[MANDATORY] TEAM BUILDING HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

[Mystical]

I thought Lorenzo Catalozzi’s team looked pretty decent and interesting (and I see that I wasn't alone :P ) so I decided to give it a try. I've been testing it out on showdown and here's what I got:

Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 140 HP / 36 Def / 28 SpA / 212 SpD / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Discharge
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power Ice
After using a standard Tapu Koko set for a while, I decided to take a different approach with this one. Defensively, the given EVs let Koko survive a Modest Golduck’s Hydro Vortex in the rain on the special side and a Jolly Garchomp’s Earthquake on the physical side. Offensively, he still OHKOs Golduck with Thunderbolt and 2HKOs Garchomp with HP Ice. Dazzling Gleam does more damage than I expected, actually, so I decided to keep it for non-electric STAB spread damage. Discharge is here in case I want to attack with my Marowak on the field. The speed EVs allow Koko to outspeed everything up to max speed ANT.
Here are my calcs:

252+ SpA Golduck Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 140 HP / 212 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko in Rain: 138-163 (84.6 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

28 SpA Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Golduck in Electric Terrain: 182-216 (117.4 - 139.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 140 HP / 36 Def Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 138-164 (84.6 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

28 SpA Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 104-124 (56.8 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Metagross @ Iron Plate
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Bullet Punch
- Protect
Previously I had been using a CB Metagross, but I found that Metagross works better for me when he can switch between his STABs, so I switched to Iron Plate to maintain damage output and potentially bluff the Choice item. Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt are spammable STABs, and Bullet Punch is priority. Metagross is the only pokemon here that actually gets a decent priority move, so I decided to run it to test it out. It's been especially useful outside of Tailwind, and I've gotten several surprise revenge kills with it. The given EVs allow Metagross to outspeed everything up to Adamant ScarfChomp after Tailwind and hit as hard as possible. The extra bits go to bulk.

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Protect
Far and away the MVP of this team. The set is pretty standard, I think. Rock Slide is chip damage and flinch hax and also 2HKOs a lot of frailer bugs and flyers like Araquanid and Ribombee. Tailwind is very important speed control and allows Metagross and Marowak to outspeed sections of the metagame that rely on outspeeding them, like the Tapus. Taunt is useful for shutting down Porygon2, Oranguru, and Celesteela. It's also stopped a couple of Z-Conversion setups, which otherwise would have been interesting to deal with.

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 204 Def / 60 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Substitute
- Recover
This Milotic beats common Intimidate users like Arcanine, Krookodile, and Salamence pretty handily, which allows Marowak and Silvally to have an easier time dishing out damage. I put Sub on here because I've seen people running Toxic everywhere and Milotic is major Toxic bait. Sub also stops Celesteela’s Leech Seed, which is handy if Aerodactyl isn't around with Taunt. Thanks to the EVs, Milotic easily lives Krookodile’s Earthquake, Salamence’s Draco Meteor, and anything Arcanine has. Celesteela also fails to break Milotic’s Sub in one hit with Heavy Slam, so that's nice. Leftovers lets Milotic passively recover HP after a Sub, so I chose it over Sitrus on this set.

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 160 Atk / 60 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Protect
Marowak is a pretty straightforward mon here. He deals damage, blocks Kokobolts for Milotic and Aerodactyl, and brings some good resistances to the team. The moves here are all pretty standard, too. The EVs allow Wak to outspeed 0 Spe Muk outside of Tailwind and OHKO with Bonemerang before it can Knock Off the Thick Club. The Special Defense lets him usually take a Psychic Terrain boosted Psychic from Tapu Lele.

Silvally @ Normalium-Z
Ability: RKS System
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 132 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Parting Shot
- Explosion
- Snarl
- Protect
I had a hard time making Silvally useful while maintaining his niches at first, but this set does a pretty darn good job of it, I think. Parting Shot is a great move that lets me get a relatively safe switch after setting up Tailwind with Aerodactyl (I lead with the two of them pretty often). Snarl is good for boosting the special bulk of Metagross and Marowak especially, since they're weak to some common special attacking types. Normalium-Z with Explosion gives me a one-time 200 BP single target nuke (that bypasses Protect, of course) and another one-time 187 BP spread move, so it functions as two different extremely strong moves, basically. The special defense EVs allow Silvally to take every special move up to a Specs Salamence Draco Meteor, so he can survive most special attacks even if he ends up going last (i.e. on the Tailwind setup turn). The attack investment makes sure that Explosion does heavy damage, and the rest goes to speed to ensure that Silvally can move first under Tailwind.

=====

So, yeah, there it is. I'm relatively new to the VGC genre, so I'm not entirely certain of myself here, but I enjoyed building and playing with this team. Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated, since I'm still kind of learning this metagame and its mechanics.


Edit: I KEEP NOTICING SPELLING ERRORS SO I KEEP EDITING ASDHBDHALDK;L

 

[NECH]

Rebuilding a top team from chille, Yddeon's first place team


Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 156 SpA / 96 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Discharge
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- U-turn

Standard Tapu set with Life orb and SpA to maximize damage potential. Only 156 SpA is needed under electric terrain to OHKO a max SpD Araquanid, and 96SpD to hopefully help tank a sludgebomb

Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Roar
- Protect

Another standard Gyarados. Taunt instead of dragon dance to deal with trick room setters, as that's this team's biggest problem.

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Protect

Shouldn't need too much introduction, this is pretty much the same set everyone is using. Thick club shadow bone WILL OHKO tapu lele, which is nuts. Flare blitz for stab and dealing with Celesteela, Bonemerang for dealing with Muk or Koko.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Protect

The crown jewel. Maximizing defense for pure stalling power, heavy slam to kill tapus and flamethrower to take care of other celesteelas. Such a good Pokémon.

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Rock Slide

Rockslide op, earthquake deals with a lot this meta, but then earthquake is always good. Poison jab to murder fairies and focus dash to make sure it gets an attack off. Dragon claw is for stab and killing salamnence but you can easily switch it for protect

Tapu Bulu @ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Zen Headbutt
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Grassium Z makes for some insane burst damage off of wood hammer, zen head butt deals with poison types and fighting types. I personally like stone edge,but super power is another option.

 

[y2zipper]

So I chose Adrian Bauman's team because I'm a fan of Rocky and I like the sprites the best. Actually, I think I have some idea about the type synergy of the core and this team is a little different than other things I've seeen so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm going to start by listing what has become my favorite tandem in VGC during the short time that I've played it. Here are the sets I've used and some considerations.


Arcanine @ Firium Z

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Calm Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Burn Up

- Will-O-Wisp

- Snarl

- Protect


This Arcanine is a tank that's designed to shut down opponent's attack stats through intimidate and burns on the physical side and then through snarl on the special side. Protect is here for the earthquakes that like to come Arcanines' way. Firium Z and Burn Up can combine for 2 fire-powered nukes when I need to K.O. Something right away (like Eevee-cheese or kokochu bases) and then it becomes an even better tank by shedding its fire type. It's a good lead because it can do everything a VGC pokemon needs to do: hit hard, tank attacks and shut down set-up with intimidate and snarl.


Gastrodon @ Sitrus Berry

Ability: Storm Drain

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

Bold Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Recover

- Scald

- Protect

- Ice Beam


Gastrodon is amazing against rain teams with its storm drain ability. In addition, nothing can throw a water attack at Arcanine because of the aforementioned storm draining. These two things make it an excellent teammate for Arcanine. Arcanine's intimidate also enhances Gastrodon's bulk as a physical wall and prevents anything that isn't a grass move from killing it.


Two things to consider here: first, I'd like a more specific EV investment in special attack in order to KO any Garchomp or Salamence with Ice Beam and put the rest into physical bulk (I don't know if such an investment exists). I'm also considering toxic over protect so that I can stall out other bulky waters when I need to. I do have to watch out for grass moves, though.


I really think that Gastrodon and Arcanine are the stars of the show and are the usual front line. However, I'll list the other sets I've been using even though I don't think that they're completely correct.


Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb

Ability: Grassy Surge

Level: 50

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Horn Leech

- Wood Hammer

- Protect

- Superpower


Okay, yeah, this set is incorrect. It doesn't have fairy coverage (I actually struggle stalled a Scarf-Mence earlier today haha.) I might need dazzling gleam for this if that's the only fairy move, although I'm not sure on the KO rate against dragons with it. Horn Leech is the grass move to keep, protect is for scouting and superpower is there for the steels of the world I imagine. Certain Pokemon on the team like Arcanine and Gastrodon always appreciate the extra recovery, too. I think I want to switch wood hammer to dazzling gleam to have a little spam-ness going on in the set. I did change Wood hammer over to Dazzling Gleam although that slot still doesn't get much use...


