Hipster Gyarados and an attempt at VGC

[Kitsun(e)]

Gyarados @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Atk / 140 Def / 88 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Protect

This is my intimidate support and because my overall team lacks in speed, it's important to try and spread thunder wave with this guy. The EV's aren't finalized, but the basic idea behind them is to have considerable bulk with a lot of investment into defense so i can switch into rock slides more easily while the 20 points into attack and speed are more to slightly buff my waterfalls and possibly speed creep other defensive Gyarados. But i haven't found any use for the 8 speed so far and am not sure if they are necessary. While i'm not planning to stay in against opposing Rotoms, the wacan berry helps when i would have to do that.



Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet or Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide

Standard 'Chomp is standard. The question is if i want to go with protect or swords dance. It all comes down to how offensive i really want to be. If i opt for swords dance - focus sash might be the item of choice.



Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 140 SAtk / 76 SDef / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Venusar is my mega, and this version is a lot more offensive than (some) opponents might expect. Leaf storm guarantees OHKO on specially defensive Rotom-W and speed creeps 4 Speed Rotom-W, and leech seed + protect feels potent enough to skip synthesis and giga drain. He basically boils down to a Rotom-W counter, but can still tank almost anything bar choice-banded Talonflame.



Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry or Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt / Will-o-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Protect

Rotom-H works well with this team as he can take earthquakes aimed at Garchomp, checks fairy-types, Mamoswine and Talonflame. If Sableye is not on the team, then i feel will-o-wisp is almost mandatory. Safety Goggles could be cool to stay away from spore or sleep powder while sitrus berry always works nicely on this set.

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Machamp @ Lum Berry
Trait: No Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 100 Def / 80 SDef
Adamant Nature
- DynamicPunch
- Protect
- Stone Edge
- Wide Guard

Machamp is my first alternate, and his objective is to wide guard if i see a lot of potential rock slide and heat wave usage on the opposing team. EV's are outdated and optimized to survive things like max attack Zen Headbutt from Metagross (which you never see now), but i found that they work well for a general-purpose type of spread aswell. Good bulk, with at least some attack to beef up those 100% accurate 100 BP moves he sports. Speed investment is unnecessary since i want him to be able to operate under opponents trick room.



Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Fake Out
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Protect

This is my second alternate. And it's there to supply will-o-wisp should i need it and fake out to give Gyarados an easier time to go for early thunder waves. Ultimately he has a lot of options for his move-set (like full incense trick), and i haven't even decided if i really want to use him for this team because perhaps another offensive mon, like a special attacker, would be best.

Edit: Changed Machamps item and corrected Sableyes EV's.

 

[Haki]

Hi, Kitsun(e)! Your VGC team is fairly solid; the members of your team have great synergy as they nullify each other's weaknesses while having a good balance of offensive and defensive capability. There are a few minor changes I'd like to make, but overall this team is well-built! :D

Garchomp: I highly suggest using a Rocky Helmet over a Focus Sash on Garchomp so that you have the ability to inflict a good amount of damage against the numerous physical attackers present in VGC 2014, notably Mega-Kangaskhan. You can switch into an incoming first-turn Fake Out from MegaMom with Rocky Helmet + Rough Skin Garchomp, diminishing 7/12 or 58% of her HP in the process. Also, Protect should be utilized over Swords Dance for the purpose of scouting the opponent early in the battle, while also potentially disrupting double targeting.

Venusaur: As for Venusaur, I recommend using Sleep Powder instead of Leech Seed due to the fact you can immobilize potentially dangerous threats to your team, thus allowing your partner Pokémon to take care of that certain threat while it is asleep. Also, Synthesis should be used over Protect; I understand you wish to use a Leech Seed + Protect strategy, but I believe Synthesis is much more effective as this allows Venusaur to restore the majority of his health just as your opponent is finishing him off. Not to mention Mega-Charizard-Y is a common Pokémon in the VGC 2014 metagame, indicating more situations with Sun where Venusaur can restore 66.6% percent of his health for increased survivability and continued offensive presence.

