Hey, guys. I built this team about a year ago, and made new adjustments about a week ago.
This team was built to be a counter to many top threats, and still act as a threat all on its own. I've been working on revamping it, but it's nowhere near as good as it used to be in the old VGC metagame. Months ago and with the former members, it owned other teams. I'd win games left and right, and not just because of luck and good prediction. I'd say it was pretty well made as I made it to at least 1700 on Showdown. However, recently, it's been tumbling down hill. My prediction skills are still on point, as I did an experiment of 3 battles a day for 8 days straight where I take the battles super seriously and write notes, and it seems I'm either a] getting unlucky, or b] the team is no longer as good as it used to be. So, now, I need help putting it up to speed with the more common threats and superstars of VGC 2015-16 in the case that this team doesn't seem quite ready yet.
Milotic @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 60 SpAtk / 4 SDef / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Milotic is my Intimidate-swayer and does a pretty darn good job. I borrowed this ev spread from someone else, and it seems to work really well!
The spread is very, very weird, but I think it was made to give it great defensive properties against threats of all kinds and enough unboosted SpAtk to KO Mega Salamence and Landorus-T with Ice Beam. It also should have enough speed to outspeed 4 Spe Rotom-W (Safeguard before a burn/paralysis), and enough Defense to survive an Adamant Kanga's Double-Edge at full health. Sitrus Berry is there for instant HP restoration. And the moveset is pretty standard (Scald for STAB and burn, Ice Beam for coverage, and Recover to stick around longer).
Milotic is a bulky tank that scares Intimidators and stat-lowerers away, and being a water type, can cover Fire Types and Flying Types with ease (especially because those threaten Virizion). Milotic also has an easy time switching in like Aegislash and usually takes negligible damage, and being a bulky water, it can usually handle a lot of damage and dish some back.
Honestly, I’m looking to revamp the EV spread. I was thinking maybe Calm nature with 164 HP/180 Def/112 SpAtk/52 Spe, as it still accomplished what it did before but also has higher SDef, but if you have any recommendations, I’m all ears. I also wish it could do a little more damage, but I understand Milotic's role is to find that damage by fishing for a stat-lowering.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 84 HP /212 Atk/ 28 Def/ 4 SDef/180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Double-Edge
Kangaskhan is pretty straightforward. It mega evolves and breaks holes in the other team when everyone else has weakened the opposition enough. Protect over Fake Out for the surprise factor when people expect me to Fake Out. I've found Double-Edge does better than Return for most of my cases, as Kangaskhan wants to beat the heck out of whoever gets in its way. Double-Edge’s high damage output is just more appealing to me. Sucker Punch is mandatory for priority, and Low Kick to do some damage to serious targets like Heatran and Kangaskhan. I've found it underwhelming at times, but it helps. Finally, I used a bulky set so Kangaskhan stays on the field longer. Small investments in defense, nice speed, and good attack investment make Kanga frightening, especially with speed control on its side.. Overall, my primary offensive poke.
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
- Protect
Breloom is Virizion's replacement, and he is actually rockin' it! Thanks to those who recommended him! Breloom's evs and nature are for maximum speed and power, while Focus Sash will keep him alive an extra turn due to his horrible defenses. Mach Punch is excellent priority and quite powerful due to Technician, while Bullet Speed is powered up as well and can pack quite a punch. Spore is to screw the opponent with Status while Protect is there to play mindgames and spare Breloom an extra turn.
Breloom is much more powerful than Virizion, and does a great job terrorizing teams with Spore and Mach Punch. I'm also not terrified of Talonflame all that much because I know he'll be alive another turn due to Focus Sash. He's even more terrifying under Tailwind, which makes him and Kangaskhan horrifyingly unstoppable together. He also helps better handle Trick Roomers and really makes them think twice. Overall, he may be slower than Virizion, but he plays the role I need him to and more. Also, I picked Adamant as I prefer the extra power over sporing faster. I find his focus sash is sufficient enough to get one spore out, and Mach Punch gets a nice hefty boost.