Salamence @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Draco Meteor

- Hydro Pump

- Flamethrower

- Dragon Pulse


I'm sure the Salamence on the team is a choice scarfer because the rest of the pokemon on the team are big and slow and Mence provides it with an opportunity to have something fast, furious, earthquake-immune, and resistant to the grass and poison moves that are aimed at Gastrodon. I'm not sure this is exactly the set it runs, but I think this is the best option for a choice-scarfer. Flamethrower for Steels, Hydro Pump for Rocks and Draco Meteor for everything else (Dragon Pulse late-game).


Gigalith @ Assault Vest

Ability: Sand Stream

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

Brave Nature

- Heavy Slam

- Earthquake

- Stone Edge

- Explosion


Assault Vest Gigalith does one thing very well: keeps sunny day torkal off my back. I haven't played a lot of Sunny Day yet and I've only used this a little bit, but I've found that matches with the obvious trick-room setters (porygon 2 and Oranguru), match-ups without a water-type on the other team in preview and seeing Torkal's face give me an opportunity to sling Earthquakes and Heavy Slams and Stone Edges. Explosion is there because it does damage and so Gigalith can go out with a bang.



Celesteela @ Leftovers

Ability: Beast Boost

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Sassy Nature

- Leech Seed

- Substitute

- Heavy Slam

- Flamethrower


Celesteela provides more bulk and appreciates those above-mentioned Earthquakes that everybody wants to bash Arcanine's face with. Defensively it provides a lot of support with leech seed and substitute and basically walls other defensive shenanigans I've seen.

 

[shuckle100]

Rebuilding a top team from chille, Yddeon's first place team
Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Taunt
- Protect

Another standard Gyarados. Taunt instead of dragon dance to deal with trick room setters, as that's this team's biggest problem.

I strongly suggest that you consider replacing Taunt with Roar. There is no Soundproof Trick Room setter in this format, and so Roar will always prevent Trick Room from being set up – even if they have Mental Herb – unless you flinch, faint (the most common things that can OHKO Gyarados [Tapu Koko, Raichu] are faster than it anyway, so Taunt wouldn't work either), or are yourself Taunted.

 

[NECH]

I strongly suggest that you consider replacing Taunt with Roar. There is no Soundproof Trick Room setter in this format, and so Roar will always prevent Trick Room from being set up – even if they have Mental Herb – unless you flinch, faint (the most common things that can OHKO Gyarados [Tapu Koko, Raichu] are faster than it anyway, so Taunt wouldn't work either), or are yourself Taunted.

Noted and fixed

 

[RebornFX]

So I chose Adrian Bauman's team because I'm a fan of Rocky and I like the sprites the best. Actually, I think I have some idea about the type synergy of the core and this team is a little different than other things I've seeen so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm going to start by listing what has become my favorite tandem in VGC during the short time that I've played it. Here are the sets I've used and some considerations.


Arcanine @ Firium Z

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Calm Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Burn Up

- Will-O-Wisp

- Snarl

- Protect


This Arcanine is a tank that's designed to shut down opponent's attack stats through intimidate and burns on the physical side and then through snarl on the special side. Protect is here for the earthquakes that like to come Arcanines' way. Firium Z and Burn Up can combine for 2 fire-powered nukes when I need to K.O. Something right away (like Eevee-cheese or kokochu bases) and then it becomes an even better tank by shedding its fire type. It's a good lead because it can do everything a VGC pokemon needs to do: hit hard, tank attacks and shut down set-up with intimidate and snarl.


Gastrodon @ Sitrus Berry

Ability: Storm Drain

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA

Bold Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Recover

- Scald

- Protect

- Ice Beam


Gastrodon is amazing against rain teams with its storm drain ability. In addition, nothing can throw a water attack at Arcanine because of the aforementioned storm draining. These two things make it an excellent teammate for Arcanine. Arcanine's intimidate also enhances Gastrodon's bulk as a physical wall and prevents anything that isn't a grass move from killing it.


Two things to consider here: first, I'd like a more specific EV investment in special attack in order to KO any Garchomp or Salamence with Ice Beam and put the rest into physical bulk (I don't know if such an investment exists). I'm also considering toxic over protect so that I can stall out other bulky waters when I need to. I do have to watch out for grass moves, though.


I really think that Gastrodon and Arcanine are the stars of the show and are the usual front line. However, I'll list the other sets I've been using even though I don't think that they're completely correct.


Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb

Ability: Grassy Surge

Level: 50

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Horn Leech

- Wood Hammer

- Protect

- Superpower


Okay, yeah, this set is incorrect. It doesn't have fairy coverage (I actually struggle stalled a Scarf-Mence earlier today haha.) I might need dazzling gleam for this if that's the only fairy move, although I'm not sure on the KO rate against dragons with it. Horn Leech is the grass move to keep, protect is for scouting and superpower is there for the steels of the world I imagine. Certain Pokemon on the team like Arcanine and Gastrodon always appreciate the extra recovery, too. I think I want to switch wood hammer to dazzling gleam to have a little spam-ness going on in the set. I did change Wood hammer over to Dazzling Gleam although that slot still doesn't get much use...


Salamence @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Draco Meteor

- Hydro Pump

- Flamethrower

- Dragon Pulse


I'm sure the Salamence on the team is a choice scarfer because the rest of the pokemon on the team are big and slow and Mence provides it with an opportunity to have something fast, furious, earthquake-immune, and resistant to the grass and poison moves that are aimed at Gastrodon. I'm not sure this is exactly the set it runs, but I think this is the best option for a choice-scarfer. Flamethrower for Steels, Hydro Pump for Rocks and Draco Meteor for everything else (Dragon Pulse late-game).


Gigalith @ Assault Vest

Ability: Sand Stream

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD

Brave Nature

- Heavy Slam

- Earthquake

- Stone Edge

- Explosion


Assault Vest Gigalith does one thing very well: keeps sunny day torkal off my back. I haven't played a lot of Sunny Day yet and I've only used this a little bit, but I've found that matches with the obvious trick-room setters (porygon 2 and Oranguru), match-ups without a water-type on the other team in preview and seeing Torkal's face give me an opportunity to sling Earthquakes and Heavy Slams and Stone Edges. Explosion is there because it does damage and so Gigalith can go out with a bang.



Celesteela @ Leftovers

Ability: Beast Boost

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD

Sassy Nature

- Leech Seed

- Substitute

- Heavy Slam

- Flamethrower


Celesteela provides more bulk and appreciates those above-mentioned Earthquakes that everybody wants to bash Arcanine's face with. Defensively it provides a lot of support with leech seed and substitute and basically walls other defensive shenanigans I've seen.

I'm not sure if you're joking about swapping Wood Hammer for Dazzling Gleam, but don't do it. Just please...don't.

Your spreads are far from standard, so why did you choose some of them? For example, what does Jolly Tapu Bulu allow you to outspeed that you couldn't with Adamant and what does the reduced damage no longer allow you to KO? Why did you choose not to run Protect on Celesteela and what does Flamethrower let you hit that your team couldn't handle otherwise? What does AV on Gigalith let you survive? What do max sp.def on Arcanine and Celesteela allow you to survive, and why did you choose this as opposed to investing in other stats?

 

[Fufu]

17th. Andrea Di Francesco

I picked this team because I thought it might be a good start in understanding Trick Room teams. I personally would love to know how to play a proper TR team and to just understand how it works in general.
What I already got from it is that I had the wrong approach towards TR in trying to make EVERY Pokemon in the team need TR. Turns out 3 is just good enough. Makes sense since you won't always be able to set it up.

@ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Obviously this thing's main purpose is to set up TR, but I appreciate that it can sit there and help sweep up afterwards. I know I should be going for Tri Attack in one of these slots, but I'm a sucker for BoltBeam. Also Ice Beam helps get rid of some of the ground types and grass types that threaten Marowak and Araquanid. Thunderbolt because I figured I might need it due to the lack of electric moves and to get rid of Politoed for Marowak.

@ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Probably my main sweeper. If the point of this was supposed to learn how to put together a team, I managed to at least learn how to see connections when looking at a team, like Lightning Rod can help Araquanid against its bigger threats. I knew this from singles of course, but I never thought about sweeping pairs for some reason.

@ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Liquidation
- Lunge
- Crunch
- Poison Jab

I had trouble deciding between Lunge and Leech Life. Considering how this is an Assault Vest set (to be an even bigger pain in Torkoal's ass), I figured Leech Life would be the better option for longevity, but I figured Lunge would help weaken ground types that would wanna get rid of Marowak.

@ Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Perish Song
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect

After the TR sweepers handle the first two, throw in Gengar for Perish song. Aside from that, part of me would like to believe that Gengar is a Tapu's nightmare, so that's nice to have.

@ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Fake Out
- Recover

My assumption is that when Tapu Lele isn't there, you'd go with Gengar instead of Sableye. I went with Taunt to stop set ups and Mental Herb to prevent getting taunted. Something tells me I'm completely missing the point of this thing's inclusion.

@ Grassium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Seems to me like Tapu Bulu is one of these nice Pokemon that you're able to add to any team.

