This is my first RMT and my first real take on a VGC team in general. I recently got into competitive battling and would like an honest opinion on my team and, more in depth, my thought process behind building and playing the team.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- SolarBeam
- Ancient Power
- Protect
I knew I wanted to use Charizard, so I started with him and built the team around it. I think M-Charizard Y is one of the strongest megas in the meta currently. This is a pretty standard set. I opt for Ancient Power rather than Overheat. I find it much more useful, allowing me a way to deal with Talonflame and M-Charizard directly. I've tried overheat and have found much more use with Ancient Power. Not much to be said about this set.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect
Venusaur is a natural partner to M-Charizard, benefiting greatly from Sun. The Speed EVs enable it to outspeed almost everything in the format while Sun is active, allowing for an easy sleep on a dangerous target. Giga Drain and Sludge bomb are two powerful standard STABs that provide good coverage, especially since the only other member of my team that can reliably deal with Sylveon is Bisharp. Modest is really the only option, as any more speed is overkill.
Garchomp @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
- Protect
Garchomp was my next choice, since both Charizard and Venusaur can provide coverage against common threats. Charizard has good coverage against Rotom-W, while also being immune to Earthquake, and Venusaur has double coverage against Water types like Rotom-W and the Fairy types who will give Garchomp trouble. I went with Substitute/Protect and Leftovers to give him more staying power, hopefully resulting in more Earthquakes and Rock Slides. Jolly and max speed EVs let it outspeed I've thought about swapping Garchomp with Mamoswine to provide better coverage against the common dragons in the format, but haven't tested yet.
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Night Slash
- Protect
Bisharp was my next pickup as another way to reliably deal with Fairy types (Sylveon and Gardevoir in particular) and as a lead to deal with Intimidate users. I went with Focus Sash to survive a M-Charizard Heat Wave or an Earthquake, and 244 is invested in Speed to hit 121, making it faster than neutral M-Kangaskhan, Charizard and Gardevoir. I would consider Bisharp one of the most important members of the team.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 54 SpA / 148 SpD / 12 Spe
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Rotom-W is just an all around solid member of almost any team. Being immune to ground and resisting fire and ice, it provides excellent coverage to both Bisharp and Garchomp while also having STAB moves to deal with their common threats. Rotom-W is also a great partner for Venusaur, having STABs that can OHKO Talonflame, Landorus-T, and very offensive Heatran sets, although hitting with Hydro Pump can sometimes be difficult due to Sun. Will-o-Wisp is here to diminish physical threats. It's only weakness is grass, which is resisted by Venusaur, Charizard and Bisharp. My EV spread allows it to survive a max attack Choice Spec Brave Bird from Talonflame, and provides some much needed Special defense to the team. The 12 points in Speed are to hopefully outspeed opposing Rotom-W, since I don't feel having all those points in SpA is necessary.
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
Scrafty was picked as a bulky Fake Out/Intimidate user that could provide coverage in the places I was lacking. Paired with Bisharp as leads, Fake Out should allow Bisharp to get off an extra move than he normally would be able to. Fake Out also lets Rotom-W get off Will-O-Wisp easier. Against physical teams, I'll start with Scrafty/Rotom-W, usually forcing switches immediately. Knock Off gives me some coverage against psychic types but more importantly allows me to remove important items. Drain Punch is solid against Kangaskhan and Heatran, and Ice Punch is a slightly less common pick that players may not expect which really helps against Landorus-T and Garchomp. Overall, I like this set and think it rounded out my team well.
Overall I really like this team so far. Like I said above, I've thought about switching in Mamoswine in place of Garchomp, but I'm not sure what item I'd give it since it doesn't benefit from Leftovers as much as my Garchomp set. Every type is covered pretty well and I think I have a wide range of offensive coverage as well. Let me know what you think, definitely open to suggestions/criticism!
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- SolarBeam
- Ancient Power
- Protect
I knew I wanted to use Charizard, so I started with him and built the team around it. I think M-Charizard Y is one of the strongest megas in the meta currently. This is a pretty standard set. I opt for Ancient Power rather than Overheat. I find it much more useful, allowing me a way to deal with Talonflame and M-Charizard directly. I've tried overheat and have found much more use with Ancient Power. Not much to be said about this set.
Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect
Venusaur is a natural partner to M-Charizard, benefiting greatly from Sun. The Speed EVs enable it to outspeed almost everything in the format while Sun is active, allowing for an easy sleep on a dangerous target. Giga Drain and Sludge bomb are two powerful standard STABs that provide good coverage, especially since the only other member of my team that can reliably deal with Sylveon is Bisharp. Modest is really the only option, as any more speed is overkill.
Garchomp @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
- Protect
Garchomp was my next choice, since both Charizard and Venusaur can provide coverage against common threats. Charizard has good coverage against Rotom-W, while also being immune to Earthquake, and Venusaur has double coverage against Water types like Rotom-W and the Fairy types who will give Garchomp trouble. I went with Substitute/Protect and Leftovers to give him more staying power, hopefully resulting in more Earthquakes and Rock Slides. Jolly and max speed EVs let it outspeed I've thought about swapping Garchomp with Mamoswine to provide better coverage against the common dragons in the format, but haven't tested yet.
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Night Slash
- Protect
Bisharp was my next pickup as another way to reliably deal with Fairy types (Sylveon and Gardevoir in particular) and as a lead to deal with Intimidate users. I went with Focus Sash to survive a M-Charizard Heat Wave or an Earthquake, and 244 is invested in Speed to hit 121, making it faster than neutral M-Kangaskhan, Charizard and Gardevoir. I would consider Bisharp one of the most important members of the team.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 54 SpA / 148 SpD / 12 Spe
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Rotom-W is just an all around solid member of almost any team. Being immune to ground and resisting fire and ice, it provides excellent coverage to both Bisharp and Garchomp while also having STAB moves to deal with their common threats. Rotom-W is also a great partner for Venusaur, having STABs that can OHKO Talonflame, Landorus-T, and very offensive Heatran sets, although hitting with Hydro Pump can sometimes be difficult due to Sun. Will-o-Wisp is here to diminish physical threats. It's only weakness is grass, which is resisted by Venusaur, Charizard and Bisharp. My EV spread allows it to survive a max attack Choice Spec Brave Bird from Talonflame, and provides some much needed Special defense to the team. The 12 points in Speed are to hopefully outspeed opposing Rotom-W, since I don't feel having all those points in SpA is necessary.
Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
Scrafty was picked as a bulky Fake Out/Intimidate user that could provide coverage in the places I was lacking. Paired with Bisharp as leads, Fake Out should allow Bisharp to get off an extra move than he normally would be able to. Fake Out also lets Rotom-W get off Will-O-Wisp easier. Against physical teams, I'll start with Scrafty/Rotom-W, usually forcing switches immediately. Knock Off gives me some coverage against psychic types but more importantly allows me to remove important items. Drain Punch is solid against Kangaskhan and Heatran, and Ice Punch is a slightly less common pick that players may not expect which really helps against Landorus-T and Garchomp. Overall, I like this set and think it rounded out my team well.
Overall I really like this team so far. Like I said above, I've thought about switching in Mamoswine in place of Garchomp, but I'm not sure what item I'd give it since it doesn't benefit from Leftovers as much as my Garchomp set. Every type is covered pretty well and I think I have a wide range of offensive coverage as well. Let me know what you think, definitely open to suggestions/criticism!