Rotom-Heat: Rotom-H should carry a Safety Goggles as opposed to a Sitrus Berry, as this item grants him immunity from the likes of Spore from Amoonguss and Sleep Powder from Venusaur. Safety Goggles Rotom-Heat absolutely wrecks Mega-Charizard-Y + ChloroSaur leads due to the fact Sleep Powder will be rendered useless and Rotom-H resists the attacks of both Charizard (Heat Wave, Solar Beam) and Venusaur (Giga Drain). Rotom-Heat's EV spread should also be changed to a spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 180 SAtk / 12 SDef / 60 Spd; the 60 Speed EVs allow him to outspeed an Adamant Max Speed Tyranitar by a point, and the 180 SAtk EVs invested enable to him to OHKO Ray Rizzo's Mega-Mawile (which is becoming common) with 252 HP and 180 SDef EVs with a Careful nature 100% of the time. The other EVs are invested into the defensive stats and HP for some solid overall bulk, allowing Rotom-Heat to take multiple hits while providing some offensive firepower. Seeing as you already have a STAB Electric-type move in Thunderbolt, Volt Switch won't be necessary and should be replaced with Will-O-Wisp to cripple the physical attackers running around in the VGC metagame.

Machamp: Machamp should simply have a standard EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def to maximize his offensive potential while having a good amount of bulk. Not to mention the EV spread you have on Machamp is outdated like you said, and is more suited to the previous metagame of VGC 2013.

I personally do not like having Sableye on this team; he simply adds an extra Fairy-type weakness and like you mentioned in your description, I believe another special attacker would primarily be the best option for your team. With that being said, I highly recommend using a Substitute Aegislash over Sableye; probably the best counter to both Mega-Kangaskhan and Mega-Mawile.

Substitute Aegislash

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 172 SAtk / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 76 SDef
Quiet Nature
IVs: 20 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Substitute
- King's Shield

Substitute Aegislash walls Mega-Mawile and Mega-Kangaskhan as only Sucker Punch will be able to do a significant amount of damage to him. Aegislash can use Substitute to bypass an incoming Sucker Punch while also setting up a decoy for extra protection against other attacks. The 76 SDef EVs enable Aegislash to tank a Heat Wave from a max Special Attack Timid Mega-Charizard-Y 100% of the time, while also giving Aegislash the ability to survive a powerful Overheat from a max Special Attack Modest Rotom-Heat 93.7% of the time. The 20 Speed IVs invested allow Aegislash to have the speed advantage over the standard Aegislash, and also allows him to be slower than most Mega-Tyranitars and Mega-Mawiles, for the purpose of enabling him take a hit in Shield form and strike back with force in its Blade form. STAB Shadow Ball is an obvious staple, OHKOing or even 2HKOing most Psychic and Ghost-types, notably Mega-Gengar and Mega-Gardevoir. Sacred Sword 2HKOs both Max HP Mega-Tyranitar and Max HP Mega-Kangaskhan, and the Leftovers item is for HP recovery behind Substitute and King's Shield to increase his durability. Aegislash also walls Fairy-types thanks to its useful Steel typing, and can take on most of them one-on-one with its strong STAB Shadow Ball.

Anyway, good luck with your team! Hope I helped, man. :D

 

[Kitsun(e)]

Incredibly thorough post, happy you took the time.
A few questions in general;

While i understand the reasoning behind using items for specific situations like Rocky Helmet on Garchomp and Safety Goggles on Rotom, it's something that can easily end up being wasted depending on match-ups. So while spore is relatively common and can really mess with you if you're hit by it, any game where it's not a part of your opponents strategy the item is wasted. Is this 100% of the time a risk worth taking?

Also, do you oppose to using Leaf Storm on Venusaur instead of Giga Drain? You didn't cover that. I would say Synthesis is plenty regeneration, and the difference between 75 and 130 BP is huge, but i also recognize the power drop can be awful for me late-game. I would like this Venusaur to be "slightly" more offensive than what i've used previously. (calm nature w/ Giga Drain)
I feel there are arguments for both moves.

