Introduction:
“And Arthur and his knighthood for a space
Where all one will, and through that strength the King
Drew in the petty princedoms under him,
Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame The heathen hordes,
and made a realm and reigned.”
“And Arthur and his knighthood for a space
Where all one will, and through that strength the King
Drew in the petty princedoms under him,
Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame The heathen hordes,
and made a realm and reigned.”
Full poem at: http://www.blackcatpoems.com/t/the_coming_of_arthur.html
The Team (Changes in Red):
Now that you got a little flavor to the team, I present you with the Guardians of Avalon. The play style I prefer is speed control, and I wanted to make a team around making sure I outspeed everything, while still being able to hit hard. While I was looking for a Mega that was fast and strong, two caught my eye. Aerodactyl and Gallade, so I made a team built around both. My Aerodactyl team was good, but it was basic, mediocre one could say. Then I started to try my hand at the Gallade team and started to sweep through dozens of teams, and still be able to spot my weaknesses. Thus why I am here, to figure out how to fix my weaknesses. Here is the team.
Gallade (King Arthur)
Galladite
Adamant
Steadfast --> Inner Focus
252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Close Combat
Psycho Cut
Ice Punch
Protect
Welcome the King himself. I always loved Gallade, then he got a Mega and I fell even more in love. THEN I got a shiny ralts with the perfect nature and everything, and shiny mega Gallade looks amazing! With Mega Kanghaskan being as prevalent and annoying as it is, I wanted a hard counter for it, and then comes Gallade, which is, in my opinion, the best counter. With Inner Focus making it impossible to be flinched, Kanghaskan's fake out is a joke, along with other Fake Out users such as Weavile and Hitmontop. The EV's are standard, making Gallade's beastly attack even higher, while allowing it to outspeed most of the meta under tailwind. Close Combat is use as its primary STAB attack that hits hard even when its neutral. Psycho Cut is used over Zen-Headbutt because the accuracy of Z-Headbutt is too unreliable and has cost me games. Ice Punch hits Salamance and other dragon or flying types that otherwise wall Gallade. Protect is a staple on VGC teams to scout moves and protect damage.
Talonflame (Concorde)
Focus Sash
Naive
Gale Wings
248 HP/ 4 Atk/ 4 SpA/ 252 Spe
Tailwind
Quick Guard
Acrobatics
Overheat
Focus Sash
Naive
Gale Wings
248 HP/ 4 Atk/ 4 SpA/ 252 Spe
Tailwind
Quick Guard
Acrobatics
Overheat
In comes the King's mighty steed (at least as depicted in a movie, Arthur never actually named his horse). Talonflame, ironically, is one of the perfect counters for Talonflame, (which Gallade is weak too) providing needed support for Gallade. Tailwind is to boost the team's speed, which is needed for Gallade and other members to be able to kill faster threats and not take a super effective hit.Quick Guard is used to block Talonflame's priority Brave Bird and Prankster status that is unappreciated. Talonflame can't really take a hit, so I gave it a focus sash and paired it with Acrobatics for maximum damage. Overheat is used against steel types that wall Talonflame and his physical moves. The EV's, however, I'm a little unsure about, I just took what showdown said and tweaked it a bit. I put max in speed so I can assure that I at least get a Tailwind up. 248 In hp to maybe take a hit or two, and the rest spread out among both the
attacks to make them hit a little harder. Another set of EV's I was thinking about running is 248 Atk/ 8 SpA/ 252 Spe, to make it hit really hard. Which would be better?
Hydregion (Guinevere)
Choice Specs
Timid
Levitate
4 Hp/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Draco Meteor
Dark Pulse
Flamethrower
Flash Cannon
The King's "Loyal" lover, you know, until she cheats on him with his best friend. I needed something to counter the ever popular Cresselia, along with other psychic types, and I already had two physical attackers so there goes Bisharp, so I went looking for a special attacker that can hit Cresselia, and after searching, Hydregion caught my eye. It seemed like the perfect pokemon to counter these weaknesses. A stab, choice specs, super effective, max ev'd special attack Dark Pulse hurts, a lot. Same goes for the Dragon Pulse. Flamethrower is for steel types that wall Hydregion, and Flash Cannon is for those pesky fairies. The EV's is to make sure I out speed and hit hard, and maybe, and thats a definite maybe, take a hit. I changed Dragon Pulse to Draco Meteor because it was a quick check to those bulky water types!
Klefki (Merlin)
Mental Herb
Impish
Prankster
248 Hp/ 132 Def/ 124 SpD
Light Screen
Safeguard
Thunder Wave
Foul Play
Mental Herb
Impish
Prankster
248 Hp/ 132 Def/ 124 SpD
Light Screen
Safeguard
Thunder Wave
Foul Play
Every king has his magician, and Merlin (Klefki) is Arthur’s (Gallade). I needed a fairy resistance, and I always have played well with Klefki, and I have a natural fondness for it. Prankster is arguably one of the best abilities in VGC, priority status moves is just too good to pass up. Light Screen is too boost everyone’s special defense, which my team lacks a designated special wall. Safeguard is to block any opposing Thunder Wave’s or Will-o-Wisp’s that cripple my team. Thunder Wave is too make sure I outspeed when tailwind is not up, and the chance of them not hitting is always great. Foul Play is just for chip damage on physical attackers and super effective hits. The EV's are to maximize bulk so I can take hits.
Milotic (Lady-O-Lake)
Sitrus Berry
Modest
Competitive
72 HP/ 12 Def/ 252 SpA/ 172 Spe
Scald
Icy Wind
Ice Beam
Protect
Sitrus Berry
Modest
Competitive
72 HP/ 12 Def/ 252 SpA/ 172 Spe
Scald
Icy Wind
Ice Beam
Protect
The bringer of Excalibur. Milotic is my favorite water type and always will be. Its design is just so unique and its stats aren't that bad either, having natural bulk and decent offense. With how physical my team is, I needed a special attacker that could counter things that brought my team down like intimidate users and physical walls. With Milotic's Competitive ability gaining plus 2 special attack for every stat lowered, it makes the perfect counter to intimidate. Scald is for a strong stab move and with the added risk for burn its almost undeniably the best move for Milotic to have. Icy Wind is too lower speed and check Salamance and other dragon types. Recover is to make Milotic last as long as it can, but I found myself rarely using it and if you have better suggestions let me know. With the competitive boosts, Milotic doesn't need much investment in special attack, so I maximized defense so It can take hits. I changed the EV's because this way I out speed adamant base 70's, and it maximizes damage output. Ice beam is for a strong attack that usual KO's most pokemon weak to it.
Nidoking (Lancelot)
Life Orb
Jolly
Sheer Force
4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Poison Jab
Drill Run
Thunder Punch
Protect
Lancelot, King Arthur’s best friend and, at the same time, the cause of his downfall. I needed another attacker, and everyone uses special Nidoking, however, like Lancelot stealing Guinevere, I wanted a surprise factor. A Sheer Force Stab Poison Jab and Drill Run hit hard, and it counters Heatran and Fairies completely. Thunder Punch is there for those pesky water types that hit Nidoking hard, and protect to avoid damage. The damage output and surprise factor that thins thing brings makes me life so hard. People set up light screens to weaken my Nidoking, at least they think.
So there’s the team, Some common threats I have noticed is bulky water types like Rotom-W, Suicune, and Milotic. I have nothing really to hit them and then they can proceed to shut down my team. I’m not quite sure how to fix this, but I am open to all suggestions. Please leave a response, all help is greatly appreciate!
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