Virizion @ Expert Belt
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Virizion is a coverage cannon, and does well against rain teams and has a variety of moves to get super-effective coverage and make the most of Expert Belt. Leaf Blade and CC are standard alongside Protect. Leaf Blade is particularly helpful against water types, and most especially the pesky Rotom-W that only my Kangaskhan has an easy time getting through. Close Combat nails steel types hard, especially Bisharp, who isn’t going to use Sucker Punch on it (generally) due to the ability Justified. The EV spread is very standard for an offensive fighter. Max attack for max damage, max speed to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and tie with non-scarf Terrakion, who can’t due much damage with Rock moves and is nailed by Leaf Blade. Stone Edge is there as a surprise factor against opposing Flying types, who often don't aim for Virizion thinking they'll scare him out. Nope, and they get smacked with an expert belt SE move. I have been thinking of changing that to something else, regardless, in case there's a better move in its place. He can also kind of take dark moves aimed at Aegislash to boost his attack, but with his low defense, I don't rely on that. Generally, Virizion is a good answer to most of the water types and Bisharps out there that try to scare my team.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 76 SpA / 180 Spe
Naive Nature
- Brave Bird
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
I give credit to whoever originally had this spread, as I forget who (probably Sejun). This is a mixed set aimed to surprise people and catch them off guard. 180 speed and Naive is for outspeeding Whimsicott before it can take advantage of Prankster, and smacking it with Brave Bird. 76 SpAtk is just enough to KO Ferrothorn with Overheat and Life Orb. Finally, max attack is to boost BB and give it maximum power to hurt things. WoW had more utility for me than Quick Guard because it could easily cripple physical attackers and play around opposing Quick Guards, and Tailwind is a final move to help the team when Talonflame is about to die. A great member of the team, to be honest. Talonflame works very well against grass types like Amoonguss who try to threaten my team with sleep, and is very helpful alongside Kangaskhan for removing Fighting Type threats like Conkeldurr and Blaziken. Also helpful against Ludicolo, although protecting Talonflame from rain teams is easier said than done when prediction goes wrong.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
Aegislash is probably my team's MVP. He is geared to battle and can be quite a threat when given the chance. His EVs are strange, but he can survive a a Choice Specs max SpAtk Dark Pulse from Hydreigon with the given defensive spread. This gives him a chance to use Weakness Policy and strike back hard. The rest is devoted to SpAtk to give a little more oomph in damage. Wide Guard greatly assists the team against Sylveon and other spread move users like opposing Landorus-T. Finally, King's Shield is mandatory for him to function properly to allow him to go back and forth between shield and blade form. I am open to changing the spread (particularly on the SDef side) just a bit, as I no longer see Hydreigon at all in VGC. Also, instead of having the lowest speed possible, I opted for Modest instead. It just did not seem the lack of speed IVs was helping at all. In fact, getting outsped by a neutral nature Gastrodon and KOed by its Earth Power was just depressing.
In terms of what Aegislash does for the team, he deals with opposing Mega Kangaskhan and Fairy types very well, and can even be a threat in general when Weakness Policy is activated. Aegislash also counters fighting types and scares fire pokemon from using a super effective move if they don’t want Weakness Policy activated. He is also my team’s wall and can switch on on fighting attacks aimed at Mega Kanga, ice attacks aimed at Landy, or even Rock moves aimed at Talonflame (whom he also protect against Rock Slide with Wide Guard).
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 212 HP / 104 Def / 8 SpA / 76 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Taunt
I borrowed this EV spread, as I am not the original maker of it. The EVs basically make it a fast tank that can dish a lot of damage and stay a while on the field. It's pretty standard for speed control, with the only real change I made to be in HP Flying. I just found HP Flying to have a lot more utility, as it surprises Grass types and is STAB as well. Talonflame also dies pretty fast, so this thing being able to stick around and use a flying move is pretty useful.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 168 HP / 36 Def / 148 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Zapdos was someone I did not want to add at first due to Talonflame already being my Flying-type, but it has helped immensely (still considering Thundurus in its place, though). The bulk allows it to take a lot of hits and survive Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge and Draco Meteor from Specs Hydreigon (correct me if I'm wrong, but it should). Thunder Wave is for great speed control (screws Mega Salamence very well). Thunderbolt is STAB and Heat Wave for Ferrothorn and coverage. Finally, Roost keeps Zapdos alive longer, which Lefties also helps with.
