SM Doubles OU The Hungry Spider - Peaked 1901 (#1)

[AbsurdityNL]

The Hungry Spider - A #1 Ladder Report​

PREFACE

Allo’ everyone! I’m Will Geurts. It’s very likely you have’t seen my name before, as I’ve used a multitude of alternate accounts over the years. I was introduced to competetive pokemon by a friend (frisoeva, you may have seen him around) late 2016. I began with the VGC 16-format, but only really started figuring out how to play at the start of the 17-format. Since then I’ve been in the top 10 of the Pokémon Showdown VGC ladder under various names, as well as topping the BSD ladder (on Showdown) in mid-December last year.​

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Frisoeva recommend I try out the DOU format too, I namely feel most at home in doubles formats. So with zero knowledge of DOU I took my VGC team I had developed and used with success, having it come 2nd on the showdown ladder early this year. Through trial and error I recalculated my sets to remain relevant and tweaked a single move. The team has worked amazingly, here it is!​

THE_TEAM

DETAILED_ANALYSIS

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Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest | Electric Surge​

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Timid | 200 HP / 48 Def / 8 SpA / 252 Spe ​

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• Volt Switch​

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• Dazzling Gleam​

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• Nature's Madness​

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• Sky Drop​

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• overview:
  
  
  
  Tapu Koko is the essential oil that lets this team function smoothly. It works as a great pivot, deals with redirection, as well as dishing out enough damage for his partner's to clean up with.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  Koko is an odd Pokémon, it boasts a tremendous speed tier, yet mediocre offensive and defensive stats as well a lacking movepool that leave much to be desired. Mostly Koko has been used as an offensive pivot, cleaning up weakened opponents late game and positioning its allies. A Z-move gives Koko the option to drop a one-off nuke, personally I find this set too predictable and easy to navigate around, and a Life Orb cripples Koko's already frail bulk whilst providing meager offensive gains. I find that Koko isn't best used as an offensive powerhouse, its main job is to create beneficial scenarios for his allies to abuse: this is why I have opted for Assault Vest. Through this item and a bit of bulk investment, usually placed into offence, Koko survives a surprising amount of attacks, allowing it to stay around longer and do this job. This can absolutely catch people off guard.
  
  252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 200 HP / 48 Def Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 288-338 (87 - 102.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
  252+ SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 200 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 144-171 (43.5 - 51.6%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO
  
  Nature's Madness gives Koko an option to hit hard, compensating for an otherwise lacking damage output. Dazzling Gleam is needed to deal with Kommo-o and Scrafty. Volt Switch is a brilliant move to switch allies in under beneficial circumstances. Finally, Sky Drop deals with redirection users.
  
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• alternative options:
  
  Another move worth considering on Tapu Koko is Electroweb, providing you with another form of speed-control. More offensively invested options are also possible.

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☆彡​

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Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite | Clear Body​

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Jolly | 80 HP / 136 Atk / 40 Def / 252 Spe ​

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• Iron Head​

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• Ice Punch​

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• Stomping Tantrum​

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• Protect​

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• overview:
  
  
  
  Mega-Metagross is Tapu Koko’s main partner in crime. Usually you see Metagross placed next to Fini or Lele, but Koko is definitely an option worth considering.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  Despite sharing a joint ground weakness and lacking defensive synergy, these two are a frightening combination to face thanks to their offensive capabilities. Tapu Koko can land guaranteed 50% damage on opposing Pokémon, bringing them into KO range for Metagross to finish off. Many common threats in the meta-game are out sped and threatened with a KO this way, thanks to the pair's outstanding speed tier. Opposing Tapus have a hard time staying on the field this way, and if an ever present Landorus-t doesn't wield a Choice Scarf Metagross can also keep him out of Koko's way.
  
