Gen 6 [Gen 6 1v1] Three Greninjas - Peaked #6

[FunInDaSun]

This month, Gen 6 1v1 hit the ladder as an RoA spotlight, so I decided to give it a shot. After a while of playing what seemed like to be a drier version of Gen 7 1v1 (my favourite format), I discovered something quite unique about Gen 6 1v1; no species clause, meaning you are allowed to run multiple of the same Pokemon on a team. While this can be somewhat useful viably, it is of course most effective as a means of meme-ing and mind-f*cking with your opponent. So instantly, I thought of a suitable Pokemon to put 3 of on a team, and hence this concoction was born; Three Greninjas.

UPDATE! [Dec 31st 2021] - On the last day of the Gen 6 1v1 ladder being open, I managed to break the top 10 barrier on my alt (VainInDaRain)! I will be including this in the title now for more juicy clicks :P

Team Importable

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Gunk Shot
- Shadow Sneak
- Low Kick

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 8 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Extrasensory
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot

Greninja @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Def / 96 SpA / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Hydro Cannon
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt

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Why Greninja?

As you may think, making a somewhat viable team out of 3 of the same Pokemon is incredibly difficult. Even a team of 3 Charizards, the highest on the tier list, is left very vulnerable to the many Pokemon that counter them, such as Mega-Altaria, Heatran and the Rock types of the meta. Thankfully, Greninja has the necessary qualities that make him suitable to fight on his own:

• Protean: The sole reason Greninja was chosen. The ability to change types on a team where all Pokemon share the same weaknesses is a very big part of why this team works. For example, Greninja's Shadow Sneak allows it to avoid faster Normal and Fighting moves from the likes of scarfed Porygon-Z and Terrakion.
• Incredibly Fast: Being able to outspeed a majority of the metagame is great, especially when combined with the fact that Greninja can change types before the opponent uses their move.
• Coverage: A large array of coverage moves means Greninja will almost always have a strong move to use against any opponent, which is also STAB-boosted by Protean. Greninja is a great user of Hidden Power, too.
• Mixed Attacker: Being able to hit hard on both the physical and special side means Greninja will have less trouble against physical and special walls.
• Set Versatility: Being a non-mega Pokemon, Greninja is free to hold an item, giving it many different set options. The most viable sets in particular are choiced sets, Life Orb and Sub Petaya.

Other Pokemon I haven't tried yet which may work as well are Kyurem-B, Dragonite and Genesect, though from the looks of it, none of these Pokemon have the solo-ing potential of Greninja.

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Team Breakdown

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Gunk Shot
- Shadow Sneak
- Low Kick

Running mixed sets seemed to be a waste as the opponent can never know 100% if the Greninja they are facing is physical or special, so I decided to dedicate one Greninja to being a pure physical attacker. This set is a necessity to bait in and take out various Fairy types with Gunk Shot, which would trouble the Greninjas otherwise. Rock Slide and Low Kick are basically Greninja's next best physical moves which also provide the most coverage. As mentioned before, Shadow Sneak as a priority move is useful for changing to a Ghost-type and dodging potentially deadly moves. A Jolly nature can be run, but even with a Life Orb, Greninja seems to fall short on some OHKOs without Adamant. The speed is enough to outspeed Mega Pinsir.

Calcs

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 8 Def Gardevoir-Mega: 634-749 (186.4 - 220.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Altaria-Mega: 307-361 (86.7 - 101.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 16 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 216-256 (74.7 - 88.5%) -- Greninja doesnt die after Life Orb recoil
252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 398-468 (101 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 424-502 (107.6 - 127.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-Black: 452-533 (99.5 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Snorlax: 463-549 (100.2 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 429-507 (111.1 - 131.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 484-567 (134.4 - 157.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 260-307 (87.5 - 103.3%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO (Not reliable against Zard-X)

252+ Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pinsir: 283-335 (104.4 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Greninja @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 8 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Extrasensory
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot

Greninja is still outsped naturally by Pokemon like Mega Lopunny, as well as by Choice Scarf users, so I decided to dedicate the 2nd Greninja to being a Scarf user of its own. While this set lacks power due to not having a Life Orb/Specs, it is usually enough to KO the likes of faster, frailer Pokemon, which this set intends to target. Extrasensory is the move of choice for Mega Lopunny, and may be used to 2HKO Mega Venusaur as well. Ice Beam, coupled with the speed investment, allows Greninja to outspeed and KO scarfed Garchomp and Landoruses. Grass Knot is given to this set as a means of being a Gyarados answer, as most players choose to mega evolve after 1 Dragon Dance, not expecting the scarf. The final move is Hidden Power. I like to go with Ground to beat electric types like Mega Ampharos and Magnezone, but it is interchangeable depending on the Pokemon you face on the ladder. For example, you may choose HP Fire if a Genesect set is giving you problems, Electric for a more stable Gyarados matchup, or Steel to avoid the 3-0 from scarf Kyu-B. 8 HP and 16 Def is a very trivial investment that lets Greninja live an Adamant Ice Fang from Mega-Gyara while it is Grass-type.