I hope I did this right.

 

[cheshirecat1917]

So I actually decided to do the assignment a little... differently than the others. Instead of picking a team that I liked, or one that I intend to use, I instead tried to look to the lowest-placed finishers to find a team that placed incredibly low, and tried to figure out what it is that went wrong. Because if you ask me, most of teambuilding is a whole ton of trial, and a ton more error, than it is anything else.

So to that end, I picked the team of the absolute last place finisher, Matteo Donati.

Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
Modest Nature
EVs: 92 HP, 252 SpAtk, 160 Spe
-Psychic
-Dazzling Gleam
-Thunderbolt
-Protect
Normally I would be running Moonblast, but the importance of spread moves is something that cannot be denied. This becomes especially important when you consider the huge amount of Pokemon used here that it hits either super effectively or neutrally against. It also means that even if your opponent predicts the Fairy-type move and switches in Celesteela, Arcanine, Kartana, or something else resistant to it, that at least you also manage to land some nice chip damage on the person next to them, who you probably wouldn't want to just toss a random Moonblast at. The Life Orb boost means these occasional throwaway spreads still do pretty damn decent damage. Psychic is the obvious major STAB move, boosted to 180 power by STAB and Psychic Terrain, meaning it'll still smack as hard as a Thunderbolt against something that hits neutrally. Thunderbolt is a strong coverage move, and Protect speaks for itself. Thanks go to charroshi for doing the math re: EVs.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Impish Nature
EVs: 228 HP, 4 Atk, 62 Def, 180 SpDef, 20 Spe
-Heavy Slam
-Substitute
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Again, credit where credit is due for the EV calculations, SoulsOnWheels did the math. I actually ended up testing this EV spread with my own Celesteela on Moon... with her and my three shiny Alolan 'mons (Ninetales Sandslash Muk) I made Blue smell me now, not later. This is probably the quintessential tanky Celesteela set; you set this 'mon in front of somebody and she isn't going anywhere. Substitute obviously takes her away from the danger, Leech Seed keeps her so healthy against anything not named Lilligant or Tapu Bulu it's not even funny, Protect's utility is obvious, and Heavy Slam still lets her shove out decent damage, given her sheer size and weight.

Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Thunder Fang
-Stone Edge
First, let's get it out of the way: Intimidate because it's more useful in VGC format than Moxie; they see a Moxie boost, they go straight for that 'mon, because it just became too dangerous to live. I prefer to run an Adamant nature on Krookodile, but with the obscene preponderance of weather speedsters thanks to new weather setter abilities, Krookodile needs to move as FAST as possible, or an OHKO from somebody whose speed is pushed up by weather is imminent. Full investment and Jolly nature gives Krookodile a 158 speed stat, meaning that Pheromosa running Attack-boosting natures for Beast Boost purposes will be left in the dust, and your common Adamant Sandslash will be left in the dust. Swift Swim Golduck is still a threat, but we can't have our cake and eat it too, now can we? Knock Off and Earthquake are the obvious STAB moves, though not without their downsides. Thunder Fang is for coverage against predicted Pelipper, Golduck, Celesteela, and especially Gyarados switch-ins; three of those four are, incidentally, major threats for Krookodile. Stone Edge is for whatever Earthquake won't smash to bits and that has already been Knocked Off, or is resistant to Dark-type... I'm talking Tapu Bulu specifically here.

Araquanid @ Waterium-Z
Ability: Water Bubble
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def
-Liquidation
-Leech Life
-Wide Guard
-Protect
I don't honestly like this moveset. Protect was a necessity, and I was lacking another 'mon whose moveset I could just pop Wide Guard onto. I wasn't going to hamstring my tanky Celesteela by putting Wide Guard on there instead of Substitute or Leech Seed, and I couldn't get rid of Heavy Slam or she would have to switch out if Taunt came out from an enemy predicting the usual SubSeed set. The EVs are to maximize Araquanid's otherwise meh HP, especially as compared to its otherwise great defensive bulk, and maximize the damage that a Water Bubble STAB Liquidation will dole out. That's also the reason for the Waterium-Z; the sheer pain that Araquanid can dole out with Water Bubble, Liquidation, and a Z-Crystal is potentially enough for a neutral hit to OHKO anything that isn't a dedicated physical wall. That said, it won't work very well against some of the meta's other common offensive threats, such as Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and Gyarados.

Marowak-A @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Brave Nature
EVs: 252 HP, 188 Atk, 68 SpDef
-Shadow Bone
-Flare Blitz
-Bonemerang
-Protect
I really do not agree with the inclusion of Marowak-A on this team. Krookodile already gives us an Electric-type immunity and threatens opposing Tapu Kokos and Alolan Raichu's out with a gloriously deadly STAB Earthquake, and given the option to bring on a different Fire-type I would have probably grabbed Arcanine or Incineroar. Then again I probably wouldn't have taken Krookodile either, but I didn't make this team, so there's that. Thick Club is the only held item worth grabbing here, for obvious reasons. Everybody else has already put the explanations for this 'standard' move set above, so I won't waste your time. I'd prefer to point out the Nature and EV spread. These last two picks, I'd like to assume they were chosen as possible counters to an enemy Trick Room team, and adjusted Marowak-A's Nature and EVs. Brave to dump the Speed as low as possible, and moving those EVs I took out of Speed to dump into Attack and SpDef to boost and shore them further up, respectively. That way he's more likely to survive a first strike by one of the specially-oriented Tapus or other particularly nasty Sweepers, and still have enough health left over so that weather or other chip damage won't take him out before he can toss out a second bone.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Quiet Nature
EVs: 244 HP, 12 SpAtk, 252 SpDef
-Protect
-Recover
-Shadow Ball
-Tri Attack
The inclusion of Porygon2 here really boggles the mind, especially when put next to the Krookodile higher up on the team. It feels like he originally put the damn thing in to outspeed enemy Porygon2's inside of Trick Room, but without having to spend a turn setting it himself. This means that Trick Room was dropped from the moveset to bring Recover in there instead, letting this Porygon2 last longer and dole out more punishment, and helps make up for the Eviolite nerf. Shadow Ball and Tri Attack have perfect neutral coverage between them, and Protect is self-explanatory. The EV spread is really the gold standard for the digital duck, so I'm not about to try and reinvent the wheel when it's already been perfected.

* * * * *​

So, why do I think that this team came in dead-last? Well, it's just trying to do too many things without a central unifying theme.

Normally I would point out a competitive core for it, but Tapu Lele/Celesteela just isn't doing the trick. The Tapu of choice is obviously going to be kicking ass and taking names, with Thunderbolt in there to provide the perfect (I think?) neutral coverage needed to sweep, with the Life Orb making all those PT-boosted Psychics hit all that much harder. Normally I would have put in an Adamant Celesteela here... but having your core be sweeper and sweeper, one physical one special, just didn't seem to fit what he had in mind when I saw the Marowak-A and Krookodile further down. So I went with a bulky tank Celesteela... which really just doesn't build any momentum aside from forcing switches with Leech Seed, which won't necessarily HELP Tapu Lele sweep.

Krookodile is a self-explanatory physical sweeper, though the inclusion of Pheromosa and all the weather speedsters into the metagame made me rethink the Nature and EV spread completely. I couldn't just take for granted that an Adamant Krook with full Speed investment could outspeed the weather speedsters, especially if there was a Lilligant with Timid nature, or Sandslash with Jolly nature, just waiting to OHKO my poor criminally-inclined krok. That's why the Jolly nature; however, it detracts enough from Krookodile's otherwise overwhelming offensive prowess that I felt like I had to toss the Choice Band back onto him to make up for that. I could do Band instead of Scarf due to the nature, and I think the Band's offense boost outdoes the Adamant nature's 10% boost? I think? Because otherwise I'd be running Adamant and Choice Scarf, but I felt like I could do something stronger than that without having to miss out on either speed or power.

Araquanid was an inclusion that I overall liked, but I just couldn't think of a good item to put on the diving bell spider. So I tossed Waterium-Z on there, because at least it's a chance at a one-off tactical nuke, especially if the opponent's 'mon that you plan to target already tossed out Protect the turn before, or if you know that your relatively slow Araquanid can hit them after Lele breaks the Substitute just beforehand. It's probably there as a nuke for expected Trick Room setters, either completely obliterating them before they can even throw the damn thing out there, or at least chunking them so heavily that they can't risk trying to set it back up again.

But that goes against the LAST two 'mons completely. Marowak and Porygon2 are both slow. Like if the Titanic had been about to crash into an iceberg-sized one of either of these two, it would've had time to turn around and get back to port before impacting either of these two. Which led to the question: why? The answer was obviously to play mind games with other Trick Room users, and make them hopefully bench their own Trick Room setter to keep the offensive sweep alive.

