First EVER VGC team!

peadawg14

This will be my first time attending the VGC and I'm really excited. Please offer any criticisms on my team!

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Hydreigon (NN: Tryclyde)@ Life Orb
Timid
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Dragon Pulse
Dark Pulse
Flamethrower
Surf

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Conkledurr (NN: Bane)@ Flame Orb
Adament
120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SpD
Ability: Guts
Payback
Drain Punch
Mach Punch
Protect


These are usually who I lead off with. Conkledurr will Protect the first turn to activate Flame Orb and his Guts ability. Hydreigon's Dark Pulse will knock out Trick Room users like Reuniclus and Musharna. Protect is also used to protect against Hydreigon's Surf. Flamethrower and Dragon pulse are for coverage. Drain Punch is to recover damage from Flame Orb. Mach Punch is to finish off weakened foes. Payback is for Ghosts and Psychics. I used to have Mienshao instead of Conkledurr but she was too frail for my liking.


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Amoongus (NN: Toad) @ Black Sludge
Calm
252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Ability: Effect Spore
Spore
Anger Powder
Giga Drain
Protect

This is my annoyer and Anger Powder user. He's able to help Carracosta set up a Shell Smash. Giga Drain is so I don't get taunted and I have the ability to gain some HP back. Protect is to stall out Trick Room and weather if it gets set up. Effect Spore is a great ability if he gets hit with a physical attack. I use black sludge so if I do get tricked...it a useless item for the opponent and takes 1/16 of their life each turn.


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Carracosta (NN: Leonardo)@ White Herb
Jolly
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Ability: Sturdy
Shell Smash
Aqua Jet
Rock Slide
Crunch

This is my set up pokemon and late game sweeper with Aqua Jet. Rock Slide is here again to hit both opponent pokemon. Crunch is for coverage against Phsycics and Ghosts. I used Sturdy to hopefully ensure a Shall Smash set up. I like to send him out with Amoonguss so he can use Anger Powder/Spore and allows Carracosta to set up. I use White Herb to restore his decent defense and special defense stats after a shell smash.


Backup #1:
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Chandelure (NN: Lumiere) @ Focus Sash
Timid
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Flash fire
Flamethrower
Shadow Ball
Psychic
Energy Ball

This my backup starter to replace Hydreigon...I kinda like him a little bit more than Hydreigon. He isn't weak to fighters, has Psychic to take them out and has basically the same coverage. Shadow ball is for the Trick Roomers and other ghosts. Energy Ball is for grounds and waters. Focus Sash is to survive a hit and be able to hit back...hard.


Backup #2:
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Whimsicott (NN: Q-Tip) @ Leftovers
Bold
Ability: Prankster
12 HP / 248 Def / 248 SpD
Leech Seed
Tailwind
Protect
Encore

This is my backup annoyer/supporter. Tailwind raises speed for a few turns and allows me to do some sweeping with Hydreigon and Chandelure. Leech Seed is to recover HP and make the opponent die a slow death. Protect is for scouting, stalling out weather and Trick Room, and letting Leech Seed/Leftovers recover lost HP. Encore is for annoying the hell out of my opponent(hopefully they don't have mental herb).





Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Quick Guard doesn't protect against Surf. You want Wide Guard. Wide Guard protects against multi-target moves, Quick Guard protects against priority moves.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure if your opponent protects vs Hi Jump Kick it counts as a miss and you take 50% damage (which will also nullify your sash). Use Drain Punch instead.

I'd either lead with Amoonguss/Carracosta or just not use them. Having a dual pokemon 'set up' strategy in the back seems impractical to me.

EDIT: Did you mean you wanted Wide Guard to protect from your own Hydreigon's surf? Because I'm not sure if that works.
 
Nightmare13 said:
Quick Guard doesn't protect against Surf. You want Wide Guard. Wide Guard protects against multi-target moves, Quick Guard protects against priority moves.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure if your opponent protects vs Hi Jump Kick it counts as a miss and you take 50% damage (which will also nullify your sash). Use Drain Punch instead.

I'd either lead with Amoonguss/Carracosta or just not use them. Having a dual pokemon 'set up' strategy in the back seems impractical to me.

EDIT: Did you mean you wanted Wide Guard to protect from your own Hydreigon's surf? Because I'm not sure if that works.
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LOL wow...I meant Protect. Don't know what I was thinking when I typed this up.