I'm still experimenting with Zapdos and other Pokemon in its place, but it has worked well so far, especially because it has such excellent synergy with Breloom against Rain Teams. I love Zapdos' bulk, but I wish it could do more damage at times. It really doesn't do enough or as much as I need it to.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Finally, we have Landy-T. Landy is great at revenge killing and removing pesky flying types, as well as providing momentum for the team via U-Turn. Rock Slide and Stone Edge seems redundant, but SE is there to help against Wide Guard users who want to protect someone. EQ, finally, is there for the major STAB power.
All right, so I've showed you my team, and now for the trouble.
I usually base my leads off of what the opponent has, so I rely on my intuition and analysis. My favorite duo to lead with (and the only set lead I ever have), though, is Breloom and Zapdos. The two just work so well together. I usually start by Thunder Waving a faster poke and Protecting with Breloom, especially since people love to aim for him first. If it's a Trick Room team, I usually Spore the TrickRoomer and Thunder Wave the other Poke. The two have frustrated teams successfully so far after status spreading, and they proceed to wreck along with Mega Kangaskhan who's in the back.
I don't generally have a lot of trouble with this team, but I want it to improve so that it can be even better. Where I want to take it next is so: I've noticed my team has a rather middling speed, so I want to make my focus on speed control. So, somehow, I want to have Tailwind to speed my team up, as well as Trick Room to fight faster teams and beat them down. I also want to have another Pokemon on my team that can act as a fake mega, but that's not as important as the vision I'm imagining for my team.
So.. please tell me:
1) What do you think? Rate it from 1-10?
2) Any ways I can improve this team? Anything you suggest I change or remove to improve my team's functioning?
3) Is there anything crucial I'm missing about VGC at the moment? Like new developments and rises and falls in usage? (ex: Swampert with Wide Guard, Clefable Follow Me, etc.)
And some nitpick things:
4) Should Aegislash have a Speed IV other than 0?
5) Should I put back Landorus-T, or replace Zapdos with Thundurus based on team dynamics and such?
Thank you so much for any help, and if you don't really have any advice, thanks for stopping by!
This team was built to be a counter to many top threats, and still act as a threat all on its own. I've been working on revamping it, but it's nowhere near as good as it used to be in the old VGC metagame. Months ago and with the former members, it owned other teams. I'd win games left and right, and not just because of luck and good prediction. I'd say it was pretty well made as I made it to at least 1700 on Showdown. However, recently, it's been tumbling down hill. My prediction skills are still on point, as I did an experiment of 3 battles a day for 8 days straight where I take the battles super seriously and write notes, and it seems I'm either a] getting unlucky, or b] the team is no longer as good as it used to be. So, now, I need help putting it up to speed with the more common threats and superstars of VGC 2015-16 in the case that this team doesn't seem quite ready yet.
Milotic @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 60 SpAtk / 4 SDef / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Milotic is my Intimidate-swayer and does a pretty darn good job. I borrowed this ev spread from someone else, and it seems to work really well!
The spread is very, very weird, but I think it was made to give it great defensive properties against threats of all kinds and enough unboosted SpAtk to KO Mega Salamence and Landorus-T with Ice Beam. It also should have enough speed to outspeed 4 Spe Rotom-W (Safeguard before a burn/paralysis), and enough Defense to survive an Adamant Kanga's Double-Edge at full health. Sitrus Berry is there for instant HP restoration. And the moveset is pretty standard (Scald for STAB and burn, Ice Beam for coverage, and Recover to stick around longer).
Milotic is a bulky tank that scares Intimidators and stat-lowerers away, and being a water type, can cover Fire Types and Flying Types with ease (especially because those threaten Virizion). Milotic also has an easy time switching in like Aegislash and usually takes negligible damage, and being a bulky water, it can usually handle a lot of damage and dish some back.
