Oh hey! Have not posted here in a while, but I recently picked up the game again after a short VGC stint from 2015-2016, and to see if I still got it I decided to try my hand at the ladder. Series 2 I was still getting back into the groove and relearning the game a bit, but when Series 3 came around I decided to make a serious laddering attempt with a new team which I will detail below. I used to run a competitive Pokemon Tumblr blog back in the day, and my hope is that by sharing this team I could provide insight to those who may be struggling with team building, but I am interested in hearing suggestions because this team is nowhere near perfect.
The team itself came about when I was adapting to the updated VGC 2020 Series 3 ruleset, and I wanted to try out Gigantamax Lapras as well as Venusaur which were both new to this metagame. I figured both could work on the same team as Venusaur needing the Sun from Torkoal meant I had the classic Fire/Water/Grass core that could be built around from there.
Lapras-Gmax @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
Nothing super crazy about this Lapras moveset, I could probably add more Speed to out speed stuff like Milotic but most of the time you want to be moving last to get off Weakness Policy boosted attacks. It's also worth noting I chose to run Thunderbolt instead of Thunder like I see some doing, as I wasn't always going to have Rain up due to the Sun package on this team and I was mostly using Thunderbolt as a counter measure to sleep if necessary.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect
Venusaur set is also fairly standard, most notably I have a Modest Nature for the power boost since really you don't need Timid as long as you have the Chlorophyll boost and all you really miss out on is speed tying with Togekiss (which we have ways of slowing down I'll get to later). I also notably am choosing not to run Earth Power, and believe me I wanted to but after doing some calcs it became evident that Earth Power was not KOing Duraludon, Torkoal, or Incineroar as consistently as I would have liked and the numbers ended up pointing in a direction that while still inconsistent, Sleep Powder was taking out those threats at a higher rate than Earth Power. Protect is also here because I decided to not run a Focus Sash (due to Venusaur requiring Life Orb for Leaf Storm to pick up KO's on Lapras and bulky Rotom-W) and Venusaur needed a way to conserve itself.
Torkoal @ Charcoal
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Protect
Standard Torkoal set, this Pokemon is a role player for getting the Sun up and is able to use spread moves to place a great amount pressure on the opponent's team. Torkoal is great for abusing Trick Room as well, meaning that it has a lot of utility where Speed control is vital to winning the match up. Admittedly, Torkoal does conflict a bit with this core as getting the Sun up hinders Lapras's ability to get off meaningful Hydro Pumps while a Max Geyser can cripple Torkoal's damage output. Essentially, having both Torkoal and Lapras out together is a less than ideal situation.
With the core defined, I decided to try and support this core as best as I could. I noticed at the time of me building this team that Alcremie and Sableye were both popular partners to lead alongside Gigantamax Lapras, and using that same thought process I decided that Grimmsnarl could fill a similar role on this team while working well synergistically by being able to take both the Psychic attacks Venusaur is weak to along with softening up an opponent's team.
Grimmsnarl @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 196 Def / 44 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Thunder Wave
- Fake Tears
- Foul Play
This moveset allows Grimmsnarl to survive a 252+ Flash Cannon from Assault Vest Duraludon with a little bit of investment to Speed creep other Grimmsnarl (or Incineroar which have been invested to out speed non-invested Grimmsnarl). Thunder Wave provides Speed control, Fake Tears softens up Pokemon and acts similarly to Alcremie boosting Lapras in a less "all in" manner since the other Pokemon on this team can abuse such drops as well. Foul Play also deviates a bit from the norm, and I decided to use it over Spirit break as a means to 1) Hit Psychic type Pokemon we otherwise have no coverage for and 2) To punish Weakness Policy boosts to Pokemon, especially helpful on ladder due to lots of random Weakness Policy sets being prevalent in the lower-mid ladder. I also like Iapapa Berry a lot on this set, as I like putting Pinch Berries on Pokemon invested to survive particular attacks.