I haven't run into the Protect/HJK scenario yet...thanks for warning me!!!!!

Anger Powder and Spore on Amoonguss helps out the entire team...not just Carracosta. If one of my starters faints, I usually bring in Carracosta and I'm pretty much guaranteed a Shell Smash because of his ability.
 
Wide Guard does protect you against your own Surf, as Wide Guard protects you from any move that hits both pokemon. And Surf hits both pokemon.

Anyway, on with the rate...
I prefer Hi Jump Kick over Drain Punch on Mienshao. It gets so much more damage. If you're scared of losing Sash, use Life Orb or Wide Lens instead.
I've never been a big fan of Carracosta myself. It's too slow even with a Shell Smash and it's not particularly offensive. I just don't think it works in a metagame dominated by speed.
Finally, why do you run a Levitate pokemon without a user of Earthquake on your team? Surely you want to make great use of its ability with a user of Earthquake somewhere on your team.

Hope I Helped!
 
Menshao will Fake Out the Anger Powder users since Fake Out and Anger Powder have the same priority...Mienshao is always faster. Hydreigon's Dark Pulse will knock out Trick Room users like Reuniclus and Musharna.
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Doesn't work. They just both Protect first turn to block Fake Out, and next turn they use Rage Powder to draw away Dark Pulse while they get their Trick Room up.

And even if it did work, LO Dark Pulse still isn't enough to KO a bulky Reuniclus\Musharna.
 
1. I would give hydreigon a chople berry. It would keep hydreigon in a lot longer.

2. Life orb on Carracosta. If you keep lo on hydreigon, then expert belt on carracosta. Muscle band barely makes a difference.

3. Lum berry on whimsicott. It doesn't have great defenses so leftovers won't help it stay alive longer. It doesn't have taunt so lum would be its only defense against amoongus.
 
Wildfire said:
1. I would give hydreigon a chople berry. It would keep hydreigon in a lot longer.

2. Life orb on Carracosta. If you keep lo on hydreigon, then expert belt on carracosta. Muscle band barely makes a difference.

3. Lum berry on whimsicott. It doesn't have great defenses so leftovers won't help it stay alive longer. It doesn't have taunt so lum would be its only defense against amoongus.
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I agree with your first point, but I have to say something about the others. If Carracosta runs Life Orb, than it loses its sweet Sturdy ability, almost guaranting that Carracosta can set up a Shell Smash. I would run Lum on it just so you don't lose the chance to abuse Sturdy. The item he/she has on Whimsicott doesn't really matter since there's no team prievew, but in regards to that subject, mental herb is the better item, and you should really run an attacking move on it.

Surf is an odd choice to run if no pokemon on your team are immune/heal from it. Generally it is only used with Jellicent or Musharna as a partner. Replace Surf with Protect. I'm confused as to why Hydreigon is running that few speed evs, as it now loses to Haxorus, a relatively common pokemon. If survivability is your goal, than run Chople berry. If power is your goal, stick with Life Orb.

Run min speed on Amoonguss so you can beat Trick Room teams that also run it. Carracosta only need 236 speed evs to outspeed Max speed Genies, allowing you to invest more in bulk. Normally I would say to run Protect>Crunch, but since your team is notably weak to psychics after Hydreigon is gone, I say keep it.

Hope I helped at least somewhat.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I play around with the moves/items and see what happens.

Life Orb on Carracosta doesn't seem like a good idea at all. If I Shell Break and get hit with a super effective move and hang on with Sturdy...one move with Life Orb would kill me.

kingofkongs said:
Carracosta only need 236 speed evs to outspeed Max speed Genies, allowing you to invest more in bulk.
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I think you're wrong on that calculation. The Genies' max speed is 353. 236 EVs gives Carracosta 174...which is only 348 after a Shell Break if I'm doing my calculations correctly.
 
VGC is at level 50 dude. Tornadus' max speed at level 50 is 179, and Carracosta with Jolly + 236 evs has 90 speed, allowing it to outspeed after a shell smash.
 
I re-arranged some items and switched Mienshao for Conkledurr due to him having a higher attack and a pretty good priority move. I also changed Hydreigon's nature and ev spread to outspeed Haxorous. Still can't decide on Choice Specs or Life Orb for him though...
 
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