  -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 40 Def Mega Metagross: 132-156 (41.1 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  252+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 80 HP / 40 Def Mega Metagross: 270-320 (84.1 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  
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☆彡​

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Landorus-Therian @ Ground-Z | Intimidate​

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Adamant | 120 HP / 60 Atk / 76 SpD / 252 Spe ​

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• Earthquake​

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• Rock Slide​

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• U-turn​

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• Protect​

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• overview:
  
  
  
  Tapu Koko and Metagross do not appreciate opposing Landorus-t if the opportunity for Metagross to use Ice Punch aren’t optimal. This is most often the case after a number of intimidates or Choice Scarf Landorus-t. Ironically, one of the best Landorus-t switch-ins is the earth dog himself.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  Landorus-t is also particulary useful against Tyranitar, and its mega variant. As Assault Vest is on Koko, and a Choice Scarf would force awkward protects on my side of the field due to the number of ground weaknesses, I opted for a Z-move. By means of intimidate this dog can switch into many physical attackers, pressure them, and pivot out. Lando-t also proves vital against sand teams.
  
  252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 120 HP / 76 SpD Landorus-T: 302-359 (86.5 - 102.8%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
  -1 60+ Atk Landorus-T Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Incineroar: 450-530 (114.2 - 134.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  
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☆彡​

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Porygon2 @ Eviolite | Download​

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Quiet | 252 HP / 132 Def / 16 SpA / 108 SpD ​

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IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe ​

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• Ice Beam​

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• Thunderbolt​

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• Trick Room​

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• Recover​

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• overview:
  
  
  
  Onwards to this team’s star duck. This tiny pink thing takes many seemingly impossible hits, and it still deals some really respectable damage. By way of its normal typing it is an amazingly splashable switch-in to just about everything.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  I have no idea what this spread does, I nicked it from Smogon's damage calc. It's doing it's job though! Keep control of the speed whilst chipping away at opponents unable to break through.
  
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• alternative options:
  
  Moves such as Foul Play, Icy Wind, Tri Beam, Shadow Ball, Return, Ally Switch, and more are all viable options to consider running.

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☆彡​

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Incineroar @ Figy Berry | Intimidate​

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Impish | 216 HP / 40 Atk / 116 Def / 136 SpD ​

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• Fake Out​

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• Flare Blitz​

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• Knock Off​

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• Protect​

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• overview:
  
  Incinceroar fills a niche role in the metagame as a Pokémon that can take on most anti-TR Pokémon, whilst also having a great type advantage against the omnipresent Psychic Spam duo: Lele and Metagross. Alongside this it provides intimidate, fake out and knock off support.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  Intimidate is a very powerful ability, essentially giving your side of the field a physical Assault Vest on switch-in. Pokémon such as Metagross and Landorus now deal even less damage as a result, and intimdate is much appreciated by Araquanid in a Hard Trick-room mode. Additionally, Fake Out support is appreciated by the entire team, especially when trying to safely get Trick Room up. Knock Off provides the team with a way to remove the multitude of berries and leftovers being carried currently, most notably on Snorlax and Cresselia. Finally, Flare Blitz deals massive damage to opposing Steel types, most importantly Ferrothorn and Metagross.
  
  -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 216 HP / 116+ Def Incineroar: 168-200 (43.6 - 51.9%) -- 11.3% chance to 2HKO
  252 SpA Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 216 HP / 136 SpD Incineroar in Electric Terrain: 325-384 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  
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• alternative options:
  
  Moves such as Low Kick and U-Turn are both very viable options.

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☆彡​

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Araquanid @ Aguav Berry | Water Bubble​

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Brave | EVs: 224 HP / 184 Atk / 100 Def ​

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IVs: 0 Spe ​

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• Liquidation​

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• Toxic​

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• Wide Guard​

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• Protect​

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• overview:
  
  
  
  This spider isn't on the viability rankings at all, which is very suprising to me. This spider has seen huge success in various other Doubles formats, such as Battelspot Doubles and both the VGC 17 and 18 scene. Both of these formats has slight differences, but they also have many similarities. This spider has a wide movepool that allows it excel as an attacker on semi-TR teams. As well as that, it has very respectable bulk and access to a variety of support moves.
  
