SM Doubles OU The Tricky Torterra Team

[Ewanator]

Introduction​

This was a team based around a Torterra sweeping set given as a challenge that evolved into a full blown comp team. Because of the current meta and the mechanics of Z-curse, I went with hard trick room, centred around Torterra being a setup sweeper, and everything else taken from there.

Teambuilding Process​

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I wanted a team based around Torterra, and its STAB earthquake is deadly when given the right boosts. The boost I settled with was Z-curse (extra +1 attack).

To compliment this, I (obviously) needed a TR setter. Oranguru was bulky enough to take even powerful Supereffective hits from the likes of golisopod and marowak-A, and can (and has frequently) helped Torterra sweep teams with instruct after setting up while avoiding its earthquake with telepathy.

I wanted a slow fighting type to deal with porygon2, as it could pose a threat to Torterra and co. As well as this, it had to be able to ward of flying types and the likes of garchomp and other dragons which are still everywhere.

At this point I wanted a reliable backup TR setter that could combat ice (for torterra) and fairy (nothing else resists it.). Naturally, steel came to mind, and therefore bronzong. Almost impossible to ohko, and levitate works great at avoiding any supereffective +2 STAB earthquakes your teammates may throw at you. Also, rocks are a great sweeper aid.

Araquanid was my poke of choice for dealing with any strong dark, water, fire, grass or ice types that would otherwise wall my team or threaten either of the first two. Mega Gyarados deserves special mention as it has stopped me more than once. It is also very easy to switch it in.

Golem-A is a great backup sweeper should torterra fall. It can also let off explosion alongside either torterra or oranguru with no ill side effects. It is a great user of rock slide in TR and its galvanise double-edge is brutal. Also a good flying check.

The Team​

Shelly (Torterra) (M) @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Rock Slide
​

Torterra has great stab coverage and can hit a large number of threats neutrally or better and is more than slow enough for the role. It is designed as a setup sweeper with Oranguru support. Wood Hammer and earthquake provide the necessary nukes for Torterra to fulfill its role, with the Wood Hammer recoil actually making Overgrow more likely to activate for that final push, and rock slide providing damage on flying/ice types that are common revenge killers for it.

Harambe's ghost (Oranguru) (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Instruct
- Foul Play
- Taunt
​

Oranguru is incredibly sturdy, and can actively boost its teammates while avoiding their attacks. As well as provide TR setup, instruct essentially doubles the parter's attack and lets it break through sash etc. Taunt prevents roar, a solid counter to it, and Foul play deals with Marowak-A. Those EVS let it tank any single bug type hit in the metagame that isn't golisopod's life orb first impression.

Welcome to the Himalayas! (Crabominable) @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Hammer
- Power-Up Punch
- Crabhammer
- Superpower
​

Crabominable is incredibly slow, and can lure in and ohko any rock, steel or flying types that think they can take it on with its STAB alone. Crabominable is the wallbreaker that takes advantage of its offensive typing to almost always ensure there's something for it to hit. Ice hammer is reliable STAB that speeds it up in TR. Crabhammer covers fire types, specifically marowak-A.

Liberty (Bronzong) @ Macho Brace
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Zen Headbutt
- Trick Room
​

Bronzong is almost impossible to ohko or even 2hko, and its resistance to ice and fairy are a great asset to the team. It sets up trick room when bug, fairy, ice or powerful flying types are proving a nuissance and bulk is required to set up well. Rocks compliment ANY sweeper. Z. Heatbutt and Gyro ball are good STAB's that can chip away without the opponent realising.

Water Nope (Araquanid) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Atk / 88 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Aqua Ring
- Reflect
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
​

The combo of Water Bubble, its defensive stats and reflect make it a horrifying wall for many types. It is designed to come out on a predicted hit at the end, when both teams are worn out, or to take a hit for a a valuable ally. Reflect covers the physical side of the whole team, while Aqua Ring stacks with leftovers. Liquidation needs no explanation. Leech life provides psychic/dark coverage for the team and gives extra recovery, so more longevity.

Stubby arms (Golem-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double-Edge
- Explosion
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
​

Golem-A can provide consistent high damage output with great coverage. It functions as a backup nuke in case torterra faints or is just unusable. Explosion is the standard late game cleaning move and Ohko's ALL celesteela sets if double edge doesn't first. Rock slide is consistent and reliable, and works well in TR with golem.

