a lead). Given the good defensive typings on Bronzong and Stakataka (as well as the generally solid special bulk on Hoopa-U) you will find plenty of situations where you have two of these three TR setters on the field as your Trick Room is about to expire, with no opposing Pokemon that can KO either. If you're in this situation, click Trick Room on both setters; the first will cancel TR and the second will reset it, thereby giving you another 4 turns of TR while bypassing the one turn where your opponent can pressure you with faster attackers. Only attempt this play, however, if your two active TR setters are safe from all hypothetical opposing attacks or if you're willing to make a hard read that's well-informed.

 

[EmbCPT]

Following the inclusion of two of my teams on the frameworks, I want to make it easier for you all to use them, so here are my teambuilding processes.

Mega Metagross
I started working on this concept last year, and it was actually with Mega Scizor over Metagross.
I felt like Scizor had a solid niche that I wanted to explore, so I started off with Tyranitar and Landorus-Therian, since the Pokémon Scizor struggles the most with are Fire Types and Zapdos, which both of those deal with quite effectively. From there, I noticed Tapu Fini and Zapdos would synergize extremely well with the core, giving me a much needed water resist, speed control and a better way of dealing with opposing Tapu Fini. To round things off, I decided to include a Hitmontop to help my Trick Room matchup, since I can Fake Out to stall some turns and reduce their damage output with a 2nd Intimidate user. It also helped beating Ferrothorn more consistently and gave Scizor support to set up a Swords Dance.

When VGC 18 came around, I decided to adapt this team to that format and immediately realized that being restricted to bringing only 4 Pokémon to each match made me struggle against the combination of Zapdos and Metagross, since I couldn't bring double Intimidate to every game and Hitmontop didn't prove to be worth a slot. When trying to fix this issue, I realized how strong those 2 were together and, not being able to find a fix I was happy with, I decided to use them myself by trading Scizor for Metagross. Since Hitmontop wasn't there for much besides Trick Room, I felt like Amoonguss would fit better, as I could bring it to more matchups as well while still having a solid Trick Room check.

I was happy with the outcome and, apparently, rightfully so, as those 6 now make up one of the most used VGC teams. However, Steel types were still scary. The Metagross matchup was always coming down to a few 50/50's, while Ferrothorn and Kartana were forcing me to connect my Heat Waves in order to win, which wasn't consistent enough. As such, I decided to try Incineroar over Tyranitar, keeping the Ghost and Dark resists that are so important on a Metagross team while giving me a FWG (fire + water + grass) core and helping with the issues I had with Steel types. The new changes weren't really clicking in VGC, as my rain and Charizard matchups were a bit worse, but the absence of Charizard in DOU and the ability to bring both of my water resists together with my Ferrothorn answers made the team feel much stronger!

Mega Manectric
Going into my 3rd round of SPL 9, I was looking at my opponent's replays (Jhon) and seeing his Physical Thundurus remided me of a Japanese trend I saw a lot of in Gen 6 Battle Spot Doubles: Kangaskhan + Defiant Thundurus. It was a combination I struggled a lot with and realized that maybe I could make it work in USUM DOU. While discussing this with my friend AccidentalGenius and looking how cool Defiant Tornadus was in VGC 13 thanks to the Flying Gem, we realized the Terrain Seeds could allow us to bring Physical Tornadus back.

Since I'm such a Tapu Fini fanboy, I had to go with Misty Seed, and that's where it all starts. Landorus-Therian synergizes extremely well with Fini, since it's immune to Electric and resists Poison, while Fini resists Ice and Water. With a partner to Earthquake next to, Landorus just felt like a perfect fit. Next, I noticed Electric, Ice and Rock were types I had some trouble switching into reliably and Metagross was a tough Pokémon to deal with. As such, I figured I needed a Steel type and possibly Lightning Rod support. Initially, I had Metagross and Raichu, with Tyranitar to round things off, as it gave me Ghost, Fire and Dark resists. However, Stomping Tantrum Metagross was still extremely tough for the team and Raichu wasn't really clicking, so Manectric and Ferrothorn came to mind. With Landorus, Fini and Tyranitar, I could take care of Fire Types and Zapdos quickly to set up for a Ferrothorn end game, especially with the Smack Down tech on Tornadus.

Finally, I'd like to shoutout AuraRayquaza for helping me build the Manectric team!
I hope you enjoy using these teams as much as I do, it's a pleasure to share them with you all.
Thanks, once again, to Frania for the opportunity!