The problem with mind games, though, is that it's entirely possible for you to psych YOURSELF out instead of your opponent, and if they built their entire team, all six, around getting Trick Room set up, and you didn't figure that out because they could've been used differently with other Natures and EV spreads, then you've just hamstrung yourself. That's the flaws in this team that I found, though I would honestly LOVE to know what all y'all think about it. Like I said in the thread that has since been locked, I'm brand new to VGC, and this is my first time even trying to put together a full team with EV spreads and everything.

 

[shuckle100]

Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe
-Knock Off Crunch
-Earthquake
-Thunder Fang
-Stone Edge

Krookodile does not have access to Knock Off in this format. Sad day... :,(

 

[y2zipper]

I'm not sure if you're joking about swapping Wood Hammer for Dazzling Gleam, but don't do it. Just please...don't.

Your spreads are far from standard, so why did you choose some of them? For example, what does Jolly Tapu Bulu allow you to outspeed that you couldn't with Adamant and what does the reduced damage no longer allow you to KO? Why did you choose not to run Protect on Celesteela and what does Flamethrower let you hit that your team couldn't handle otherwise? What does AV on Gigalith let you survive? What do max sp.def on Arcanine and Celesteela allow you to survive, and why did you choose this as opposed to investing in other stats?

I wasn't kidding when I said I've never played a game of VGC and didn't really know the meta before I put this team together, so the EV spreads that I have put out there are a little more role-based and less nuanced than they probably should be. I kind of took the advice of Aaron Zheng's team-building guide (I watched it before I built this team) and kept it simple since I was just starting, but I do need to make some adjustments. I'm working on that now so I play on making a few adjustments to this team as I go and I'll have something more substantial than this shortly...

 

[cheshirecat1917]

Krookodile does not have access to Knock Off in this format. Sad day... :,(

WHAT!? But those stupidly strong Knock Offs that still hugely chunk whatever they can't OHKO are, like, 87% of the reason I loved using this guy in Gen5 and Gen6! That just makes this guy's Krookodile choice even more baffling. Why give up Knock Off, really...

Well I did pick the last place team for a reason. Learn from his team's mistakes and errors when building my own I suppose.

 

[shuckle100]

I wasn't kidding when I said I've never played a game of VGC and didn't really know the meta before I put this team together, so the EV spreads that I have put out there are a little more role-based and less nuanced than they probably should be. I kind of took the advice of Aaron Zheng's team-building guide (I watched it before I built this team) and kept it simple since I was just starting, but I do need to make some adjustments. I'm working on that now so I play on making a few adjustments to this team as I go and I'll have something more substantial than this shortly...

We all start somewhere :) And that's what criticism is for.

 

[Mystical]

So I actually decided to do the assignment a little... differently than the others. Instead of picking a team that I liked, or one that I intend to use, I instead tried to look to the lowest-placed finishers to find a team that placed incredibly low, and tried to figure out what it is that went wrong. Because if you ask me, most of teambuilding is a whole ton of trial, and a ton more error, than it is anything else.

So to that end, I picked the team of the absolute last place finisher, Matteo Donati.

Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
Modest Nature
EVs: 92 HP, 252 SpAtk, 160 Spe
-Psychic
-Dazzling Gleam
-Thunderbolt
-Protect
Normally I would be running Moonblast, but the importance of spread moves is something that cannot be denied. This becomes especially important when you consider the huge amount of Pokemon used here that it hits either super effectively or neutrally against. It also means that even if your opponent predicts the Fairy-type move and switches in Celesteela, Arcanine, Kartana, or something else resistant to it, that at least you also manage to land some nice chip damage on the person next to them, who you probably wouldn't want to just toss a random Moonblast at. The Life Orb boost means these occasional throwaway spreads still do pretty damn decent damage. Psychic is the obvious major STAB move, boosted to 180 power by STAB and Psychic Terrain, meaning it'll still smack as hard as a Thunderbolt against something that hits neutrally. Thunderbolt is a strong coverage move, and Protect speaks for itself. Thanks go to charroshi for doing the math re: EVs.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Impish Nature
EVs: 228 HP, 4 Atk, 62 Def, 180 SpDef, 20 Spe
-Heavy Slam
-Substitute
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Again, credit where credit is due for the EV calculations, SoulsOnWheels did the math. I actually ended up testing this EV spread with my own Celesteela on Moon... with her and my three shiny Alolan 'mons (Ninetales Sandslash Muk) I made Blue smell me now, not later. This is probably the quintessential tanky Celesteela set; you set this 'mon in front of somebody and she isn't going anywhere. Substitute obviously takes her away from the danger, Leech Seed keeps her so healthy against anything not named Lilligant or Tapu Bulu it's not even funny, Protect's utility is obvious, and Heavy Slam still lets her shove out decent damage, given her sheer size and weight.

Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Thunder Fang
-Stone Edge
First, let's get it out of the way: Intimidate because it's more useful in VGC format than Moxie; they see a Moxie boost, they go straight for that 'mon, because it just became too dangerous to live. I prefer to run an Adamant nature on Krookodile, but with the obscene preponderance of weather speedsters thanks to new weather setter abilities, Krookodile needs to move as FAST as possible, or an OHKO from somebody whose speed is pushed up by weather is imminent. Full investment and Jolly nature gives Krookodile a 158 speed stat, meaning that Pheromosa running Attack-boosting natures for Beast Boost purposes will be left in the dust, and your common Adamant Sandslash will be left in the dust. Swift Swim Golduck is still a threat, but we can't have our cake and eat it too, now can we? Knock Off and Earthquake are the obvious STAB moves, though not without their downsides. Thunder Fang is for coverage against predicted Pelipper, Golduck, Celesteela, and especially Gyarados switch-ins; three of those four are, incidentally, major threats for Krookodile. Stone Edge is for whatever Earthquake won't smash to bits and that has already been Knocked Off, or is resistant to Dark-type... I'm talking Tapu Bulu specifically here.

Araquanid @ Waterium-Z
Ability: Water Bubble
Adamant Nature
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def
-Liquidation
-Leech Life
-Wide Guard
-Protect
I don't honestly like this moveset. Protect was a necessity, and I was lacking another 'mon whose moveset I could just pop Wide Guard onto. I wasn't going to hamstring my tanky Celesteela by putting Wide Guard on there instead of Substitute or Leech Seed, and I couldn't get rid of Heavy Slam or she would have to switch out if Taunt came out from an enemy predicting the usual SubSeed set. The EVs are to maximize Araquanid's otherwise meh HP, especially as compared to its otherwise great defensive bulk, and maximize the damage that a Water Bubble STAB Liquidation will dole out. That's also the reason for the Waterium-Z; the sheer pain that Araquanid can dole out with Water Bubble, Liquidation, and a Z-Crystal is potentially enough for a neutral hit to OHKO anything that isn't a dedicated physical wall. That said, it won't work very well against some of the meta's other common offensive threats, such as Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and Gyarados.

Marowak-A @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Brave Nature
EVs: 252 HP, 188 Atk, 68 SpDef
-Shadow Bone
-Flare Blitz
-Bonemerang
-Protect
I really do not agree with the inclusion of Marowak-A on this team. Krookodile already gives us an Electric-type immunity and threatens opposing Tapu Kokos and Alolan Raichu's out with a gloriously deadly STAB Earthquake, and given the option to bring on a different Fire-type I would have probably grabbed Arcanine or Incineroar. Then again I probably wouldn't have taken Krookodile either, but I didn't make this team, so there's that. Thick Club is the only held item worth grabbing here, for obvious reasons. Everybody else has already put the explanations for this 'standard' move set above, so I won't waste your time. I'd prefer to point out the Nature and EV spread. These last two picks, I'd like to assume they were chosen as possible counters to an enemy Trick Room team, and adjusted Marowak-A's Nature and EVs. Brave to dump the Speed as low as possible, and moving those EVs I took out of Speed to dump into Attack and SpDef to boost and shore them further up, respectively. That way he's more likely to survive a first strike by one of the specially-oriented Tapus or other particularly nasty Sweepers, and still have enough health left over so that weather or other chip damage won't take him out before he can toss out a second bone.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Quiet Nature
EVs: 244 HP, 12 SpAtk, 252 SpDef
-Protect
-Recover
-Shadow Ball
-Tri Attack
The inclusion of Porygon2 here really boggles the mind, especially when put next to the Krookodile higher up on the team. It feels like he originally put the damn thing in to outspeed enemy Porygon2's inside of Trick Room, but without having to spend a turn setting it himself. This means that Trick Room was dropped from the moveset to bring Recover in there instead, letting this Porygon2 last longer and dole out more punishment, and helps make up for the Eviolite nerf. Shadow Ball and Tri Attack have perfect neutral coverage between them, and Protect is self-explanatory. The EV spread is really the gold standard for the digital duck, so I'm not about to try and reinvent the wheel when it's already been perfected.

* * * * *​

So, why do I think that this team came in dead-last? Well, it's just trying to do too many things without a central unifying theme.