Conclusion​

Overall, this team works surprisingly well. Obviously it has some threats, (mega sableye comes to mind however I don't see that often). One weakness is that golem-A is the only celesteela counter, and without it the best hope is Araquanid. One upside is that as long as you have Oranguru and something that isn't bronzong left, there is still hope.
file:///C:/Users/EWAN%20PC/Downloads/Gen7DoublesOUsuspecttest-2017-03-06-ewanator-megatron.html

Importable

Shelly (Torterra) (M) @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Stone Edge

Harambe's ghost (Oranguru) (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Telepathy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Instruct
- Foul Play
- Taunt

Welcome to the Himalayas! (Crabominable) @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Hammer
- Power-Up Punch
- Crabhammer
- Superpower

Liberty (Bronzong) @ Macho Brace
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Zen Headbutt
- Trick Room

Water Nope (Araquanid) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Atk / 88 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Aqua Ring
- Stockpile
- Liquidation
- Leech Life

Stubby arms (Golem-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double-Edge
- Explosion
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

 

[Test Bot #]

Welcome to the Doubles OU metagame, Ewanator! Based on your descriptions, it seems most of your knowledge comes from the "lower ladder". Sadly, this means that your understanding of the metagame (such as which are Pokemon are good or bad), your process of team building, and your battle strategies may in fact be ineffectively against highly competitive and experienced players. But don't worry; I'll help you out in what I can!

First of all, I'm sorry to say this, but the majority of your team are considered "unviable" for the Doubles OU metagame. In a Doubles match, it is important to have the move Protect on your Pokemon unless they are holding Assault Vest or a Choice item. I also don't recommend using three setup Pokemon in a single team. Doubles is a very offensive-based metagame, so there is no way an experienced player will let any of your Pokemon set up. If one of your Pokemon got its bulk boosted, then all s/he (referring to your opponent) need to do is Double target that Pokemon or just use the ever-popular move Taunt. This misleading "lower ladder" strategy is especially targeted towards your Araquanid; stall-ish strategies won't work in Doubles as they do in Singles.

Another aspect of your team that I want to point out is that you don't need to set up Stealth Rocks! Sure, you can't go wrong with Stealth Rocks in Singles, but there are times when Stealth Rocks is completely ineffective in a Doubles match; an opponent may completely ignore it. After all, Pokemon tends to switch out far less in Doubles than they do in Singles. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean Stealth Rocks is all that bad. Experienced players use Stealth Rocks for specific uses only. These include the strategies to make Focus Sash ineffective and to discourage Mega Charizard Y from switching out. Also, there is no need for two Stealth Rock setters, you only need one.

Now, I would normally provide an "improved version of your team". However, I cannot do that unless I change at least 3-4 of your Pokemon and all of their sets. As far as I can see, 5 of your Pokemon cannot defeat Heatran, one of the most common Pokemon in the metagame, without Trick Room to support it. Furthermore, both of your Trick Setters gets OHKO'd by Hoopa-U, arguably the metagame best Trick Room setter. Nevertheless, Bronzong and Araquanid actually has decent performance in the current game, so I'll provide their recommended sets and the strategies behind them below. I also recommend having a Mega Evolution and a Terrain Setter as well. Other sources that you can use to improve your team's matchup include Doubles Viability Rankings, Doubles Roles Compendium, and Doubles EV Spread Compendium. To look at examples of competitively effective teams, you can also look at Doubles Team Building Competition and Doubles Team Building Frameworks. If you have any other questions, then feel free to ask in the Smogon Doubles Room in Pokemon Showdown.

Bronzong + Araquanid

Bronzong @ Psychium Z
Ability: Heatproof
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Trick Room
- Hypnosis
- Protect

Araquanid @ Mystic Water
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Liquidation
- Leech Life / Poison Jab
- Wide Guard
- Protect

Description: Bronzong's Z-Trick Room is un-tauntable and the move boosts Bronzong's accuracy by 1 stage. This in return allows it to spam Hypnosis and become a huge threat under Trick Room. Araquanid is the other importable Pokemon in this list. It helps Bronzong become an effective threat, by providing Wide Guard support. (This move makes spread moves such as Heat Wave and Earthquake from being effective.) Leech Life also KO's Hoopa-U, a common threat against Trick Room setters.