Shoutout to Serapis for being a fantastic tutor and for helping me out in building this team.
As said earlier, I wanted to build around DD Zard X. The surprise factor this monster brings to the table can really turn the tide when the opponent guesses wrong and goes for T-Bolt or Rock Slide (hoping for no Para's and Flinches, mind you) thinking they can score huge damage or a kill on the turn this comes in. Once a DD has been set up, even at +0 after Intimidate, it's going to mess up most opponents thanks to its stupidly strong Attack stat + Tough Claws.
In order for Zard to set up DDs with relative ease, he'll need free turns, something Amoonguss is more than capable of giving to Zard thanks to Spore and Rage Powder. He also synergizes very well with Zard, soaking up strong Water and Fairy type attacks that would hurt Zard tremendously. Amoonguss is also a nice stop to most TR teams thanks to its very slow speed.
Intimidate really comes in handy for any set-up sweeper, weakening opposing physical attackers so the set-up mon has an easier time getting ready to bust through defenseless villages. I figured completing a FWG core would be nice as well, along with having a permanent Ground immunity.
Combining all of that with having this Pokemon also provide speed control and crippling paralysis with Thunder Wave, induce confusion with Swagger, provide a strong Water STAB with Waterfall and prevent Trick Room and King's Shield from doing their things with Taunt is a beneficial set of traits that really help Zard X and its fellow teammates get their jobs done. Enter support Gyarados.
Thundurus's Prankster T-Wave + Taunt shenanigans and Mega Salamence in general tremendously hurt these three. I needed a Scarfer that not only has the ability to outspeed and either completely dispose of both Thundurus and Mega Mence or at least do loads of damage to bulky variants but was also immune to Thunder Waves from Thundurus. Enter Scarf Mamoswine.
Despite having Mamoswine, Heatran and Tyranitar proved to be serious dangers to this team. Defiant/Competitive users in Bisharp and Milotic, respectively, also made it difficult for Gyarados to come in and spread attack drops. Other bulky waters such as Rotom-Wash were also a pain to break, as Amoonguss alone is unable to do much outside of Spore, but with its slow Speed and pitiful offensive prowess, it isn't fast or hard-hitting enough to get that job done.
I needed a mon that can handle all 5 of these threats. With a very nice speed tier, a great SpDef stat that can even take weak SE hits relatively well, a useful defensive typing that is able to resist Rock, Dark and Ground (something I was also desperately in need of) and a great dual STAB combination to deal with the aforementioned threats and add on to the FWG core this team has, enter Virizion.
Despite having Amoonguss, Fairy types such as Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir are a huge problem with this team. Cresselia is also very hard to break. Again, despite having Mamoswine, Mega Mence is a bitch to deal with, so having a Flying resist can come in handy. Terrakion can also give this team a bit of trouble, especially if it's the rare Scarfed set. A good way of stopping spread moves with Wide Guard, such as Lando's EQ and Rock Slide, can help turn the tide of the match as well. Naturally, Aegislash is capable of all this, and fits as the glue of this team.
The Squad:
The Vengeful One (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
The star of the show, and my personal favorite Pokemon. I've been finding it pretty easy to get off a Dragon Dance with this monster on the turn it comes out because so many players assume it's the Y form and go for either Electric type attacks or go for Rock Slide expecting my Zard to die instantly. Once a DD has been set up, Zard instantly becomes an issue for most teams, as it's seldomly prepared for outside of faster scarfers.
I currently have this EV spread on Zard, but I've been noticing that when at +0 attack, it's just too weak and not hard hitting enough. 124 HP / 4 Def ensures I don't get 2HKO'd by Lando's Rock Slide, and the 100 SpDef prevents the 2HKO from Rotom-W's Hydro Pump. Seeing as I haven't been coming across that many rotoms anyway, I'm thinking about diverting some of the SpDef in to Attack for more immediate power. Suggestions would be nice :]
MFW High AF (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs:
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Spore
-
- Rage Powder
As one of my anti-TR mons and a sponge against Water and Fairy type attacks, Amoonguss is an annoying little shit for opposing teams, for damn sure. Not much to say here, really, as most of you already know what these things do. I have Rocky Helmet over Sitrus Berry because Gyara already has Sitrus and the Helmet chips away at Kanga's health, especially when it uses Double Edge.
