VGC My first Team

[Skill3s]

Hey Guys! I played some OU in Gen5 where I played other peoples teams and this is the first team I build myself. I played about 17 games with this team, going 10-7 and I'm lost on how to improve this team. So I'd like to hear some suggestions from you guys!

Thanks!

Now here's the team:

Batman (Crobat) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Super Fang
- Tailwind
- Taunt

I really like Crobat as a Pokemon, and it seems like a very good Support in this format. Tailwind Support is key for Rayquaza and M-Kangaskhan to succeed, since I invested 252 EV into the HP stat for both pokemon. It is also a great Lead together with Talonflame. At first I used Whimsicott, but the prevalence of Fire and Flying pokes/moves made me switch to Crobat, but utilizing a follow me support such as Smeargle or Togekiss is worth considering imo.

Byrd (Talonflame) @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Snatch

A great lead, together with Crobat. Snatch to check Xerneas' Geomancy or Lugia's Calm Mind, Priority Roost and Brave Bird are always good, Flare Blitz as a Fire STAB move. Life Orb for tons of damage, but pretty standard Talonflame.
Not much to see here.

Momma (Kangaskhan-Mega) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch

M-Kangaskhan relies on Tailwind, Quick Guard and Wide Guard to set up and demolish the opposing team. Switching Power-Up Punch to Protect gets rid of these dependencies, but its cost is a huge loss of sweeping potential. Her huge popularity made me build such a supportive shell around her with Crobat and Aegislash.

Sneyk (Rayquaza) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Air Lock
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Rock Slide
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage

I went with a physical attack Rayquaza. Dragon Ascent is almost mandatory on it, Rock Slide against opposing Flying Types, Extreme Speed to clean up and Outrage as the physical Dragon STAB-Move, complete only with Lum Berry. It also helps during weather wars against Groudon.

Fish (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Thunder
- Protect

Aside from Primordial Sea protecting Aegislash from Fire-Attacks there is not much else Kyogre provides for the team, aside from huge damage through Origin Pulse and Thunder. As the only pure special attacker on the team, Kyogre is on cleanup-duty most of the time.
I don't think Kyogres Speed IVs are a big concern, because I have the option to switch into Rayquaza to nullify Groudons desolate land, and in the scenario where I switch in Ray, while having Kyogre out on the field, I prefer it to outspeed the possibly 0 Speed IV Groudon.

Suoard (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball

I went with a King's Shield + Wide Guard option on Aegislash. With Precipice Blades and/or Origin Pulse being on almost every team, I thought it is necessary to run at least one wideguard in this team, just to protect Rayquaza and M-Kangaskhan. Flash Cannon and Shadowball as STABs. Its immunity to fighting makes it also a great switchin for Kangaskhan.


Again Thanks for reading and giving me advice on teambuilding in this format!

Crobat @ Mental Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Super Fang
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Quick Guard

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Snatch

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Double-Edge
- Fake Out

Rayquaza-Mega @ Lum Berry
Ability: Air Lock
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Rock Slide
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Thunder
- Protect

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- King's Shield
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- Shadow Ball

 

[Draconid997]

Hi Skill3s :)
I meant to rate this a while back but i was kinda busy, sorry for the wait

I would suggest you try out Necrocat219's team if you haven't already, as it is very similar to your own and i think you would enjoy either using it or taking inspiration from the sets he uses.
The main differences in his team are that he uses zapdos over talonflame, and mega gengar over mega kangaskhan. And this is why:

Mega Gengar + Crobat allows you to have a very advantageous matchup against 'big 6' teams, which is explained in his team showcase. Essentially, xerneas/smeargle is completely countered, as crobat can remove xerneas/smeargle's stat changes with haze and set up tailwind, and gengar can taunt smeargle and OHKO xerneas.

Crobat also synergises well with rayquaza when running haze, as the effects of rayquaza's stat reducing moves like dragon ascent and overheat can be overcome.

Zapdos allows you to have a better check to trick room, as it runs roar, forcing out TR setters who potentially hold mental herb to block taunt.

These are his team preview strategies (pokemon in brackets are in the back):

Vs Big 6: Gengar+Crobat (Kyogre+Aegislash)
Vs Other Teams: Rayquaza+Crobat (Kyogre+Aegislash)
Vs Trick Room: Rayquaza+Zapdos (Kyogre+Aegislash)

The link to the pastebin of his team is here

If you don't want to make as big changes as this, then here are some refinements to your own pokemon sets etc:

Crobat:

Batman (Crobat) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quick Guard
- Super Fang
- Tailwind
- Taunt / Haze

You may notice that this set is pretty similar to necrocat's crobat set. This is an optimised crobat set for vgc 16, as the EVs allow you to survive a double-edge from kangaskhan more easily, as well as surviving a +2 moonblast from xerneas:

• 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 68 HP / 188 Def Crobat: 145-172 (85.7 - 101.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
• 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 68 HP / 0 SpD Crobat: 72-84 (42.6 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (After Haze)
  
• +2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 68 HP / 0 SpD Crobat: 142-168 (84 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Running timid with 0 Atk means that you minimise confusion damage, as you don't need any attack investment for super fang. If, however, you are stuck with this crobat in game and don't have the resources to breed for a 0 Spe mon, then that's fine.
Lum berry allows you to check smeargle without the worry of dark void. Also, if your opponent is running scarf smeargle, then lum + taunt is your best bet against it. Haze is also a great option in the last slot, given that your only option vs xerneas is talonflame, who doesn't actually work if youre using snatch.