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• in-depth analysis:
  
  I'm a fairly vocal supporter of araquanid, it's such a good pokemon. It has great bulk, deals good damage, and checks the majority of the top-tier threats in the format (Landorus, Metagross, Zygarde, Incineroar, to name a few.). If you want a more detailed explanation check out the viability rankings thread for DOU. Toxic was originally Bug Bite on my VGC team, however I found its utility less viable in DOU. Toxic gives me a way to cripple bulky water types such as Gastrodon and Suicune.
  
  252 SpA Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 224 HP / 0 SpD Araquanid in Electric Terrain: 282-332 (84.6 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 224 HP / 100 Def Araquanid: 140-166 (42 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  
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IMPORTABLE

Importable

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 80 HP / 136 Atk / 40 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Stomping Tantrum
- Protect

Incineroar @ Figy Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 116 Def / 136 SpD
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 120 HP / 60 Atk / 76 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Protect

Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 200 HP / 48 Def / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nature's Madness
- Sky Drop

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 16 SpA / 108 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Trick Room
- Recover

Araquanid @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 224 HP / 184 Atk / 100 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Liquidation
- Toxic
- Wide Guard
- Protect

LADDER PROOF

 

[Level 51]

Hi AbsurdityNL! I gotta say right off the bat, I really like this team. However, while there's no huge holes in the team, I'm not entirely convinced about some of your spreads, and I don't think you're really getting the most out of the Pokemon you have. Let's dive right in:

Make Mega Metagross less bulky
I'm a big fan of trading offense for bulk, especially on more offensive Pokemon. However, Mega Metagross is a big exception—I often feel that its bulk doesn't really add much to its ability to perform on the field. For instance, the Incineroar calculation you mentioned is often irrelevant, since people rarely run 252 Attack EVs on Incineroar (like yourself). I think it could be practical to run 4 Def EVs on Metagross—this reaches a jump point in its calculations against 252+ Landorus-T's Earthquake—and at most 40 HP EVs, which would put the 2HKO chance at under 10%. You could also add 4 SDef EVs to bring 252 SpA Mega Gengar's Shadow Ball KO chance to 68.8%. Anything more, in my opinion, hampers Metagross' ability to perform on the field: you miss out on, to list a few, the guaranteed Stomping Tantrum KO on Tapu Koko and semibulky Mega Gengar; the guaranteed -1 Ice Punch KO on Landorus-T and the guaranteed +0 Ice Punch KO on semibulky Zygarde; and significantly, the 15/16 chance to OHKO DD (4/0) Tyranitar. The more offensive spread I'd recommend is thus 40 HP / 4 Def / 208 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe, which solidifies a lot of your KO chances significantly (though 4 Def + 252 Atk / 252 Spe is also a good option to hit the offensive benchmarks I mentioned above).

Change Incineroar to an AV set
Not sure if I'm missing something here, but I'm not sure why there's a huge need for Incineroar to be able to Protect. Especially on a semiroom like yours, Incineroar prefers to switch in and out to create Fake Out pressure and Intimidate drops to help create chip and set up for a conducive Trick Room set, or otherwise straight up attack under Trick Room. Therefore, I'd suggest going for a U-turn + Assault Vest set at first glance; this also lets you invest more EVs into offense since you hit your Special Defense benchmarks with far fewer EVs. though obviously I haven't tested your team personally so I may be making an inaccurate judgment.

Give Araquanid Leech Life or Sticky Web over Toxic
Simply put, I don't really see a scenario where Toxic is the best option on Araquanid—for example, CM Tapu Fini beats Araquanid regardless, and the rest of the team is pretty well-equipped to deal with it and other bulky setup users (CM Cress et al.). Leech Life is fairly niche too, but at least it guarantees an OHKO on bulky Hoopa, which can be a big threat to Metagross and Tapu Koko. You could also try Sticky Web, to help support the non-TR side of your team.

Obviously based on your ladder ranking and your pretty low deviation you have a lot more experience with the team than I do, so perhaps take these suggestions with a pinch of salt, but those were the impressions I had just looking at the team. Congratulations on your success, and good luck with future teams!