Calcs

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 184-217 (55.5 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Protean Greninja Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 184-217 (46.7 - 55%) -- 69.1% chance to 2HKO (Players are likely to mega-evolve after one Dragon Dance, and bulkier spreads may not even outspeed after two)
252+ SpA Protean Greninja Hidden Power Electric vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 372-436 (94.4 - 110.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Gyarados-Mega Ice Fang vs. 8 HP / 16 Def Greninja: 240-284 (83.6 - 98.9%)

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Ampharos: 200-236 (52 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Ampharos-Mega: 254-300 (66.1 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
[Beating Ampharos is a mind game between HP Ground and Ice Beam]
252+ SpA Mold Breaker Ampharos-Mega Dragon Pulse vs. 32 HP / 4 SpD Greninja: 241-285 (82.2 - 97.2%)

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Hidden Power Steel vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-Black: 204-240 (52.1 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Lopunny-Mega: 254-300 (93.7 - 110.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gengar-Mega: 254-302 (97.3 - 115.7%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Venusaur-Mega: 210-248 (57.6 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leech Seed recovery

Greninja @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Def / 96 SpA / 160 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Hydro Cannon
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt

I actually did not know what to make the 3rd Greninja until I found myself getting steamrolled by Spdef Mega Mawiles. So eventually this set was the best I could come up with, and to my surprise I found that the outrageous physical defence investment lets Greninja beat Charizard-X, Mega Metagross, scarf Victini, Sturdymons Donphan, Golem and Aggron, and even stops banded Talonflame (lol) from 3-0'ing the team. The moveset is the standard Sub Petaya strategy; spam Substitute until Greninja is at 25%, where its Petaya berry will activate (+1 SpA boost) and Torrent will be live, then fire back with a 2.25x powered Hydro Cannon. If your opponent refuses to attack into your substitutes, Taunt will force them to do so. Dark Pulse, coupled with the speed investment allows Greninja to better take on Mega Metagross and Mega Lati@s. Haze may also be run for a more comfortable Zard-X matchup. The 96 SpA ensures that Max HP Zard-Y, Max HP Metagross and Max SpDef Mawile-Mega die to the boosted Hydro Cannon from full. It is also important to note the 30HP IVs, allowing Greninja to make 25% substitutes, otherwise the Petaya berry will not activate.

Calcs

+1 96 SpA Torrent Greninja Hydro Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Charizard-Mega-X: 358-423 (99.4 - 117.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flame Charge vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 59-70 (20.7 - 24.6%) -- Greninja's substitute is never broken by Flame Charge!

+1 96 SpA Torrent Greninja Hydro Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 360-426 (100 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 96 SpA Torrent Greninja Hydro Cannon vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Metagross-Mega: 376-444 (103.2 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 51-61 (17.9 - 21.4%) -- Greninja doesn't die to Bullet Punch after 3 subs

+1 96 SpA Torrent Greninja Hydro Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mawile-Mega: 304-358 (100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 60-71 (21.1 - 25%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (after 3 subs)

252 Atk Victini Bolt Strike vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 240-284 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Donphan Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 172-204 (60.3 - 71.5%)
252+ Atk Golem Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 172-204 (60.3 - 71.5%)
252+ Atk Aggron Head Smash vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 243-286 (85.2 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Gale Wings Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Greninja: 238-282 (83.5 - 98.9%)

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Team Weaknesses:

I am sure there are more weaknesses than listed here, but I am not too familiar with the Gen 6 1v1 metagame to list them all. Here are the main ones though:

Mawile-Mega: The team's most difficult matchup. Even though Greninja #3 was made to beat SpDef, it still requires many mind games to do so. Beating any other set requires you to put a Choice Specs and Hydro Cannon on Greninja #2.

Kyurem-Black: Defence investment allows Kyu-B to live a Low Kick from Greninja, and scarf Kyu-B requires HP Steel to beat.

Sableye-Mega: One hindrance to Hidden Power's usefulness is that there is no Hidden Power Fairy. Hence, Greninja has no fairy coverage and Sableye easily takes advantage of this, walling Greninja for all eternity.

Dragonite: Again, with no HP Fairy, Dragonite's dragon moves obliterate the frogs and none of their moves are strong enough to kill it. In order to beat this, you need a Choice Specs on Greninja #2, which is a big trade-off for what the scarf does.

Magnezone: HP Ground can surprise an unsuspecting Magnezone, but Air Balloon, Magnet Rise or even Mirror Coat means you must tread carefully.

Chansey: Although Chansey is fat, it isnt quite heavy enough to get 2HKO'd 100% of the time by Greninja's Low Kick. Greninja's lower than average stats do hold it back in some situations, and this is an example of where.

Crustle: Mind games are required to beat Crustle, but thankfully, Water Shuriken on Greninja #2 can help you get around this.

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And that's the team! Another thing you can do if you have the effort is to nickname the Greninjas, then switch the nicknames around, and/or the positions in the teambuilder around every few games to mind-f*ck your opponent even more :P

I really hope you enjoy using this team as much as I did, and have a happy holidays!