Speaking of which,
Talonflame -> Zapdos / Togekiss / Thundurus

Snatch doesn't actually work vs geomancy, check serebii. shame tho, would be a pretty fun strat :/
Calm mind lugia isn't very common, and so i would suggest swapping to one of the above for these reasons (these swaps will also free up life orb on rayquaza):

Zapdos, as i have mentioned can improve your trick room with roar and can set up tailwind etc and can improve your matchup against primal kyogre.

Togekiss is a brilliant partner to rayquaza, and can help out with either redirection or can aid with speed control

Thundurus is kind of an all rounder, it can provide taunt support for smeargle (meaning crobat can run haze for xerneas) and also provide vital speed control in thunder wave. This will also improve your matchup versus primal kyogre.

(Sets)

Zapdos @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 116 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Roar
- Tailwind
- Light Screen
- Thunderbolt

This is necrocat's set, and the speed EVs put Zapdos at 2 points faster than primals and 1 point faster than Rayquaza, with the rest in bulk. Light screen is a good option if the TR setter goes for an attack instead of a TR set up

Togekiss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 4 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Follow Me
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

The spread is explained below (the speed/SpA stats are from excess EVs):

• +2 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss: 100-118 (52 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Togekiss in Harsh Sun: 127-150 (66.1 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ Atk Primal Groudon Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 116 Def Togekiss: 148-176 (77 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 116 Def Togekiss: 153-181 (79.6 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 252 HP / 116 Def Togekiss: 157-187 (81.7 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

Thunder wave over tailwind since you would already have crobat

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 28 SpA / 180 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

- Survives an Eruption from Primal Groudon
- Rock Slide from 252+ Atk Landorus-T is a 3HKO with Sitrus Berry recovery
- Double-Edge from 252+ Mega Kangaskhan is a 2HKO with Sitrus Berry recovery
- Cannot survive a Water Spout from Primal Kyogre (can for Origin Pulse)

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Quick Guard
- Tailwind

Here's a more optimal talonflame set if you want to use it over crobat :)

Kangaskhan:

Momma (Kangaskhan-Mega) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 172 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Low Kick
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch

Kangaskhan with adamant nature is too reliant on tailwind to provide offensive support, so this is what i recommend. Inner focus is the best ability for kangaskhan this year, as there are plenty of faster fake out users out there. Granted, scrappy allows you to hit stuff like aegislash, but inner focus in my experience has seen more usage. The EV spread allows you to survive a low kick from opposing kangaskhan and your own low kick is also for opposing kangaskhan, as well as opposing ferrothorn, dialga etc.

Rayquaza:

Sneyk (Rayquaza) @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Air Lock
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Overheat / Waterfall
- Extreme Speed
- Protect

This is a more optimal set for a jolly rayquaza. You really need to be running a larger proportion of your EVs in speed, especially if you are running a +speed nature. Overheat will make your matchup vs ferrothorn a bit easier to handle, and waterfall will make the groudon matchup a little easier. I would personally recommend overheat, but if you're keeping talonflame over crobat, focus sash and waterfall are better picks. Protect is a vital move in doubles, so i would definitely recommend it, unless you want to run choice band :)

Kyogre:

Fish (Kyogre-Primal) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 204 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse / Water Spout
- Thunder / Scald
- Protect

The EV spread is the biggest change here. Here's what they do:

(Lots of calcs, sorry)

Offensive:

• 76+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan in Heavy Rain: 184-217 (101.6 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 76+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Xerneas in Heavy Rain: 186-220 (92 - 108.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
• 76+ SpA Primal Kyogre Ice Beam vs. -1 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza in Strong Winds: 196-232 (108.2 - 128.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Defensive
Physical

• -1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 88-106 (44.2 - 53.2%) -- 18.2% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-T Explosion vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 168-198 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 85-102 (42.7 - 51.2%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO
• 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Helping Hand Double-Edge vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 168-198 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 85-102 (42.7 - 51.2%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Sucker Punch vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 77-91 (38.6 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Sucker Punch vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 51-61 (25.6 - 30.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
• 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 152-179 (76.3 - 89.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 252 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 76-91 (38.1 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 87-103 (43.7 - 51.7%) -- 11.3% chance to 2HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 73-87 (36.6 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Life Orb Ho-Oh Brave Bird vs. 188 HP / 204 Def Primal Kyogre: 87-103 (43.7 - 51.7%) -- 6.3% chance to 2HKO

Special

• +2 252 SpA Xerneas Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 182-216 (91.4 - 108.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
• +2 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 144-171 (72.3 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 168-198 (84.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 79-95 (39.6 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 46-55 (23.1 - 27.6%) -- 70.7% chance to 4HKO
• 252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Thunder vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 118-140 (59.2 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre in Heavy Rain: 66-78 (33.1 - 39.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
• 252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Origin Pulse vs. 188 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre in Heavy Rain: 49-58 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO

(Credit to hydreigone for the spread)
Basically, it works well and thats some proof :p
Water Spout and scald are some interesting picks for a bulky set, as it allows kyogre to OHKO kangaskhan at full health, plus scald for bypassing wide guard and the burn chance. You can still keep your old moves though :)

Aegislash:

Suoard (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Ball

Few small changes here:
- Quiet nature with no attack investment still OHKOs a set up timid xerneas with gyro ball
- Change to EV spread/Nature to maximise offensive output

And that's it :)
Hope I've helped, and good luck with the team!