I further decided that this team while having Torkoal + Venusaur and Thunder Wave Grimmsnarl as speed control was not enough to combat other forms of Speed control, as Trick Room teams would typically be slower than us and Tailwind teams could effectively shrug off the Thunder Waves and at the moment their threats were faster. Enter Gothitelle, which I included not only for it's ability to combat opposing Speed control with Trick Room but also for it's trapping ability which can allow Torkoal and Lapras is take advantage of favorable match ups and punish poor leads.
Gothitelle @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Protect
- Heal Pulse
- Psychic
This Gothitelle spread is so old that it quite literally was one I used when I played 5 years ago, but it was great for getting back into the game since I was already aware of it's limitations. The spread allows Gothitelle to survive a Choice Specs attack from Hydreigon, with the rest placed into Defense for added bulk. Trick Room is great, but on this team you typically only want Trick Room when the opponent has high speed Pokemon as a majority of their team or if the opponent is hard Trick Room. I typically go back and forth on what combination of Protect, Heal Pulse or Helping Hand I need but I eventually settled on Protect and Heal Pulse, since keeping our bulky threats alive is much better than the added damage and Protect lets Gothitelle not get blown out by moves like Fake Out or a double target to prevent the Trick Room.
The last Pokemon, and what really ties this team together is Conkeldurr. Conkeldurr is extremely useful for combating Sand teams and being another Pokemon to abuse Trick Room if I choose to go for that mode. Conkeldurr is nice, since it adds much needed priority and spread damage to this team as well as a resist to Rock type moves.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Notably, I am choosing to run Rock Slide as under Trick Room this move can be quite absurd and it provides more spread damage pressure if needed, plus I need ways to check Flying types as nothing on this team can take a Flying attack and Lapras is the only other check to these Pokemon. I also notably am not running minimum speed on this set, as Conkeldurr is fast enough to out speed other Trick Room Pokemon outside of Trick Room while also being slow enough to take advantage of Trick Room in case the opponent has a fast, offensive team. Conkeldurr does a lot in the way of closing out games while also curbing some of the weaknesses of the team itself.
Thank you for reading! Attached I will have a picture of proof of getting Top 50 on the Pokemon Showdown Ladder and a full paste of the team will be down below
https://pokepast.es/64efb78cafe1e91d
The team itself came about when I was adapting to the updated VGC 2020 Series 3 ruleset, and I wanted to try out Gigantamax Lapras as well as Venusaur which were both new to this metagame. I figured both could work on the same team as Venusaur needing the Sun from Torkoal meant I had the classic Fire/Water/Grass core that could be built around from there.
Lapras-Gmax @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
Nothing super crazy about this Lapras moveset, I could probably add more Speed to out speed stuff like Milotic but most of the time you want to be moving last to get off Weakness Policy boosted attacks. It's also worth noting I chose to run Thunderbolt instead of Thunder like I see some doing, as I wasn't always going to have Rain up due to the Sun package on this team and I was mostly using Thunderbolt as a counter measure to sleep if necessary.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect
Venusaur set is also fairly standard, most notably I have a Modest Nature for the power boost since really you don't need Timid as long as you have the Chlorophyll boost and all you really miss out on is speed tying with Togekiss (which we have ways of slowing down I'll get to later). I also notably am choosing not to run Earth Power, and believe me I wanted to but after doing some calcs it became evident that Earth Power was not KOing Duraludon, Torkoal, or Incineroar as consistently as I would have liked and the numbers ended up pointing in a direction that while still inconsistent, Sleep Powder was taking out those threats at a higher rate than Earth Power. Protect is also here because I decided to not run a Focus Sash (due to Venusaur requiring Life Orb for Leaf Storm to pick up KO's on Lapras and bulky Rotom-W) and Venusaur needed a way to conserve itself.