Normally I would point out a competitive core for it, but Tapu Lele/Celesteela just isn't doing the trick. The Tapu of choice is obviously going to be kicking ass and taking names, with Thunderbolt in there to provide the perfect (I think?) neutral coverage needed to sweep, with the Life Orb making all those PT-boosted Psychics hit all that much harder. Normally I would have put in an Adamant Celesteela here... but having your core be sweeper and sweeper, one physical one special, just didn't seem to fit what he had in mind when I saw the Marowak-A and Krookodile further down. So I went with a bulky tank Celesteela... which really just doesn't build any momentum aside from forcing switches with Leech Seed, which won't necessarily HELP Tapu Lele sweep.

Krookodile is a self-explanatory physical sweeper, though the inclusion of Pheromosa and all the weather speedsters into the metagame made me rethink the Nature and EV spread completely. I couldn't just take for granted that an Adamant Krook with full Speed investment could outspeed the weather speedsters, especially if there was a Lilligant with Timid nature, or Sandslash with Jolly nature, just waiting to OHKO my poor criminally-inclined krok. That's why the Jolly nature; however, it detracts enough from Krookodile's otherwise overwhelming offensive prowess that I felt like I had to toss the Choice Band back onto him to make up for that. I could do Band instead of Scarf due to the nature, and I think the Band's offense boost outdoes the Adamant nature's 10% boost? I think? Because otherwise I'd be running Adamant and Choice Scarf, but I felt like I could do something stronger than that without having to miss out on either speed or power.

Araquanid was an inclusion that I overall liked, but I just couldn't think of a good item to put on the diving bell spider. So I tossed Waterium-Z on there, because at least it's a chance at a one-off tactical nuke, especially if the opponent's 'mon that you plan to target already tossed out Protect the turn before, or if you know that your relatively slow Araquanid can hit them after Lele breaks the Substitute just beforehand. It's probably there as a nuke for expected Trick Room setters, either completely obliterating them before they can even throw the damn thing out there, or at least chunking them so heavily that they can't risk trying to set it back up again.

But that goes against the LAST two 'mons completely. Marowak and Porygon2 are both slow. Like if the Titanic had been about to crash into an iceberg-sized one of either of these two, it would've had time to turn around and get back to port before impacting either of these two. Which led to the question: why? The answer was obviously to play mind games with other Trick Room users, and make them hopefully bench their own Trick Room setter to keep the offensive sweep alive.

The problem with mind games, though, is that it's entirely possible for you to psych YOURSELF out instead of your opponent, and if they built their entire team, all six, around getting Trick Room set up, and you didn't figure that out because they could've been used differently with other Natures and EV spreads, then you've just hamstrung yourself. That's the flaws in this team that I found, though I would honestly LOVE to know what all y'all think about it. Like I said in the thread that has since been locked, I'm brand new to VGC, and this is my first time even trying to put together a full team with EV spreads and everything.

I've been using Krookodile in a VGC team of my own creation on showdown, and I gotta say that your description here doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Krookodile needs a Choice Scarf to be able to outspeed Pheromosa; however, even with 252 speed, Jolly, AND a Choice Scarf, the only speedy weather abuser Krookodile is outspeeding is Adamant Alolaslash. You have bulky (albeit slow) switch-ins for all of the primary weather attacking types anyway, so you’re probably better off just switching Krook out or not using him at all in those scenarios. Scarf Krook does outspeed and KO Tapu Koko and other non-bulky Electric and Fire types and provides Intimidate support, so he does still play a valuable role on your team, I think. And he can KO a Sandslash if he needs to.

About your last three mons, I saw them functioning very differently. Instead of trying to dedicate half of your team to being anti-Trick Room, why not go for a more proactive strategy, i.e. your own Trick Room? Marowak and Araquanid are both slow, bulky mons with super strong STAB attacks that could wreck house under TR if given the chance, and, honestly, if P2 isn’t carrying TR, you have little incentive to bring it over a more offensive bulky attacker.

And the way I see it, letting your opponent set a TR for their midspeed pokemon to "abuse" while your Marowak or Araquanid are on the field isn't you "hamstringing" yourself, it's your opponent graciously allowing you to move first XD

This is my first season playing VGC, too, but I’ve done lotsa team building before and I think these are valid suggestions here.

 

[oceanking33]

Okay i chose to do this mans team because i want to build my own team around a ninetales and maybe i can gain some insight from this..


Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Protect
- Freeze-Dry
- Moonblast

Okay so this ninetales will be able to change the weather which is good and it has focus sash so it doesnt die in one hit from fire type moves or earthquake.. meaning i can switch it out and if someone were to change the weather to something else i can always put it back in to change the weather back to hail. it has freeze dry to deal with those annoying milotics who are tanky and the aquainoid. overall i think its a set for this pokemon andf blizzard is there instead of ice beam because in hail it is 100% chance to hit.

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Psycho Cut

ok so now we got kartana. it has leaf blade to deal with those milotics in case i dont need to bring in ninetales or in case ninetales dies.. it can also deal with tapu fini. i gave it choice scarf so it can be extremely fast. im not sure why else this man chose to put kartana on his team maybe someone can let me know

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Recover
- Hydro Pump
- Scald

ok so now we got milotic on the squad. it has competitive because in case we encounter an arcanine we can lead with milotic since they'll most likely lead with arcanine and it will ignore the intimidate and make special attack stronger since it has special attacking moves. i got scald on it so that we can burn annoying pokemon like celesteela and recover on it so that it can get its health back. the only real threat to this pokemon is tapu koko with the electric moves but overall its a very tanky pokemon who can take 2-3 hits before dying and the leftovers are theres to keep getting health back since its tanky

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Protect
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz

so obviously you need marowak alolan form on your team. its very good overall. you have the lightning rod ability to make tapu koko pretty much useless but then you got the move flare blitz to kill celesteela because it is weak to fire type moves. iron head in there for other type of pokemon for that chance to make them flinch. we got high attack and hp iv because we want it to live but to also deal out high damage and the thick club doubles the attack so it will really deal out good damage. overall a pretty standard set for this pokemon and a need on any team.

Hariyama @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Poison Jab

next we have hariyama. this is a fighting type pokemon with the ability thick fat making ice type moves and fire type moves deal half damage. overall not to worried about the fire type moves, its the ice type and in case we encounter another ninetales it will die because we have earthquake and hariyama will be able to tank a hit. also fire type pokemon will die as well because we got the earthquake. poison jab on here to kill the physic type pokemon, in case the marowak dies, poison jab can deall with tapu koko and close combat on there because oranguru needs to die before trick room gets up and ive seen some teams with sivally lately.

Oranguru @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Telepathy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Protect
- Trick Room
- Instruct

last member on our team. we have trick room on here to have speed control in case we encounter a hyper offensive speed team. instruct on here so that we can pair it with the hairyama or the ninetales to do blizzard and earthquake again but it wont hurt us because of the telepathy ability. we have sitrus berry on here so that it wont die in 2 hits. it is very tanky so it can definitely survive one hit and the sitrus berry will heal it back up which will create a harder time for the oppononet since we will most likely get our trick room up with the heal from sitrus berry. psychic in case we encounter any other fighting types maybe a pheromosa.

overall pretty good team but i dont know if i got all the sets right or not, been using it on showdown though and its been working pretty well for me, however

 

[ElementOfSmash]

last member on our team. we have trick room on here to have speed control in case we encounter a hyper offensive speed team. instruct on here so that we can pair it with the hairyama or the ninetales to do blizzard and earthquake again but it wont hurt us because of the telepathy ability. we have sitrus berry on here so that it wont die in 2 hits. it is very tanky so it can definitely survive one hit and the sitrus berry will heal it back up which will create a harder time for the oppononet since we will most likely get our trick room up with the heal from sitrus berry. psychic in case we encounter any other fighting types maybe a pheromosa.

You're using Oranguru without Inner Focus or Mental Herb?
That makes you vulnerable to Fake Out and Taunt. Are you just banking on people assuming you have those two things?

 

[Level 51]

Hi. I just put together this team before even seeing this thread and I supposed that I'd post it here in case one day I do need to use this subforum.

==

I decided to look at William Tansley's team because William is amazing and because the team had some interesting stuff that I'd wanted to use for a while (Alolan Raichu + Tapu Koko, Kartana) but could never really fit together myself

Hide

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Protect

On Tapu Koko I decided to spring for a "standard" set, since none of the other Pokemon really need the Life Orb and Raichu + Gyarados like their Z Crystals sometimes so I wanted to leave it open for them. The only question was whether to go Timid or Modest on Tapu Koko; I realised that the key threats which Timid Koko outruns which Modest doesn't are a +1 Gyarados and Weavile; the former has some trouble setting up thanks to Tapu Koko, Raichu and Gigalith being around while Weavile is fairly easily handled if it's in a lead position against my Raichu + Koko.

