VGC Help with my VGC team

[latticeman]

Hello! I am new to VGC, and I quickly made a team that I definitely need some help with improving.

My team:

Analysis:

@ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Protect

Originally I used Hydreigon as my dragon type, but I switched to Salamence because I found that I was lacking a physical sweeper. The Jolly nature gives it some extra speed. Return takes advantage of its ability, Aerilate, converting the move from normal to Flying. Dragon Dance is a great boosting move that increases its attack and speed to insane numbers. Earthquake is mainly for Heatran, which my team had some trouble dealing with when I was using Hydreigon instead.

@ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Flash Cannon
- King's Shield

At first I had an Aegislash with a 2 speed IV and Choice Specs to speed creep and OHKO opposing Aegislashes, but I reworked it into the standard set so I could give the Choice Specs to Sylveon. Shadow Ball, King's Shield and Flash Cannon are the main moves for Aegislash, to either help with Forme changes or provide STAB. I decided to go with Sacred Sword over Shadow Sneak to provide more type coverage- I don't think I need priority that much with this set.

@ Charti Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 132 HP / 156 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
- Taunt

Ok, I decided to listen to the advice of other members and replace Arcanine with Talonflame, and it has worked well so far. I usually lead with Talonflame and Amoonguss to allow Talonflame to set up Tailwind, and I have put Taunt on there for status move support. Brave Bird is there for the priority, and Will-O-Wisp is for further support.

@ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 84 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn

I went for a more defensive Landorus build, because my team has a pretty bad weakness to Ice and I wanted it to survive most non-stab Ice Beams (I EV'd it to survive Swift Swim Ludicolo's Ice Beam). I chose Rock Slide for the spread damage and relatively high flinch chance, Earthquake for the STAB and Superpower for some coverage against Mega Kangaskhan. I went for U-Turn over Protect for the switch, but I am reconsidering as it is useless when I am down to the final two pokemon for my team.

@ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 180 HP / 76 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Hyper Beam

I had Gardevoir as my Fairy type and mega, but when I switched to include Salamence, I switched from Gardevoir to Sylveon so I could keep a Fairy type. It is EV'd to survive Mega Kangaskhan's Return, so a pretty standard set. I chose Hidden Power Ground to help counter Heatran, and Hyper Beam to provide some extreme power when I need to knock out something that would sweep my team.

@ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb

Finally, I have Amoonguss for it's Spore and Rage Powder combination. The moveset is standard, along with it's EV spread to provide bulk. The main problem with it for me is it's weakness to Ice, with is a problem with my whole team. I also think I need to utilize it better, as I haven't used Rage Powder in any of my test games, even when I have ample opportunity.

Right now, I am having problems with Ice moves mainly, and I don't have a real counter for the Pokemon that run them. Should I add a specialized, faster sweeper or make it so my pokemon do more damage? If you need any more info, I can probably provide it. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[IronBullet]

Hi there, your descriptions are rather lacking and not up to the standard required by the RMT rules. You need to provide an in-depth description of each Pokemon to explain your choices and their roles. Please read the rules carefully and take a look at other RMTs and the RMT archive to see the kind of detail and format we require before posting a thread here. PM me with updated descriptions once you review the rules and I'll reopen this thread.

Edit: Reopened

 

[latticeman]

Ok, now that the thread is reopened, I have a few more notes. When I was testing on showdown, I got beaten by quite a few gimmick teams that used boosts with strange Pokémon and items. I was thinking about running a Pokemon with Taunt, but I don't know where one would fit in or if it would be worth it. Also, I need some advice on the actual strategy, like when to use rage powder or when to switch to different Pokemon. Advice on that in addition to team help would be much appreciated!

 

[ark—]

Here is the link to the animated Mega Salamence sprite if you needed it (I noticed it was the only one without one on your post): http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/rubi-omega-zafiro-alfa/sprites/animados/salamence-mega.gif

First I just wanted to say what a nifty team you have here. I have just a few notes:

It's slow. Sometimes this isn't a problem, and sometimes it is. And for those times when it is a problem, it is really a problem. Like you noted in your closing, I could definitely see working in a speedy sweeper, or to hit a few birds with one stone, a speedy offensive support. If you haven't had any trouble with Rocks so far, I'd consider replacing Arcanine with Talonflame. Talonflame has both an excellent offensive and supportive movepool to pull from. Its priority Tailwind could turn your team of little tanks into a team of truly devastating sweepers. It offers Taunt support if you chose to go that route, preventing counter Tailwind and setup on Salamence and keeping Trickroom teams to the crawl they were intended move at. It, like Arcanine, also carries Will-O-Wisp, and again with its tremendous Speed stat could cripple the team from the start with those haunting burns. And finally with a Life Orb it guarantees destruction. But if you do have a problem with rocks, that leads to my next point...