 

[Fran]

A couple players wrote short descriptions about what their process looked like building the some of the teams featured in the frameworks:

Marilli:

Camerupt TR

This team was built to take advantage of Sky Drop + Trick Room mechanics. Because Scarf Thundurus is so fast it always switches out last, giving you the terrain control next turn necessary to sleep your opponent with Bronzong. Thundurus-T can also work out of Trick Room to pressure your opponent. It doesn't work so well vs the heavy brokens (Mega Meta / Zygarde / Kyurem-B) that are all immune to Sky Drop, unfortunately.

MajorBowman:

Scizor BO

This is pretty much just a standard Mega Scizor team with a few twists. We all know that Fini / Zapdos / Kyurem is a great core, but instead of the more popular AV Kyurem I went with a super offensive Icium Z variant with Freeze Shock. Subzero Slammer is great for picking off pretty much anything that doesn't resist and doing a huge chunk of damage through Protects (see: 60% to Kommo-o against marilli in SPL). We decided on Spooky Plate Aegislash and Choice Band Zygarde in keeping with the more offensive theme, since I think one of the downfalls of Fini Zapdos teams is overall passivity. Scizor is the standard SD set, while we gave Fini Knock Off to give it a bit more utility against Snorlax teams.

Manectric SemiTR

This team was built with the intention of using Manectric to weaken opposing Pokemon with Intimidate and Snarl, then trap them with Gothitelle and allow something else to set up. Zygarde was the original idea, as its already great natural bulk is nicely complemented by both Snarl and Intimidate. Swords Dance Tapu Bulu is something I've been using for a while but didn't get to show off until I used this team in SPL, and I think it's one of Bulu's better sets. Volcanion was picked since it covers so many roles very well and also appreciates being given free substitutes against Pokemon that can't touch it. Scarf Genesect has great coverage and respectable damage output and gave the otherwise slower team some immediate speed.

Croven:

Gengar SemiTR

ok so jhon (my opp for the week) varied his builds a decent amount so qsns and i weren't sure what to use vs him, so we checked out his last week's game, which was against demantoid. demantoid used gengar stakataka to beat jhon which we liked a lot as a core, and went from there. zygarde we tossed on because its good as fuck, especially paired with gengar. gonna be honest, at this point i just said "fuck it toss on fini zap im tired" then one of us was like "oh wait we lose to lax kinda" and then the other went "ok great just put on a scrafty" (i forget who said what at this point, it was in a call). intim + fake out ended up being really helpful for stak / zyg so it worked out. hp ice gar is my thing and it also dunks landos which is great. i just messed around with the other sets and settled on this. pretty solid team overall and super fun

Mega Tyranitar Sand

wanted to use mega ttar this week, since bowman looked weak to it overall. lando set is fire as shit, he had high bulu usage so i thought i could lure that and opposing landot's with this set, giving ttar room to sweep (didnt get to show it off bc i made an ass play but yea). rest of the team is relatively standard honestly, threw on zap / lele / amoong for redirection, speed, speed control, fini checks, blah blah good mons basically. exca slot was shifting around a lot actually, we wanted a steel but most ended up being too metagross weak until we realized that exca + sand was something that existed (it took us embarrassingly long to realize this lol). glad i put exca on, it ended up being the most useful. however, i think this team is still pretty steel weak, it has a hard time beating celesteela and metagross, so this team could be edited more. overall decent but not really solid.

Camerupt TR

basic trick room with meloetta > bronzong. wasnt gonna use bronzong bc this was week 4 vs edu, and he had 3/3 fini usage at this point. originally an oranguru and i do like that on this team a lot with camel / stak, but overall was just slightly more inconsistent than meloetta, which has more bulk and offensive presence. ghost immunity is nice to easily set up on shit like aegislash. yea good team, matchup reliant as all fullroom is, but good overall.

Jhon:

Salamence Sand

This isn't the exact version I used in spl, that was built without worry of Trick Room, this has been slightly edited to improve that.
Fast Offensive team which makes use Assurance from scarf Ttar. Exca, Skymin, and Mence are all faster than scarf Ttar so able to proc the assurance boost. The original also had scarf lele for this. The team has 3 ground immunes to let Exca throw out LO Earthquakes a bit more freely.
Grassium Skymin can use z-Seed Flare to deal large amounts of damage to non-av Lando (90%+) and Zygarde (80%+) to open up areas for Exca, and also hits opposing Ttar hard to free up Mence. Mence is mixed with Draco, which is ev'd to ko common Zygarde builds. Rotom-w acts as a rain check here, throwing out twaves, ally switching in key moments to eat water/ice attacks for the other mons. Slow volt switch lets you get in the frailers mons a bit safer.
And if all else fails, you have two fast rock slide, a serene grace air slash and twave to bs your way out of an awful spot.