Torkoal @ Charcoal
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Protect
Standard Torkoal set, this Pokemon is a role player for getting the Sun up and is able to use spread moves to place a great amount pressure on the opponent's team. Torkoal is great for abusing Trick Room as well, meaning that it has a lot of utility where Speed control is vital to winning the match up. Admittedly, Torkoal does conflict a bit with this core as getting the Sun up hinders Lapras's ability to get off meaningful Hydro Pumps while a Max Geyser can cripple Torkoal's damage output. Essentially, having both Torkoal and Lapras out together is a less than ideal situation.
With the core defined, I decided to try and support this core as best as I could. I noticed at the time of me building this team that Alcremie and Sableye were both popular partners to lead alongside Gigantamax Lapras, and using that same thought process I decided that Grimmsnarl could fill a similar role on this team while working well synergistically by being able to take both the Psychic attacks Venusaur is weak to along with softening up an opponent's team.
Grimmsnarl @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 196 Def / 44 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Thunder Wave
- Fake Tears
- Foul Play
This moveset allows Grimmsnarl to survive a 252+ Flash Cannon from Assault Vest Duraludon with a little bit of investment to Speed creep other Grimmsnarl (or Incineroar which have been invested to out speed non-invested Grimmsnarl). Thunder Wave provides Speed control, Fake Tears softens up Pokemon and acts similarly to Alcremie boosting Lapras in a less "all in" manner since the other Pokemon on this team can abuse such drops as well. Foul Play also deviates a bit from the norm, and I decided to use it over Spirit break as a means to 1) Hit Psychic type Pokemon we otherwise have no coverage for and 2) To punish Weakness Policy boosts to Pokemon, especially helpful on ladder due to lots of random Weakness Policy sets being prevalent in the lower-mid ladder. I also like Iapapa Berry a lot on this set, as I like putting Pinch Berries on Pokemon invested to survive particular attacks.
I further decided that this team while having Torkoal + Venusaur and Thunder Wave Grimmsnarl as speed control was not enough to combat other forms of Speed control, as Trick Room teams would typically be slower than us and Tailwind teams could effectively shrug off the Thunder Waves and at the moment their threats were faster. Enter Gothitelle, which I included not only for it's ability to combat opposing Speed control with Trick Room but also for it's trapping ability which can allow Torkoal and Lapras is take advantage of favorable match ups and punish poor leads.
Gothitelle @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Protect
- Heal Pulse
- Psychic
This Gothitelle spread is so old that it quite literally was one I used when I played 5 years ago, but it was great for getting back into the game since I was already aware of it's limitations. The spread allows Gothitelle to survive a Choice Specs attack from Hydreigon, with the rest placed into Defense for added bulk. Trick Room is great, but on this team you typically only want Trick Room when the opponent has high speed Pokemon as a majority of their team or if the opponent is hard Trick Room. I typically go back and forth on what combination of Protect, Heal Pulse or Helping Hand I need but I eventually settled on Protect and Heal Pulse, since keeping our bulky threats alive is much better than the added damage and Protect lets Gothitelle not get blown out by moves like Fake Out or a double target to prevent the Trick Room.
The last Pokemon, and what really ties this team together is Conkeldurr. Conkeldurr is extremely useful for combating Sand teams and being another Pokemon to abuse Trick Room if I choose to go for that mode. Conkeldurr is nice, since it adds much needed priority and spread damage to this team as well as a resist to Rock type moves.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Notably, I am choosing to run Rock Slide as under Trick Room this move can be quite absurd and it provides more spread damage pressure if needed, plus I need ways to check Flying types as nothing on this team can take a Flying attack and Lapras is the only other check to these Pokemon. I also notably am not running minimum speed on this set, as Conkeldurr is fast enough to out speed other Trick Room Pokemon outside of Trick Room while also being slow enough to take advantage of Trick Room in case the opponent has a fast, offensive team. Conkeldurr does a lot in the way of closing out games while also curbing some of the weaknesses of the team itself.
Thank you for reading! Attached I will have a picture of proof of getting Top 50 on the Pokemon Showdown Ladder and a full paste of the team will be down below
https://pokepast.es/64efb78cafe1e91d
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