Something new, a Doubles RMT

[umbarsc]

I've bene itching to try Doubles lately, and since TheMaskedNitpicker posted his warstory, I've finally decided to make a Doubles team. I have next to zero doubles experience, and I know most of you don't play Doubles, but I'd appreciate advice all the same.

At a Glance:

Infernape @ Focus Sash
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Fake Out
- Flamethrower
- Encore / Taunt / Torment
- Close Combat

Exeggutor @ Heat Rock
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 148 Spe / 108 SpD
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Sunny Day
- Grass Knot
- Sleep Powder / Protect
- Explosion

The lead is pretty self-explanatory. Exeggutor sets up Sunny Day, while Infernape stops other set-ups with Fake Out and the move in the third slot, which I'm currently debating. Encore would hinder faster Pokemon setting up, while Taunt would stop slower ones altogether. Torment is a third option to help Exeggutor set up, if I were to run Protect on Eggy. Say I was facing a leading Tyhplosion, I could Protect with Eggy to guard against the Eruption, then Torment with Infernape (hanging on with Sash), to force the ScarfPhlosion to Struggle or switch. Of course, that only works when only one Pokemon can threaten a OHKO on Eggy, which may not happen often, seeing as Eggy does share Celebi's 7 weaknesses.

Tangrowth @ Occa Berry
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 76 SpD / 180 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Power Whip

Am I insane to think that Tangrowth can take even one Sun-boosted attack (Occa Berry, btw, is the Fire-resist berry). Anyways, a little unorthodox for Tangrowth, but I've used it before and it works well in Sunny conditions (in Singles, I've never tried it in Doubles). The EVs are to outspeed Base 130 Pokemon with Chlorophyll in effect. The 76 SpD EVs are pretty arbitrary to be honest, but help it survive weaker Ice Beams and such.

Heatran @ Leftovers / Shucca Berry
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
- Protect
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Dragon Pulse / Sunny Day

I remembered what TheMaskedNitpicker had to say about EV distribution in his Doubles guide, and I decided to go with the Metal Sound EVs, which were offensive but could take hits. Protect is there just in case he's paired up with Tangrowth and I face something like opposing Heatran, as well as just being a good scouting move. Shuca Berry, for those who don't know, is the Ground-resist berry, so I may be crazy again in thinking that Heatran could survive an Earthquake. Dragon Pulse is obvious, but Sunny Day may be preffered as my only other Sunny Day user is a kamikaze set-up Pokemon.

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Trait: Cholorophyll
EVs: 88 HP / 168 Spe / 252 SpA
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Quick Attack / Fake Out
- Dark Pulse
- Grass Knot / Energy Ball
- Hidden Power Fire

Quick Attack or Fake Out is for a priority move if I desperately need to take out a Focus Sasher. Both have there merits, with Fake Out also having the flinch effect against other Pokemon, and Quick Attack not being blocked by Protect. Otherwise this is just a standard sweeper. I don't want to run SolarBeam because I don't want to give Tyranitar any free switch-ins. The EVs outspeed Timid Scarf Gengar, perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid but it's better to be safe then sorry.

Gengar @ Focus Sash / Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Destiny Bond / Taunt / Hidden Power Ice

It's Gengar, who is immune to Explosion, and is fast and hard-hitting. Everything is fairly self-explanatory, except for the last slot. HP Ice is useful as always, whereas Destiny Bond could really help in taking down an opponent's Pokemon with Focus Sash, though I'd have to be wary of them predicting that and focusing double effort on my other Pokemon. Taunt could be useful as well.

---

So if you have any Doubles experience, rate away. This was made somewhat quickly, so advice would be appreciated.

 

[Arcanez]

Well to start there was alot of the move Protect,most people can take advantage of that - the biggest problem i see is Infernape because it is being used in such a wierd way that it won't even work.I suggest using a MixApe or a physical threat,Infernape has been blessed with Attacking stats pokemon dream of - use them.Replace your Tangrowth for a more defencive feel - that Tangrowth isn't going to do very well against a Focus Sash infernape now is it? Two Flamethrowers would tear it apart.I suggest using this set:

Tangrowth @ Leftovers
252hp/60spAtk/192def

-Energy Ball
-Leech Seed
-Knock off
-Sleep Powder

Energy ball is a good choice working off Tangrowth's slightly higher spAtk,and can annoy users.

Heatran should easily swap Protect - it's not the best choice - though not much can take it's place.

So yeah - just swap some Protects,though i might not be your best advice,as i rarely play doubles - anyway i hope helped!

 

[TheMaskedNitpicker]

I strongly suggest another strong attack on Infernape. Close Combat is a winner, especially with Focus Sash to save you from your lower defenses. So if you have Flamethrower, Close Combat, and Fake Out that leaves one move. If you don't hack, I'd start off with Encore because you can move from that to Taunt, Torment, or Protect, but not the other way around without training a new Infernape. See how Encore works and gauge how often you wish you had one of the other moves instead.