Honestly, I’m looking to revamp the EV spread. I was thinking maybe Calm nature with 164 HP/180 Def/112 SpAtk/52 Spe, as it still accomplished what it did before but also has higher SDef, but if you have any recommendations, I’m all ears. I also wish it could do a little more damage, but I understand Milotic's role is to find that damage by fishing for a stat-lowering.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 84 HP /212 Atk/ 28 Def/ 4 SDef/180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Double-Edge
Kangaskhan is pretty straightforward. It mega evolves and breaks holes in the other team when everyone else has weakened the opposition enough. Protect over Fake Out for the surprise factor when people expect me to Fake Out. I've found Double-Edge does better than Return for most of my cases, as Kangaskhan wants to beat the heck out of whoever gets in its way. Double-Edge’s high damage output is just more appealing to me. Sucker Punch is mandatory for priority, and Low Kick to do some damage to serious targets like Heatran and Kangaskhan. I've found it underwhelming at times, but it helps. Finally, I used a bulky set so Kangaskhan stays on the field longer. Small investments in defense, nice speed, and good attack investment make Kanga frightening, especially with speed control on its side.. Overall, my primary offensive poke.
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Spore
- Protect
Breloom is Virizion's replacement, and he is actually rockin' it! Thanks to those who recommended him! Breloom's evs and nature are for maximum speed and power, while Focus Sash will keep him alive an extra turn due to his horrible defenses. Mach Punch is excellent priority and quite powerful due to Technician, while Bullet Speed is powered up as well and can pack quite a punch. Spore is to screw the opponent with Status while Protect is there to play mindgames and spare Breloom an extra turn.
Breloom is much more powerful than Virizion, and does a great job terrorizing teams with Spore and Mach Punch. I'm also not terrified of Talonflame all that much because I know he'll be alive another turn due to Focus Sash. He's even more terrifying under Tailwind, which makes him and Kangaskhan horrifyingly unstoppable together. He also helps better handle Trick Roomers and really makes them think twice. Overall, he may be slower than Virizion, but he plays the role I need him to and more. Also, I picked Adamant as I prefer the extra power over sporing faster. I find his focus sash is sufficient enough to get one spore out, and Mach Punch gets a nice hefty boost.
Virizion @ Expert Belt
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Virizion is a coverage cannon, and does well against rain teams and has a variety of moves to get super-effective coverage and make the most of Expert Belt. Leaf Blade and CC are standard alongside Protect. Leaf Blade is particularly helpful against water types, and most especially the pesky Rotom-W that only my Kangaskhan has an easy time getting through. Close Combat nails steel types hard, especially Bisharp, who isn’t going to use Sucker Punch on it (generally) due to the ability Justified. The EV spread is very standard for an offensive fighter. Max attack for max damage, max speed to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and tie with non-scarf Terrakion, who can’t due much damage with Rock moves and is nailed by Leaf Blade. Stone Edge is there as a surprise factor against opposing Flying types, who often don't aim for Virizion thinking they'll scare him out. Nope, and they get smacked with an expert belt SE move. I have been thinking of changing that to something else, regardless, in case there's a better move in its place. He can also kind of take dark moves aimed at Aegislash to boost his attack, but with his low defense, I don't rely on that. Generally, Virizion is a good answer to most of the water types and Bisharps out there that try to scare my team.
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 76 SpA / 180 Spe
Naive Nature
- Brave Bird
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
I give credit to whoever originally had this spread, as I forget who (probably Sejun). This is a mixed set aimed to surprise people and catch them off guard. 180 speed and Naive is for outspeeding Whimsicott before it can take advantage of Prankster, and smacking it with Brave Bird. 76 SpAtk is just enough to KO Ferrothorn with Overheat and Life Orb. Finally, max attack is to boost BB and give it maximum power to hurt things. WoW had more utility for me than Quick Guard because it could easily cripple physical attackers and play around opposing Quick Guards, and Tailwind is a final move to help the team when Talonflame is about to die. A great member of the team, to be honest. Talonflame works very well against grass types like Amoonguss who try to threaten my team with sleep, and is very helpful alongside Kangaskhan for removing Fighting Type threats like Conkeldurr and Blaziken. Also helpful against Ludicolo, although protecting Talonflame from rain teams is easier said than done when prediction goes wrong.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
Aegislash is probably my team's MVP. He is geared to battle and can be quite a threat when given the chance. His EVs are strange, but he can survive a a Choice Specs max SpAtk Dark Pulse from Hydreigon with the given defensive spread. This gives him a chance to use Weakness Policy and strike back hard. The rest is devoted to SpAtk to give a little more oomph in damage. Wide Guard greatly assists the team against Sylveon and other spread move users like opposing Landorus-T. Finally, King's Shield is mandatory for him to function properly to allow him to go back and forth between shield and blade form. I am open to changing the spread (particularly on the SDef side) just a bit, as I no longer see Hydreigon at all in VGC. Also, instead of having the lowest speed possible, I opted for Modest instead. It just did not seem the lack of speed IVs was helping at all. In fact, getting outsped by a neutral nature Gastrodon and KOed by its Earth Power was just depressing.