The 20 IV in speed on your Aegislash template; How important is that specific number? Obviously using legit Pokemon limits the amount of customization you have with IV's. I already have a Quiet Aegislash with 5 IV's and an unknown speed IV, but obviously it would suck being one point faster than a mirror Aegislash.
Edit: While i am very open to using Aegislash, would a Gardevoir work too? Obviously not a check to Mawile and Mama Kang, but a good typing for my team and good offensive coverage.

Oh and i settled on a 252 HP / 20 Atk / 140 Def / 96 SpDef spread for my Gyarados. I came to the conclusion there's nothing i really want to outspeed around that tier and the rest of the spread is an attempt to strike an nice defensive balance, it's just something i might keep experimenting with in the near future.

Again thanks, your answer was way better than i could've asked for.

 

[Simply]

Incredibly thorough post, happy you took the time.
A few questions in general;

While i understand the reasoning behind using items for specific situations like Rocky Helmet on Garchomp and Safety Goggles on Rotom, it's something that can easily end up being wasted depending on match-ups. So while spore is relatively common and can really mess with you if you're hit by it, any game where it's not a part of your opponents strategy the item is wasted. Is this 100% of the time a risk worth taking?

Also, do you oppose to using Leaf Storm on Venusaur instead of Giga Drain? You didn't cover that. I would say Synthesis is plenty regeneration, and the difference between 75 and 130 BP is huge, but i also recognize the power drop can be awful for me late-game. I would like this Venusaur to be "slightly" more offensive than what i've used previously. (calm nature w/ Giga Drain)
I feel there are arguments for both moves.

The 20 IV in speed on your Aegislash template; How important is that specific number? Obviously using legit Pokemon limits the amount of customization you have with IV's. I already have a Quiet Aegislash with 5 IV's and an unknown speed IV, but obviously it would suck being one point faster than a mirror Aegislash.
Edit: While i am very open to using Aegislash, would a Gardevoir work too? Obviously not a check to Mawile and Mama Kang, but a good typing for my team and good offensive coverage.

Oh and i settled on a 252 HP / 20 Atk / 140 Def / 96 SpDef spread for my Gyarados. I came to the conclusion there's nothing i really want to outspeed around that tier and the rest of the spread is an attempt to strike an nice defensive balance, it's just something i might keep experimenting with in the near future.

Again thanks, your answer was way better than i could've asked for.

Mega Venusaur is meant to be more of a wall, sun venusaur is meant to sleep and sweep. The most common venusaur set I see is leech seed/sleep powder/Giga drain/sludge bomb(or protect) It kinda works the same way ferrothorn does which is if you can focus on the threats venusaur can win you the game. Mega venusaur is so scary that it is the reason I run psychic on a choice specs gengar.

Definitely put protect on garchomp. I prefer Lum berry on mine but rocky helmet really can help against mega kang. It's an easy descision for me because Lum berry is such a good item and you are kinda wasting it on Machamp IMO because you aren't running trick room. You could try a choice banded azumarill. I had someone show it to me and it's now my MVP. Aqua jet/waterfall/play rough/superpower. Superpower can OHKO mega kang 100% of the time. (Just to put in into perspective, aqua jet will OHKO.

Pranksters are kinda gimmicky, and they don't always work. I wouldn't use protect on sableye, swagger is a better option so you can cripple special and physical attackers.

As for gyarados, I personally think gyarados should only be ran alongside manectric, that way you get double intimidate support AND the ability to get a boost off electric attacks aimed at gyarados. Having a mega manectric in the back could be a solid secret weapon when venusaur isn't a good choice. Run 252 spe / 252 spa timid with flamethrower, thunderbolt/volt switch, HP ice, protect. Taunt on gyarados never made sense to me, because any status move will go off before gyarados can do anything considering most statuses are either prankster or a faster rotom. I would try waterfall/EQ/protect/twave.

 

[Kitsun(e)]

Duly noted Simply, mega Manectric has been on my mind for a while. But the problem is it would take thunder waves from my Gyarados aswell. I guess it's possible to work around it by being aware when to switch him in and when to thunder wave. But yeah, lots of options..