I'm a bit surprised to see Exeggutor and Shiftry on the same team because in many ways they're very similar. Shiftry gets Fake Out and Exeggutor gets Sleep Powder, but they're both Grass-types with many similar weaknesses that have Chlorophyll and learn Explosion. It's fine if you keep both, but if you get rid of one, I'd ditch Shiftry. You already have a Fake Out user and Sleep Powder should come in handy.

It's hard to swallow a Sunny Day team that doesn't have SolarBeam anywhere on it. I understand that you're worried about weather changers, but there might be better ways to get around that issue.

Let me digress for a moment. To my knowledge, Smogon doesn't have an official Doubles ruleset yet. If one is ever created, I'm going to strongly lobby for a rule that allows each player to see the species of the opponent's Pokemon prior to the match (and have the ability to select leads accordingly). This one small rule alters the game significantly (and I claim for the better). The upshot for your team is that you'll know about your opponent's weather changers before the match and can predict accordingly. This makes SolarBeam a much more attractive option.

Your Tangrowth is fine, but it seems a terrible shame to waste its stellar base-110 Special Attack score. Try out your Swords Dance set, but if you find that you're often unable to get a Swords Dance off, consider replacing it with Focus Blast or Leaf Storm.

I don't have that much to say about your Heatran. Run some damage calcs to make sure Shuca Berry allows it to survive an Earthquake from, say, a Garchomp.

Garchomp is still a powerful Pokemon in Doubles, but it lacks the punch it has in Singles for two reasons. First, Earthquake has its power reduced when targeting multiple opponents. Second, Outrage doesn't allow you to choose which foe you attack. This is not to say that I think you should remove it from your team. These are just things to be aware of. I'd still keep Earthquake on it. Almost all of your Pokemon take an Earthquake well. Don't let Heatran hold you back from such a powerful STAB move.

EDIT: Also, I'm not sure I'd recommend Choice Items on your Pokemon, especially if you're new at Doubles. At the very least, be very careful about which move you choose to use with your Garchomp. Think about your remaining Pokemon carefully, along with your opponent's Pokemon if you've seen them. It's not as easy to just switch out to reset the Choice Scarf in Doubles.

Also, shift those HP EVs of Tangrowth's into SpDef instead, along with any other EVs you can spare. The more you can minimize that weakness, the better. You don't want to be taken out by a single unSTABed Ice Beam.

 

[StarmanXL]

TheMaskedNitpicker has beaten me to a lot of it, but I've still a few things to say:

First, have you considered Heat Wave over Flamethrower? Despite the fact it only gets 75 BP in doubles, it's a STAB move that hits both of your opponents but none of your own, not to mention Sunny Day should boost its power enough to compensate for the Base Power drop. Don't worry about Flash Fire users; Infernape outspeeds and threatens them all anyway (except maybe Rapidash, but that doesn't show up much). Of course, you can't run Encore with both Heat Wave and Fake Out.

On Tangrowth, I'm guessing any Sun-boosted special Fire attack is death for it, so have you ever considered using Focus Sash to guard against any potentially fatal attack? It's still vulnerable to things such as STAB Blizzard, but I'm not sure on the exact calcs. It's really up to personal preference.

As with Infernape, I'd try out Heat Wave on Heatran over Fire Blast. It's weaker, but the sun boost and Heatran's monstrous Sp. Atk, should make up for it.

Like TMN said, I'm not to fond of Scarf on Garchomp. If it works, then by all means keep it; if not, I'd exchange it for something like a Yache Berry since Garchomp attracts Ice Beams and Blizzards like candy attracts little kids. Also, replace Outrage since you can't choose your target with it; you could either go with Stone Edge or EQ so you could have both or perhaps Crunch as filler. I dunno.

 

[umbarsc]

Oh yeah, I forgot all about Outrage choosing a random target. I picked it with the mentality of "I need something that can attack first and ask questions later", and that, with Earthquake's decreased power, I am just going to drop him altogether.

Do you have any suggestions for its replacement? Something with the same mentality, something that isn't reliant on Sun. Preferably something fast.

Anyways, I gave Infernape Close Combat. I could definitely see it being helpful, though Protect allows Exeggutor to Explode without sacrificing Infernape, who can be pretty deadly with STAB, Sun, Blaze Flamethrowers. I also replaced Heatran's Fire Blast with Heat Wave.

 

[TheMaskedNitpicker]

Well, I'm a fan of Aerodactyl on Sunny Day teams. It might fit the bill as a Garchomp replacement. Make sure you have Rock Slide on it. It may only be a base 56 power STABbed attack on each opponent, but that 30% flinch chance is killer. I also highly recommend Taunt. Earthquake's not a bad option. Your last move should probably be Aerial Ace, Crunch, an elemental fang attack, or maybe, maybe Stone Edge.

 

[umbarsc]

I think I'm going to run Gengar, who is fast, fairly hard-hitting, and, best of all, can come in on Exeggutor's Explosion. It also helps in the occasional Tangrowth + Heatran pair-up where I need to Earthquake something, I could maybe drop Protect on Heatran, though it's still a good scouting move and such.

 

[umbarsc]

Week-long bump.