pokemon championship

[el fizz]

Team at a glance...

Alright guys, you have heard about the upcoming championship they are doing. it is doubles cup. you can have 6 pokemon in your party but you may only use 4... here is the team i have come up with...

Azelf @ light clay
jolly
252 HP / 252 spe / 6 def
~reflect
~light screen
~explosion
~fire punch

Spiritomb @ leftovers
careful
252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
~taunt
~spite
~sucker punch
~memento

These are my leads. Azelf is to set up dual screen to help out the rest of my party. Spiritomb is for the over kill and immunity to exposion. He will be important because i have potentially two exploding pokemon on this team. If they try something tricky like setting up trick room and exploding, i have protect on azelf to take an explosion. Fire punch is on azelf just because, I've seen scizor leads before and I want it out quick, sucker punch is on spiritomb for fear of getting taunted. if all goes according to plan they are out two pokemon from the get go and spiritomb can memento to make their incoming pokemon worthless...

Gyarados @ Life Orb
Adamant
252 Att / 252 Spe / 6 HP
~waterfall
~stone edge
~EQ
~ice fang

Salamence @ choice specs
Timid
252 SpA / 252 Spe / 6 HP
~Draco Meteor
~Dragon Pulse
~Flame Thrower
~Hydro Pump

Both standard sets here. But with one super advantage... Dual intimidation, to further make their pokemon useless while I clean up and take the victory.

MY "BONUS" POKEMON::

Lickilicky @ choice band
Adamant
252 HP / 252 Att / 6 Def
~fire punch
~return
~Explosion
~EQ

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Jolly
252 att / 252 spe / 6 hp
Close Combat
Pursuit
Ariel Ace
Megahorn

More standard sets here. I kind of fiddled with Heracross a little. Just for some type coverage. Can anyone confirm that I can breed Megahorn onto Heracross so I can have it on him at level 50?

Lickilicky mainly just comes in to go boom. If he needs to otherwise. tada!

I am also considering adding gengar into the mix over heracross for explosion safety.

suggestions?

 

[el fizz]

I made a few changes on my pokemon.
I made a couple subs because some of the sets weren't legal for the championship.

 

[Sudo]

A lot of teams, whether they be Trick Room or weather-based, are going to use a Pokemon with Fake Out. In that case, they are more likely to target your Azelf, shutting down your plan to 'screen and setting up their beneficial effect in the meanwhile. Spiritomb is doing nothing to the opposition in the meanwhile; Spite and Sucker Punch are practically worthless on 'tomb with no Attack investment. Also be aware that Dark Void Smeargle will be prominent, so your leads are especially vulnerable to being put to sleep. Weavile is a huge threat to your leads as well, as it makes a fine complementary partner to Dusknoir in setting up Trick Room.

Most competitors know that Explosion is a widely used move, so many opponents will be packing Protect. Lickilicky is infamous for using Explosion, so I don't believe he'd be such a great hit on your team if he's so predictable to the opposition.

You're not going to have enough time to set up the screens with Azelf; instead, I'd rather make it go on the full-out offensive. I'd reccomend something like the following:

Azelf @ Custap Berry
Nature: Naive (+Speed, -Special Defense)
EV's: 4 Attack, 252 Special Attack or Attack, 252 Speed
Moves:
Endure
Explosion
Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Taunt / Thunderbolt
Pyschic / Protect / Filler

Sorry for the slashitis, but Azelf has a ton of options to use in Doubles; make no mistake though, offense is really where it shines. Flamethrower / Fire Blast will hurt Steels more than Fire Punch on account of their better Defense stats, but some players make their steels carry Occa berries to counter that. Thunderbolt / Thunder will help against Rain Dance teams, and Taunt can help shut down other pokemon from setting up, but Azelf is still vulnerable to Fake Out. The Endure + Explosion combo I listed is really quite the charm; Azelf can use Endure to live through any round of attacks, which will in turn activate its Cutsap berry, increasing the priority of the next move it uses by one stage. With Azelf's high Speed stat, the priority of his next attack is bound to beat other priority moves like Bullet Punch, making them vulnerable to a devastating Explosion. Bulbapedia has a list of options you can choose for Azelf if what I suggested isn't up to your needs.