I decided on going for a SpDef set to be able to survive one Psychic from Mega Gardevoir and retaliate with Spore, as my logic was based off the fact that I have Gyara's Intimidate to weaken Mega Kanga's Attack stat anyway, so I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone and be able to withstand both of them with the same set. This also allows me to withstand weaker non-STAB SE special attacks much easier.
Edited the EVs to improve overall bulk as suggested in the comments.
Clair (Gyarados) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 164 HP / 52 Atk / 132 Def / 100 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Swagger
- Taunt
I'm in love with this set. This is easily my favorite Gyarados set of all time. At the previous PC I went to, this was easily the MVP of my team, bar none. It completely shut down a Sub Aegislash that was threatening to wall my team, and in the Top 4 match vs that damn Moody Smeargle team, I managed to T-wave Kanga to have it revenged by Virizion and Taunted the Smeargle, forcing it to Struggle, which enabled me to win the 1st battle of the three, but the last two matches couldn't save me from Moody's amazing Evasion boosts :(
As I stated earlier in the Intro, this team works off of surprise factor, and let me tell you all, nobody sees Taunt + T-Wave Gyarados coming. They see that from Thundurus, but never from Gyarados, who is in fact pretty rarely seen these days on its own, making most people assume it's an offensive Lum DD set or its Mega. The Speed Control it provided with T-Wave is imperative to this team's success, as it completely and permanently shuts down Tailwind teams. Taunt also allows me to prevent Trick Room from going up or to screw over Aegislash's King Shield. Swagger for confuse hax.
164 HP / 132 Def ensures I don't get 2HKO'd by Lando's Rock Slide after Intimidate. 60 Spe allows me to outpace min speed Cresselia so I can Taunt it before it gets off a TR. 52 Attack and Adamant was taken from the Smogon Strategy Dex's support Gyara spread since I needed some offensive presence, and the rest is dumped in to SpDef.
Elephander (Mamoswine) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs:
-
- Icicle Spear
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
Mamoswine's an excellent scarf mon to pair with Zard X, as it takes out the threats that Zard hates, such as Lando, Mence, the rare Garchomp and Thundurus. I have both Spear and Crash on this set because if I suspect a Lando's running Sash, I can eliminate it with Spear, and deal much more consistent damage later with Crash. Stone Edge is for Zard Y and Talonflame, and EQ's, well, EQ.
It's been suggested in the comments that Jolly max speed and attack is better for this team as it'll outpace most Landorus-T variants and hit harder overall, so a 252/252 spread has been put in place over the previous one.
Bambi (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
Here's my Kanga, Heatran, Bisharp, T-Tar, Milotic and Rotom-Wash buster. Grass/Fighting coverage is just what this team needed to be able to handle such threats, and Bambi does this easily with its amazing Speed tier and high base power attack in CC. Life Orb is sort of required of Virizion due to only having base 90 offensive stats, as it can't do its job effectively without it. Quick Guard's quite nice on this as it enables me to not have any of my mons get hit by Talonflame and Kanga's Sucker Punch on that turn.
Not much to really say about its EV spread, as it's just a 252/252 spread in Atk and Speed with a Jolly nature, which enables it to tie with Terrakion and opposing Virizion.
King Arthur (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
My second anti-TR mon and Fairy/Psychic buster, Aegislash is the glue to this team. This thing's the king of enabling 50/50s with its King's Shield and Wide Guard, and its dual STABs hit like a truck, especially if its Weakness Policy is activated.
I've been thinking about changing this set, however. While Weakness Policy is nice to have in clutch situations, after using it for a while, it's a one-time-use deal that forces me to stay in, and I don't necessarily hit as hard as I would like without the boosts. I have the standard SpDef spread to survive Specs Hydreigon's Dark Pulse, but I'm thinking a more offensive spread with perhaps Safety Goggles will help my matchup against Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur, two pokes that give this team serious issues.
The Vengeful One (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
MFW High AF (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Protect
- Rage Powder
Clair (Gyarados) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 164 HP / 52 Atk / 132 Def / 100 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Swagger
- Taunt
Elephander (Mamoswine) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Icicle Spear
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
Bambi (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
King Arthur (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Protect
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
MFW High AF (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Protect
- Rage Powder
Clair (Gyarados) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 164 HP / 52 Atk / 132 Def / 100 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Swagger
- Taunt
Elephander (Mamoswine) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Icicle Spear
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
Bambi (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
King Arthur (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
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