 

[GraylyHen94]

For the Mega TTar BD Azu team, Figy Berry confuses the Amoonguss and the Genesect doesn't outspeed Lele or Lando, who are two obstacles for Ttar. Underspeeding those two is going to be an issue for TTar's set up and put hole in or KO him, it makes relying on Amoonguss (who also appreciates Lele being gone) a problem

Edit: Misread the Amoonguss +2 note

 

[Arcticblast]

I think you read the blurb incorrectly, my dude (and it's not specifically about Biosci's team)

 

[GraylyHen94]

I think you read the blurb incorrectly, my dude (and it's not specifically about Biosci's team)

Oh shit you right about the blurb. My bad

 

[Fran]

For the Mega TTar BD Azu team, Figy Berry confuses the Amoonguss and the Genesect doesn't outspeed Lele or Lando, who are two obstacles for Ttar. Underspeeding those two is going to be an issue for TTar's set up and put hole in or KO him, it makes relying on Amoonguss (who also appreciates Lele being gone) a problem

Edit: Misread the Amoonguss +2 note

I won't be discussing / making any changes to the movesets or EV spreads that aren't objectively better on the teams included, but after consulting Biosci i'll fix the berry, as running it with a nature that confused his pokemon while activated isn't something he wanted on purpose.

 

[Real PHeal Spheal]

• At least 1 Snorlax check

we might want to update this

 

[DDRMaster]

I think I've found a framework for good Kommo-o teams.

Kommo-o Framework

Metleon's Kommo-o Bulky Offense

emforbes's Mega Charizard-Y Offense

AuraRayquaza's Kommo-o

P McGee's Volt-Turn Flinch

1: Kommo-o
2: Terrain Setter / Tapu Fini Check
Misty Terrain cuts the damage from Clanging Scales and Clangerous Soulblaze in half if the target is grounded, and Tapu Fini is the strongest Kommo-o check in general. This Pokemon is designed to both be able to take Tapu Fini out as well as remove its terrain. All four teams went with Tapu Koko, as it's the second strongest Terrain Setter behind Tapu Fini itself.
3: Tapu Fini Killer
This is the main Pokemon designed to take Tapu Fini out. emforbes, AuraRayquaza, and I all use a Grass-type that also resists Fairy, which counter Tapu Fini very well. P McGee goes with Alolan Raichu. While it requires Electric Terrain to be at its most powerful, it can still deal decent damage outside of it and provides another Volt Switch user. All 4 Pokemon can at least 2HKO Tapu Fini (Ferrothorn is the only one that could potentially activate its Berry and then fail to KO it on the second attack and each will still 2HKO the standard Calm Mind set if it sets up after the first hit).
4: Fire-type
Fire-types tend to be able to check both Steel and Fairy-types, which can prevent Kommo-o from spamming Clanging Scales. emforbes and Aura Rayquaza use Mega Charizard-Y, which provides massive spread coverage with Heat Wave alongside Kommo-o. It's also another check for Tapu Fini with Solarbeam. P McGee and I both use Incineroar, which provides Fake Out support to make Kommo-o's set up easier and a slow U-turn to let Kommo-o come in for free.
5: Bulky Speed Control
While Kommo-o will outspeed every non-boosted Pokemon after a Clangerous Soulblaze, all of the common Choice Scarf Pokemon (besides Adamant Landorus-T) and all of the weather abusers will outspeed it. Even a simple Icy Wind or Electroweb can make Kommo-o faster than these Pokemon after a boost. The reason I put the emphasis on bulky speed control is that when I first used a Kommo-o team, Kartana's Tailwind wasn't enough to ensure the boost was up when it was time to sweep. P McGee doesn't have any Bulky Speed control, but I think Discharge on Tapu Koko and Alolan Raichu and Scarf Landorus-T's high speed make up for this.
6: Volt Switch / U-turn
Volt Switch and U-turn can let Kommo-o come in untouched, which usually allows it to even take a SE hit after it boosts. All 4 teams chose Landorus-T, as it provides Intimidate to also help Kommo-o set up.