Beware large rocks and pointy icicles. Like I said, it may not be a problem in actual practice, but its worth noting on paper, since you do have a common weakness in both. Two with crippling Ice weaknesses, and two with more minor Rock weaknesses. But unlike Ice, Rock exists more prominently outside offhand Hidden Power and defensive Ice Beams. To remedy this, I nominate Heatran to fill Arcanine's wee little booties. Now, perhaps you might think, "Isn't that redundant with Aegislash?" I would disagree, but you could argue it both ways. I like to think as they both enjoy unique and complimentary immunities that they aren't. Now, they do share a ground weakness, but thankfully, that's already covered by your fine looking dragon-tiger-birds. Heatran is neutral to rocks and boasts a tremendous 4x resistance to Ice. Another bird, another stone. Although Water may be a problem. So...

Watch out for Milotic. All this Intimidation and Milotic might be feeling a little Competitive—something you definitely want to avoid if you already have an issue with Ice. If Milotic does happen to be on the field out gaining momentum, you may need to waver back to Rotom-W. Rotom-W offers the Ice resistance you need, the Water resistance you would enjoy, and doesn't have the Rock weakness you currently share. I you do opt for Rotom, I'd go an extra step and replace Aegislash with a more offense-oriented Heatran, compensated by replacing one of Sylveon's moves with Shadow Ball. But...

In closing, it's worth noting that every decision has its pros and cons. Perhaps you have seen better use of Arcanine then I have and appreciate extra Intimidate support. Maybe you have a different teammate you would prefer to offer to the chopping block. Maybe you prefer more minor changes, or complete overhaul. It's your team, and your call. This is just my two cents. If you have any questions or comments, you should not only feel free to inform me of them, but you should feel obligated to. And again, nifty team. Good luck on it, and keep being nifty yourself.

—Noah

 

[latticeman]

Thanks for the reply! You seem to have analyzed my team perfectly, especially the comment on Milotic- that was one of the problems that I ran into. I will try out a bulky Talonflame set, and also test Heatran and Rotom-W, and perhaps post updates. Thanks again!

Edit: I have tested out the team with Talonflame, and I like it! Here is a video of a battle that I just did; I feel that this lead is optimal in this situation because it allows for Talonflame to get a free turn off most of the time to set up Tailwind. I did run into a team that had both Competitive Milotic and Defiant Bisharp, but my Tailwind boost was enough to get off enough damage on them to allow Landorus to sweep.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotdoublesvgc2015-249422765

 

[latticeman]

I understand that I am double posting, but I need some more help and also need to give more info on my team. I have been testing out the Talonflame/Amoonguss lead and it has worked well, allowing me to get the Tailwind off. However, should I keep Amoonguss on after that or switch to a more powerful sweeper? The concept of when to switch is one that I need help with. Thanks in advance!

 

[Steven Stone]

Nice team concept! Although i'd like to note a few things:

Amoonguss: Change the EV spread to 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SpDef. That allows you to take Jolly Mega Metagross Zen Headbutt 100% of the time and gives you more special bulk that might come in handy on other matches.

Salamence: Dragon Dance Salamence has dropped in both usage and popularity due to Speed Control making it useless on most situations, having a coverage move that's useless on every term, and Thunder Wave / Will-O-Wisp being so common and making it dead weight on most matchups. The best set right now being Double-Edge, Hyper Voice, Fire Blast / Draco Meteor and Protect, with a Naive Nature and 4 Atk, 252 Sp.Atk and 252 Spe. The mixed set allows Salamence to freely spam Hyper Voice in most situations, while Double-Edge picking up neat OHKOs against Pokemon EVd to take Hyper Voice such as Amoonguss or Mega Venusaur. As last slot, Draco Meteor proving itself being a nuking tool against opposing Dragon-Types, and specially Rotom-W, while Fire Blast provides coverage against Steel Types, and most notably, opposing Aegislash.

Aegislash: Lemme be honest with you: Sacred Sword is bad on Aegislash. You can only hit Bisharp with it, and LO variants OHKO Aegislash while the Sash variant.... takes the Sacred Sword and lives for another day. Replacing it with Shadow Sneak / Wide Guard / Substitute is the best option, as these 3 fillers are way better than anything Sacred Sword can do. Heck, even +2 Sacred Sword can't OHKO 4 HP Kangaskhan.

Well, that's all i can help you with. Keep it up friend!
- SkarmSteel

 

[DaAwesomeDude1]

Hey there, your team seems really fun to play! There are a few things I would change however. For starters, I would definitely used Mixed Mega Salamence over Dragon Dance Salamence right now. DD Mence isn't bad or anything, but it's just honestly not that great with how the meta is right now with Intimidate, Speed Control, and Will-O-Wisp everywhere. Plus, I find that teams are usually built around DD MegaMence, which your team isn't really too catered towards it, whereas Mixed is a lot more splashable. Mixed Megamence also offers the same power as regular Mega Mence while also isn't as crippled by Intimidate/WoW. Mixed MegaMence also gives you a way of checking Ferrothorn, who is currently something that your team struggles against, with Fire Blast.

On Aegislash, Sacred Sword honestly isn't the best move for it. The only relevant threat it really hits is like Bisharp, but why would you let your Aegislash take so much unnecessary damage just to KO it? Even at +2, Sacred Sword won't be able to OHKO 4 HP Mega Kangaskhan. For that reason, I suggest using Wide Guard instead of Sacred Sword. Wide Guard already works really well with your team, as it is able to protect Salamence from Hyper Voice spam and Icy Wind. I also suggest you change Aegislash's EV spread to 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD with a Quiet Nature. Aegislash doesn't really miss any KOs by forgoing max SpA, plus the added Special Defense EVs allows Aegislash to survive a Choice Specs boosted Dark Pulse from Hydreigon.

Calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 156 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 138-164 (82.6 - 98.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 100+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 165-195 (98.2 - 116%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
100+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Metagross: 140-168 (90.3 - 108.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
100+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 188 HP / 0 SpD Sylveon: 122-146 (62.8 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
100+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 116-140 (80.5 - 97.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

While Assault Vest is a pretty neat item for Landorus-T, switching to Choice Scarf Landorus will benefit your team a lot more. Your team is really threatened by fast, offensive Pokemon, most notably Mega Charizard Y, so by using Choice Scarf Landorus, you'll be able to threaten those Pokemon before they do major damage to your team. Plus, it gives you another Pokemon that is faster than base 100s. I suggest you use amr97's spread of 12 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Def / 4 SpD / 148 Spe with an Adamant nature. This spread allows Landorus to live a +1 LO Sucker Punch from Bisharp while also outspeeding Weavile, who is most likely the fastest Ice-type you'll see in VGC.

Amoonguss really needs Protect. While dual STAB moves is cool and all, Protect is essentially mandatory on Amoonguss considering most people will tend to double target it, either predicting a Rage Powder or just trying to get it off the field as fast as possible. In that sense, I suggest replacing Sludge Bomb with Protect. Sludge Bomb honestly doesn't hit anything relevant. The only relevant thing I can think of off the top of my head is Virizion and Amoonguss mirror matches. The two most common Fairy-type Pokemon, Sylveon and Gardevoir, usually carries a Psychic-type coverage move.

For bigger changes, I remember reading that you had Arcanine before Talonflame and had Rotom-W before Arcanine, so I suggest going back and using Rotom-W instead of Talonflame. Talonflame's only there for speed control, tbh, and it doesn't help with your Ice-type weakness either. Not only does Rotom-W provide your team with an Ice resist, it also has speed control in the form of Electroweb/Thunder Wave and it works really well with Landorus-T. It also gives you a way of dealing with Heatran for when you switch over to Mixed Mega Mence, since it'll wall your team pretty hard. Rotom-W helps a lot with the Sand matchup, which your team is a bit weak to currently, as well as somewhat the Rain matchup, Amoonguss does pretty well against Rain but it gets worn down pretty easily especially since you're not using Sitrus Berry. Brendan Webb's spread of 252 HP / 44 Def / 92 SpA / 100 SpD / 20 Spe with a Calm Nature will suit your team a lot more, as it allows Rotom to have a high chance of living Charizard Y's Solar Beam, while the Special Attack allows Rotom-W to hit bulky Landorus-T harder.

That's pretty much it dude, once again it's a pretty solid team! Hope I helped man and good luck with the team!!! :]
-DaAwesomeDude1

Sets

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Double Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Protect

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Wide Guard
- Flash Cannon
- King's Shield

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Def / 4 SpD / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Protect

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 92 SpA / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
– Thunderbolt
– Hydro Pump
– Thunder Wave
– Protect

 

[latticeman]

Thanks for the replies! I have tested out some of the spreads, and have found that my main problem lies in my lack of experience playing competitively. Where should I go to get advice on how to analyze the opponent's team and choose what to lead and what moves to use? That seems to be my downfall in most battles that I lose.

 

[DaAwesomeDude1]

I would go check out CybertronProductions on YouTube. He's a world class level VGC player who has videos of him giving advice on leading and team preview and whatnot. All of his videos are very informative and you can see his thought process whenever he does one of his road to ranked episodes. :]

 

[Demantoid]

Your team should have major issues against a well played Bisharp and bulky water types. Bisharp enjoys the double intmidate on your team and bulky waters are only hit super effectively by Amoonguss. I would recommend switching the Talonflame and Landorus to a Rotom-W and Heatran. I recommend switching Lando because I can not figure out what role it was supposed to serve on the team. As mentioned above Rotom can provide speed control with Electroweb or T-Wave and along with Heatran and Amoonguss provide a FWG core and also doesn't share any common weaknesses with your team. Rotom also hits water types hard with Thunderbolt and can kill fire types with Hydro Pump. Heatran provides another ice resistance to your ice weak team. Heatran can also outspeed and ko Bisharp. It also does good damage to Aegislash and if using Shuca and Earth power it can check opposing Heatran. I would definitely recommend a fast Heatran spread but you could run a slower or faster Rotom-w depending on your personal preference. (I noticed that with Rotom-W you would be basically using the core from japan sand without Tyranitar)

If you do decide to keep Lando-T this ev spread 148/116+/4/0-/172/20 reaches the same stat points (1 more attack) and has 48 extra evs left over. Since your Sylveon has HP ground it should have 180 HP / 76 Def / 248 SpA / 4 Spe to avoid wasting evs. I would also definitely replace Sacred Sword on Aegislash with Wide guard or Shadow Sneak.