Raichu-Alola @ Psychium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Fake Out
- Protect

Again, a rather standard set; since Kartana likes Focus Sash I went for the Z Crystal Raichu over a Focus Sash set. Nothing much to explain here, I have Timid so I can outrun some stuff like Garchomp even if the opposing player brings a Tapu Lele lead (I've lost my Tapu Koko + Raichu lead to Garchomp EQ at least twice while running Modest Raichu).

Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Protect

Pretty standard Kartana, no reason not to use a 252/252 EV spread here since it is nice to at least speed tie other Kartana I suppose.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Toxic
- Recover
- Ice Beam

Pretty standard set here, once again - Toxic lets the team beat Gastrodon, and gives it a better matchup against opposing Porygon2. Ice Beam was chosen since I want to be able to do some damage to stuff like Kartana or Garchomp which can become issues if not handled correctly (or if I didn't bring the appropriate checks). The aim of the EV spread is to make attacks do less than 50% damage so Porygon2 can Recover + Toxic stall a bunch of key-ish threats:

252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 188 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 78-94 (40.6 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (can't Toxic stall this, but at least I can get an Ice Beam onto it fairly easily to break sashes or whatnot)
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 68+ SpD Eviolite Porygon2 in Psychic Terrain: 76-90 (39.5 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 68+ SpD Eviolite Porygon2 in Electric Terrain: 74-87 (38.5 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

EV spread can definitely be streamlined to put more EVs into SAtk, but I didn't really think it was worth the trouble since my only attack is Ice Beam.

Gigalith @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam

Gigalith is the one Pokemon whose set I really had trouble deciding, since I've never really used Gigalith. I assumed it was meant to be able to switch in and take hits, much like Porygon2, since we have a bunch of frail twits like Tapu Koko and Alolan Raichu and Kartana in the first three slots, so I dumped and Assault Vest on it. Wasn't sure about my damage calculations, but I figured I should be able to do some sort of damage under TR so I went for a typical 252/252/4 spread again. Moves were fairly easy to pick once everything else was settled, Heavy Slam is there so I have a safe way to hit Lele and also a way to deal meaningful damage to Bulu should the need arise. I dislike EQ on this team, since I only have Gyarados to EQ into, but with an Assault Vest there's not really any better options.

Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance
- Protect

Standard DD + Waterium Gyarados. I'm good at building standard sets, it seems. Once again there was only one choice to make, this time between Ice Fang and Earthquake. In the end I went for Ice Fang to help shore up my Gyarados matchup, and also because I didn't want to have to Protect something every time I Earthquaked (haha the only non-grounded Pokemon is Gyarados itself zzzz)

peace

edit: wow, i didn't realise i didn't need to post here. whatever, i guess the team works pretty well so i'll leave it here if anyone wants to try it?

 

[CalmBatRadio]

I liked William Tansely's team is it contains 3 Pokemon that I was looking at using in my next team and has a consistent strategy in the form of abusing electric terrain, which is something I sometimes struggle with in my teambuilding.

Homework

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb

Ability: Electric Surge

Level: 50

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Thunderbolt

- Dazzling Gleam

- Taunt/Grass Knot/HP Ice

- Protect


I think Tapu Koko was meant to be the focal point of this team. He deals immense damage and is one of the fastest Pokémon available, providing great offensive pressure, especially to teams carrying many water types. I went with the special, life orb set as it seems to be the most standard one in the format and maximizes it's damage while still being able to speed tie other Tapu Koko.


The biggest threats to TK are trick room, Garchomp, Krookodile, Gastrodon and Muk, as well as anything that can outspeed it as its relatively frail.


Kartana @ Focus Sash

Ability: Beast Boost

Level: 50

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Leaf Blade

- Smart Strike

- Sacred Sword

- Protect


Kartana pairs excellently with Tapu Koko by threatening all of the ground types that give Koko trouble. It's steel stab also allows it to threaten other Tapus and help to ensure that Tapu Koko can keep its electric terrain up. Koko also does well against the things that trouble Kartana like Celesteela, and flying types as a whole. Because we're not running hail to combat weather, Kartana can afford to run focus sash, instead of assault vest in order to increase its longevity.


Kartana struggles against bulky fire types like Marowak and Arcanine, and doesn't do well in a matchup against a Torkoal core.


Gyarados @ Waterium Z

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

Jolly Nature

- Waterfall

- Dragon Dance

- Ice Fang

- Protect


Gyarados puts in work against the fire types, like Arcanine and Marowak that give Koko and Kartana trouble. Ice fang was chosen for the second attacking move so that it can threaten the dragon types in the metagame, giving a second answer to Garchomp, and giving it an option to retaliate against Tapu bulu, and other grass types. Dragon Dance allows Gyarados to further contribute to the offensive pressure that the previous two members of the team exert.


Gyarados struggles against electric types and things that carry rock coverage. Nihilego comes to mind if Gyarados does not have a boost under its belt. Because of this, I also considered earthquake instead of ice fang, but I felt like ice fang contributed more to the other threats to the team.


Raichu-Alola @ Sitrus Berry

Ability: Surge Surfer

Level: 50

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Fake Out

- Thunderbolt

- Encore/psychic

• 
  - Protect

Raichu proves Fake Out support alongside Tapu koko to help win lead matchups, and decent stab with thunderbolt when in electric terrain. Fake out support in a general sense can be a large boon to this team as many pokemon are rather frail. Buying an extra turn to do damage can be huge. I liked the idea of running encore as it can be used in the late game to cripple enemies, or punish multiple protects in the face of the heavy offense this team brings. Psychic is an alternative option and perhaps more useful against an opposing Tapu Lele lead as Lele's terrain will stay over Koko's.


A-Raichu and Tapu Koko struggle against many of the same threats; Garchomp, Gastrodon, Krookodile, and muk.


Gigalith @ Leftovers

Ability: Sand Stream

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Serious Nature

- Rock Slide

- Heavy Slam

- Earthquake

- Protect


Gigalith is this teams method of fighting the weather war. It does so while providing chip damage which can help the other members to pick up KOs, and comes with respectable special bulk while the sand is up. Importantly, it doesn't break Kartana's focus sash. If Kartana was not a member of the team, then Gigalith could run something like AV instead. Sitrus berry is also an option for recovery. Rock slide is a spread attack that allows it to hit flying types, heavy slam, along with its high special defense allow Gigalith to threaten Tapu lele, and other fairies. It's slow speed also allows the team to have a pseudo slow-mode if necessary alongside Porygon 2. I couldn't really think of any specific benchmarks to hit with Gigalith, so I went with maxing bulk as evenly as possible so that it can set sand multiple times if necessary.


Gigalith has a hard time against ground types which can hit it for physical super effective damage, Tapu bulu and Gastrodon, many of the same things that trouble Tapu Koko, making Kartana a great partner for it.


Porygon2 @ Eviolite

Ability: Download

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD

Sassy Nature

IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe

- Ice Beam

- Trick Room

- Recover

- Protect


Porygon2 is an incredibly bulky Pokemon when it's holding an eviolite, and functions as one of the premier trick room setters in the current format. This team doesn't have too any trick room abusers, outside of Gigalith, but it does provide the function of reversing an enemy's trick room so that the team can once again outspeed the opponent. Ice beam was the chosen coverage move as it helps to further patch up the team's glaring ground weakness alongside Gyarados's immunity. The Evs I stole from WolfeyVGC's team analysis video because his team was also weak to garchomp.


Porygon2's biggest threat is Hariyama, as not many Pokemon carry fighting coverage in the current metagame.

 

[Garrus01]

Alrighty. Here goes a shot. I liked Wolf Glicke's set since it has a number of Pokemon I like and plan on using on one team or another in it.

Tapu Bulu- Assault Vest/terrain extender
Adamant
252 Hp/ 252 Attack/ 5 SpD
Grassy Surge
-Horn Leech
-Stone Edge
-Super Power
-Zen Headbutt

Between Horn leech and Grassy Terrain, Tapu Bulu hits hard and can take it back. The EVs are meant to maximize and take advantage of that. Stone edge is a nasty surprise for any fire types looking to get a free switch in, super power is for hitting steel types, and zen headbutt gives any poison type not named Alolan Muck a nasty surprise. Bulu isn't going to outspeed anything anytime soon, so might as well go adamant to maximize his attack stat. The bulk and recocery also allows for multiple switch-ins to keep Grassy Terrain up. Assault vest is there to further that, while terrain extender reduces the number of switch ins needed to keep the terrain up.