In terms of what Aegislash does for the team, he deals with opposing Mega Kangaskhan and Fairy types very well, and can even be a threat in general when Weakness Policy is activated. Aegislash also counters fighting types and scares fire pokemon from using a super effective move if they don’t want Weakness Policy activated. He is also my team’s wall and can switch on on fighting attacks aimed at Mega Kanga, ice attacks aimed at Landy, or even Rock moves aimed at Talonflame (whom he also protect against Rock Slide with Wide Guard).
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 212 HP / 104 Def / 8 SpA / 76 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Taunt
I borrowed this EV spread, as I am not the original maker of it. The EVs basically make it a fast tank that can dish a lot of damage and stay a while on the field. It's pretty standard for speed control, with the only real change I made to be in HP Flying. I just found HP Flying to have a lot more utility, as it surprises Grass types and is STAB as well. Talonflame also dies pretty fast, so this thing being able to stick around and use a flying move is pretty useful.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 168 HP / 36 Def / 148 SpD / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Zapdos was someone I did not want to add at first due to Talonflame already being my Flying-type, but it has helped immensely (still considering Thundurus in its place, though). The bulk allows it to take a lot of hits and survive Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge and Draco Meteor from Specs Hydreigon (correct me if I'm wrong, but it should). Thunder Wave is for great speed control (screws Mega Salamence very well). Thunderbolt is STAB and Heat Wave for Ferrothorn and coverage. Finally, Roost keeps Zapdos alive longer, which Lefties also helps with.
I'm still experimenting with Zapdos and other Pokemon in its place, but it has worked well so far, especially because it has such excellent synergy with Breloom against Rain Teams. I love Zapdos' bulk, but I wish it could do more damage at times. It really doesn't do enough or as much as I need it to.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Finally, we have Landy-T. Landy is great at revenge killing and removing pesky flying types, as well as providing momentum for the team via U-Turn. Rock Slide and Stone Edge seems redundant, but SE is there to help against Wide Guard users who want to protect someone. EQ, finally, is there for the major STAB power.
All right, so I've showed you my team, and now for the trouble.
I usually base my leads off of what the opponent has, so I rely on my intuition and analysis. My favorite duo to lead with (and the only set lead I ever have), though, is Breloom and Zapdos. The two just work so well together. I usually start by Thunder Waving a faster poke and Protecting with Breloom, especially since people love to aim for him first. If it's a Trick Room team, I usually Spore the TrickRoomer and Thunder Wave the other Poke. The two have frustrated teams successfully so far after status spreading, and they proceed to wreck along with Mega Kangaskhan who's in the back.
I don't generally have a lot of trouble with this team, but I want it to improve so that it can be even better. Where I want to take it next is so: I've noticed my team has a rather middling speed, so I want to make my focus on speed control. So, somehow, I want to have Tailwind to speed my team up, as well as Trick Room to fight faster teams and beat them down. I also want to have another Pokemon on my team that can act as a fake mega, but that's not as important as the vision I'm imagining for my team.
So.. please tell me:
1) What do you think? Rate it from 1-10?
2) Any ways I can improve this team? Anything you suggest I change or remove to improve my team's functioning?
3) Is there anything crucial I'm missing about VGC at the moment? Like new developments and rises and falls in usage? (ex: Swampert with Wide Guard, Clefable Follow Me, etc.)
And some nitpick things:
4) Should Aegislash have a Speed IV other than 0?
5) Should I put back Landorus-T, or replace Zapdos with Thundurus based on team dynamics and such?
Thank you so much for any help, and if you don't really have any advice, thanks for stopping by!
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