In keeping with the offensive focus Azelf provides you'll need a complementary partner. In favor of Spiritomb I suggest something like...

Infernape @ Lum berry / Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly (Naive if you'd like to use a mixed set)
EV's: Max Speed and Attack
Moves:
Fake Out
Mach Punch / Vacuum Wave
Stone Edge / Thunder Punch
Flare Blitz / Close Combat

Shuts down any Smeargle set completely, can help take out Weaviles as well. You can fit Taunt and Protect in there as well if you'd like.

Gyarados seems fine, but is vulnerable to Rain and Sunny teams who pack Electric and Grass type moves respectively. Double Intimidate is a fine strategy, just be on the lookout for Metagross, who in addition to being extremely popular, packs the Clear ability, which prevents stat drops. Choice Specs limits Salamence's capabilities if you need to switch between attacks. You could use a White Herb to spam Draco Meteor twice.

As for your bonus pokemon, yes, you can breed Megahorn so that it has the move when it hatches. I'd replace Lickilicky with an offensive Gengar set, or something to help against Rain Dance teams. Maybe invest in a Latios? If you need more suggestions, just let me know.

 

[Mosquito]

A lot of teams, whether they be Trick Room or weather-based, are going to use a Pokemon with Fake Out. In that case, they are more likely to target your Azelf, shutting down your plan to 'screen and setting up their beneficial effect in the meanwhile. Spiritomb is doing nothing to the opposition in the meanwhile; Spite and Sucker Punch are practically worthless on 'tomb with no Attack investment. Also be aware that Dark Void Smeargle will be prominent, so your leads are especially vulnerable to being put to sleep. Weavile is a huge threat to your leads as well, as it makes a fine complementary partner to Dusknoir in setting up Trick Room.

Most competitors know that Explosion is a widely used move, so many opponents will be packing Protect. Lickilicky is infamous for using Explosion, so I don't believe he'd be such a great hit on your team if he's so predictable to the opposition.

You're not going to have enough time to set up the screens with Azelf; instead, I'd rather make it go on the full-out offensive. I'd reccomend something like the following:

Azelf @ Custap Berry
Nature: Naive (+Speed, -Special Defense)
EV's: 4 Attack, 252 Special Attack or Attack, 252 Speed
Moves:
Endure
Explosion
Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Taunt / Thunderbolt
Pyschic / Protect / Filler

Sorry for the slashitis, but Azelf has a ton of options to use in Doubles; make no mistake though, offense is really where it shines. Flamethrower / Fire Blast will hurt Steels more than Fire Punch on account of their better Defense stats, but some players make their steels carry Occa berries to counter that. Thunderbolt / Thunder will help against Rain Dance teams, and Taunt can help shut down other pokemon from setting up, but Azelf is still vulnerable to Fake Out. The Endure + Explosion combo I listed is really quite the charm; Azelf can use Endure to live through any round of attacks, which will in turn activate its Cutsap berry, increasing the priority of the next move it uses by one stage. With Azelf's high Speed stat, the priority of his next attack is bound to beat other priority moves like Bullet Punch, making them vulnerable to a devastating Explosion. Bulbapedia has a list of options you can choose for Azelf if what I suggested isn't up to your needs.

Custap Berry is banned because it is unobtainable in Europe. I would suggest Focus Sash on Azelf, and putting Detect instead of Endure. You can use Detect first turn to avoid Fake Out or Sleep moves, and then you can use Explosion/random sweeping the next turn.

 

[Sudo]

Custap Berry is banned because it is unobtainable in Europe. I would suggest Focus Sash on Azelf, and putting Detect instead of Endure. You can use Detect first turn to avoid Fake Out or Sleep moves, and then you can use Explosion/random sweeping the next turn.

Damn it, you're right, so in this case your suggestion would be better.