Salamence- Salamenceite
Naive
252 sp attack/ 252 speed/ 4 attk
Intimidate
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
- Double Edge
- Roost
Unfortunately, Salamence cannot benefit from grassy terrain, so it has to bring its own recovery with it. Between dragon resistances to the three primary elements and the flying type resistances to grass, earth, and fighting, it should be able to switch in on a good chunk of physical attackers to cripple them with intimidate. (side note: salamence is harder to build for than I thought). Once it has done this, the ability has served its purpose and it can mega to gain strong flying STABs between Hyper Voice and Double edge. Roost allows it to regain any HP lost. The hitting power it brings to the table makes sending out grass types to take advantage of grassy terrain risky, since most would not appreciate being hit with either aerilatted hyper voice or double edge. Draco-Meteor allows for a Hail Mary nuke against other dragons, although you would probably be better off switching Bulu into the likely dragon type move. Naieve boosts speed without sacrificing either attack stat, and special moves will wreck mence anyhow.

Politoed- Damp Rock
Calm
252 HP/252 SpD/ 4Sp. Atk
Drizzle
- Scald
- Subtitute
- Toxic
- Encore

With support from Bulu, Politoed can run a sub tox set. Maximum bulk, and a nature to take advantage of that, Politoed is gifted with the typing to naturally make a bad day worse for any water or ice types looking to ruin salamence's day. Unlike Bulu, Politoed resists ice, and can throw down a timer on the opposing waters all while locking them into a potentially self-defeating move. Even if the opponent switches out, toxic will still be there, and any future switch in will take damage from whatever move they switch into plus toxic damage. Not a fun combination. Grassy terrain allows the toad to recover HP lost through substitute, negating the need for its own recovery and freeing up the slot for substitute.

Magnezone- Magnet
Modest
252 SpA/252 Def/4 speed
Magnet Pull
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- HP Grass

Politoed complements this guy perfectly. Rain allows for Magnezone to fire off thunders like it is going out of style, and punishes any waters who try to switch in to take advantage of rain bar ground mixes... which is what HP Grass is there for. It also allows it to smack most ground types with an incredibly nasty surprise when they switch in for a free kill. HP fire is useless thanks to the rain, after all. It still traps skarmory and other steels, and the ones it cannot deal with can be dealt with by Porygon. Volt switch keeps your momentum up, boosted by the nature and magnet.

Alolan Muk- Black Sludge
Calm
252 Hp/ 252 Def/4 Attack
Toxic Touch
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
This thing is here to take care of those pesky psychic types. Once you switch this in, most psychics will be forced to switch or get clobbered and poisoned by any of its moves, hence pursuit instead of crunch as the main Dark sTAB. Knock off lets it deal with any annoying itmes *cough leftovers cough* which may be giving you grief, and the black sludge recovery paired with grassy terrain makes for a nice combination to keep it healthy. Shadow sneak gives you a priority move which nails ghost types and pyschics, while Gunk Shot is there for some nice all around poison damage.

Porygon2- Eviolite (why else would you use it?)
Calm
252 HP/ 252 SpA/ 4 Def
Analytic
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

This was... interesting. This thing badly needs eviolite to stay alive, and by the same token it needs to be able to hit hard. So, to make the best of both worlds, Eviolite is paired with a calm nature and maxed HP for as much bulk as possible, while Analytic allows it to hit harder with wide coverage moves (Ideally with 0 speed IV). Recover lets it stay alive longer in conjunction with the terrain.

 

[Level 51]

Salamence- Salamenceite
Naive
252 sp attack/ 252 speed/ 4 attk
Intimidate
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
- Double Edge
- Roost

Just pointing out that Mega Stones aren't allowed so that's illegal

Porygon2- Eviolite (why else would you use it?)
Calm
252 HP/ 252 SpA/ 4 Def
Analytic
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

And also while I'm here, Porygon2 can't learn Flamethrower

 

[Garrus01]

Gack! I screwed up. Actually though, that increases the synergy here a bit further...

RedoneHomework

Tapu Bulu- Assault Vest/terrain extender
Adamant
252 Hp/ 252 Attack/ 5 SpD
Grassy Surge
-Horn Leech
-Stone Edge
-Super Power
-Zen Headbutt

Between Horn leech and Grassy Terrain, Tapu Bulu hits hard and can take it back. The EVs are meant to maximize and take advantage of that. Stone edge is a nasty surprise for any fire types looking to get a free switch in, super power is for hitting steel types, and zen headbutt gives any poison type not named Alolan Muck a nasty surprise. Bulu isn't going to outspeed anything anytime soon, so might as well go adamant to maximize his attack stat. The bulk and recocery also allows for multiple switch-ins to keep Grassy Terrain up. Assault vest is there to further that, while terrain extender reduces the number of switch ins needed to keep the terrain up.

Salamence- Life Orb
Naieve
252 sp attack/ 252 speed/ 4 attk
Intimidate
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Roost
Unfortunately, Salamence cannot benefit from grassy terrain, so it has to bring its own recovery with it. Between dragon resistances to the three primary elements and the flying type resistances to grass, earth, and fighting, it should be able to switch in on a good chunk of physical attackers to cripple them with intimidate. (side note: salamence is harder to build for than I thought). Roost allows it to regain any HP lost. Hydro pump is boosted by the rain, and lets it handle the ground-types that Magnezone fears. Draco-Meteor allows for a Hail Mary nuke against other dragons, although you would probably be better off switching Bulu into the likely dragon type move. Earthquake hits opposing electric types hard. Naieve boosts speed without sacrificing either attack stat, and special moves will wreck mence anyhow. Life Orb lets all these hit with a little more oomph, because as soon as a dragon switches in you can bet a fairy or ice will be switched in as well. And with a 4X ice weakness Salamence will have precious few chances to set up.

Politoed- Damp Rock
Calm
252 HP/252 SpD/ 4Sp. Atk
Drizzle
- Scald
- Subtitute
- Toxic
- Encore

With support from Bulu, Politoed can run a sub tox set. Maximum bulk, and a nature to take advantage of that, Politoed is gifted with the typing to naturally make a bad day worse for any water or ice types looking to ruin salamence's day. Unlike Bulu, Politoed resists ice, and can throw down a timer on the opposing waters all while locking them into a potentially self-defeating move. Even if the opponent switches out, toxic will still be there, and any future switch in will take damage from whatever move they switch into plus toxic damage. Not a fun combination. Grassy terrain allows the toad to recover HP lost through substitute, negating the need for its own recovery and freeing up the slot for substitute.

Magnezone- Magnet
Modest
252 SpA/252 Def/4 speed
Magnet Pull
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- HP Grass

Politoed complements this guy perfectly. Rain allows for Magnezone to fire off thunders like it is going out of style, and punishes any waters who try to switch in to take advantage of rain bar ground mixes... which is what HP Grass is there for. It also allows it to smack most ground types with an incredibly nasty surprise when they switch in for a free kill. HP fire is useless thanks to the rain, after all. It still traps skarmory and other steels, and the ones it cannot deal with can be dealt with by Porygon. Volt switch keeps your momentum up, boosted by the nature and magnet.

Alolan Muk- Black Sludge
Calm
252 Hp/ 252 Def/4 Attack
Toxic Touch
- Gunk Shot
- Knock Off
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
This thing is here to take care of those pesky psychic types. Once you switch this in, most psychics will be forced to switch or get clobbered and poisoned by any of its moves, hence pursuit instead of crunch as the main Dark sTAB. Knock off lets it deal with any annoying itmes *cough leftovers cough* which may be giving you grief, and the black sludge recovery paired with grassy terrain makes for a nice combination to keep it healthy. Shadow sneak gives you a priority move which nails ghost types and pyschics, while Gunk Shot is there for some nice all around poison damage.

Porygon2- Eviolite (why else would you use it?)
Calm
252 HP/ 252 SpA/ 4 Def
Analytic
- TriAttack
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

This was... interesting. This thing badly needs eviolite to stay alive, and by the same token it needs to be able to hit hard. So, to make the best of both worlds, Eviolite is paired with a calm nature and maxed HP for as much bulk as possible, while Analytic allows it to hit harder with wide coverage moves (Ideally with 0 speed IV). Recover lets it stay alive longer in conjunction with the terrain.

Crud, how do I put all this under a spoiler....

 

[emma]

snip
Crud, how do I put all this under a spoiler....

[ hide=WhatEverYouWantTheHideTagToBeCalled]

insert words here

[ /hide]

be sure to not include the spaces : )

 

[tigertomd]

This is my second attempt at building a team for VGC, and my first for VGC17. I went with 11th place finisher Kinugawa Yuma's team:

Tapu Koko @ Mago Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect

This set is a major part of this team, and allows it to synergise with several other Pokemon, namely Raichu and Garchomp. The electric terrain allows it to boost its attacks, allowing it to be effective against opposing water and flying Pokemon. Thunderbolt is able to OHKO Golduck, Pelipper, Gyarados, and univested Politoed and Celesteela. Discharge is also able to OHKO the first three, ensuring that a double duck lead can be shut down quickly. In addition to its offensive presence, the electric surge allows Raichu to get itself moving as well. The Mago berry allows for HP regen for some longevity.

Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

This set is an attacking monster. Waterfall hits everything that doesn't resist it for a large amount, and the other moves supply coverage against many things that do. Waterium Z ensures that it is able to deal insane amounts of damage to most things, OHKOing many threatening mons. Intimidate allows it to weaken opponents attacks, helping to protect teammates such as Aerodactyl and Raichu. It is walled by Pelipper, Golduck and Politoed, though, and as such appreciates the support from Tapu Koko and Raichu.

Raichu-Alola @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Surge Surfer
Level: 50
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Mild Nature
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Nuzzle

This set acts as a supportive special attacker, able to both deal massive damage to opposing Water types whilst also allowing it to slow down fast threatening mons such as Pheromosa and Nihilego, with the added bonus of potential full paralysis. Thunderbolt acts as it's main STAB move, dealing large amounts of damage to opposing mons. Psyshock can act as a secondary stab move, against Pokemon such as Nihilego and Bewear. However, it is completely walled by Krookodile. It's EV spread allows for it to deal maximum damage, whilst also remaining bulky. The SpD EV's ensure it can live a Draco Meteor from Salamance. Whilst under Electric Terrain, it outspeeds all unboosted Pokemon, and it's Speed EV's ensure that it can outspeed Max speed Gyarados outside of Electric Terrain, who could otherwise OHKO it with Waterfall.

Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Rock Slide
- Poison Jab

Garchomp is able to act as an offensive threat, able to deal large damage to most Pokemon. It has a good typing that meshes well with the rest of the team, especially Tapu Koko and its Discharge. Yache Berry is used to allow it to take most Ice attacks, although not well. Sand Veil allows it to counter Sandstorm setters, such as Gigalith. Earthquake is a powerful STAB move, although it does hit both Tapu Koko and Raichu super effectively, which is why both mons run protect. Dragon Claw allows it to deal large damage to opposing Garchomps and Salamances. Rock slide give it a spread move to hit flying types, such as Celesteela and Pelipper, that would be immune to it's Earthquake, and Poison Jab allows it to hit the Tapu's for decent damage, especially Tapu Bulu.

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sky Drop
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Fang

Aerodactyl is another fast physical attacker that can deal large amounts of damage to opponents. It runs Focus Sash due to its woeful bulk, and Unnerve means that Pokemon like Muk cannot eat their berries to stay out longer. Earthquake and Rock Slide have much the same use on Aerodactyl as on Garchomp, albeit with the STAB switched. Sky Drop allows Aerodactly to deal decent damage to any mon which is weak to it, and can also be used to remove a Pokemon from the field for a turn. Ice fang gives Aerodactyl a way to hit Garchomp and Salamance for good damage.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Celesteela is a bulky mon to round out the team, and is good in late game scenarios. Heavy Slam is used as its only attacking move, due to the 120 base power it gets against almost every other Mon, and the large damage it can do, especially against the Tapus. Sub is partnered with exactly 244 HP EV's, ensuring that the least amount of Substitute damage is taken. Sub works especially well with both Leech Seed and Leftovers, and allows for Late Game stall to be used to close out a game. Protect enhances this further, allowing for even more HP to be extracted from opposition. Beast Boost will boost its Defense, allowing for increased bulk as it progresses. However, Celesteela is countered by Magnezone, who can trap it in, double resist it's attack, and hit it Super Effectively in return.

 

[GreenNinjask]

Just to let you know, I am by no means an inexperienced player (not trying to be rude, just putting that out there)... I'm just seem to be having some trouble figuring out team building in this meta, and I think I could benefit with some help. Also, this little assignment seemed fun to do anyways, and at this rate, this team might even be the team I use regularly because it's so good.

I chose to take Ben Kyriakou's team because I've known the potential of Hariyama in the meta since day 1 of VGC '17, and I also wanted to see how A-Ninetales played, since I'm thinking of using it in future teams.

I figured you'd appreciate me not flooding the forum lol.

Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 140 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Brick Break
- Protect

This guy seems to serve as an alternative sweeper for when trick room isn't up while also having a ton of useful resistances to the team. I chose life orb for it's item because sash would be useless on a semi-hail team and I'm pretty sure there are some good surprises that it holds. I put the rest in EVs to get a bit of reserved for it's lo and to surivie a bit more (maybe) with Aurora Veil up. I'll just let some calcs do the rest of the talking.

140 Atk Life Orb Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 203-242 (100.4 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 140 Atk Life Orb Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 187-222 (102.1 - 121.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Kartana through Reflect: 34-40 (22.8 - 26.8%) -- 40.4% chance to 4HKO

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Aurora Veil
- Protect

A-Ninetales has a really weird style, and I like it. It serves as a defensive pivot which Aura Veil, adding to the bulk of the rest of the team, while it also has some pretty neat coverage. Blizzard it super useful move known for it's strength (which Ninetales needs since it has no spa), while Freeze-Dry OHKOs annoying threats like Pelipper and Gastrodon.

Milotic @ Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Mirror Coat

Milotic, especially with the set I made up, also has a really weird style to it, and I also really like it. I gave it this set to reduce the number of things that threaten it, while also increasing the number of things that it does threaten. I just love using Mirror Coat against Tapu Koko and HP Electric against double duck.

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang
- Protect

Nothing much out of the ordinary here, just took 8 EVs out of spd to make sure I didn't speed tie against mirrors and it guaranteed survival against mirrors with Aurora Veil up. I chose rock head because I felt like I had enough for electric types.

Hariyama @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 116 Atk / 244 Def / 148 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Wide Guard

Hariyama helps its partner's set up while also doing massive damage. I chose to use Fightnium Z because flame orb doesn't work ( ;-; ) and it allows it to use wide guard, unlike assault vest, which is also very common on Hariyama. It also can almost OHKO fully invested Porygon2s, which is useful. Knock off is there because I don't have much against A-Marowak. It lives a neutral max pelipper hurricane, and it also lives something very strong physically, but I forgot what it was.

Oranguru @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Instruct
- Reflect
- Protect

I decided to make this a back-pocket trick roomer rather than a lead one. Keeping that in mind, I knew things would be attempting to double target this thing rather than taunting it or roaring it when I use it that way; that's why I built it to live things. I've noticed that physically offensive mons are more relevant this meta, and hail would be taking out sashes (don't need an attack). Everything else is pretty standard for a bulky Oranguru.

An Importable Version Mainly for Myself

Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 140 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Brick Break
- Protect

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Aurora Veil
- Protect

Milotic @ Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Mirror Coat

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang
- Protect

Hariyama @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 116 Atk / 244 Def / 148 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Wide Guard

Oranguru @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Instruct
- Reflect
- Protect

I looked at Ben Kyriakou's sets after a few matches and tinkers and realized that there's quite a few similarities between the two teams. Just to let you know, I might've accidentally chose some things instinctively after seeing a few sets before/ thinking a bit on what's good for the team; none of it was on purpose.

I also realized that apparently a few other people chose this team to do... so much for originality lol.

 

[RebornFX]

ElementOfSmash I only just realised you should be running Incinium Z on Incineroar over Darkinium. It just makes your Z move have 20 higher base damage for, from what I can tell, no cost. You're probably not going to end up using the team since it was someone elses team comp but I just thought I'd let you know for the future.

 

[SpectivTechVGC]

I have decided to use the pokemon that were used in Miguel Marti de La Torre's team. It has more pokemon I really don't know the sets for.


Gastrodon-East @ Earth Plate
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Protect
- Scald
- Surf


Gastrodon can set up rain dance if needed which can help out other members of the team. Scald and surf are for STAB and protect is well, protect. Storm drain basically gives it a water immunity and it has an electric immunity which is really nice. I wanted to make him very bulky but with high special attack to dish out a brutal scald and surf.





Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunder
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect



Thunder is 100% accurate under rain which is very nice and helps a lot. Volt switch is so I can get some damage but being able to switch out into a better mon for the current situation. Dazzling gleam is STAB and is good against dragon types. I chose life orb because I want koko to hit hard. I chose special attack so koko can be strong and speed so it could also be very fast.




Gigalith @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Protect
- Stealth Rock




Gigalith could set up sand storm if needed. He is very bulky which can be good. That is why I invested 252 in HP and 252 in Def. Earthquake is a good move that can hit both of the enemies. Stealth rock is good for damage build up and stone edge is good as well.



Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Flash Cannon


Celesteela is another tank. The ultimate tank. Heavy slam can do a lot of damage. Leech seed can do damage over time while giving celesteela back health. Flash canon is a good stab




Garchomp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Flamethrower



Garchomp is the bulky physical sweeper. That is why I gave him the Assault Vest. 252 for more health and 252 for better attack.
Draco meteor is a good STAB move. Swords dance is great for boosting attack. Rockslide is helpful for hitting multiple enemies and flamethrower is good as well for grass types.





Arcanine
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Lonely Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Heat Wave
- Body Slam



Arcanine is another bulky sweeper. Intimidate is useful because it lowers the attack of the opposing mons. I wanted it to be a little bulkier but still pack a punch. Heat wave is good STAB and hits both mons.