VGC 2010 RMT "You Go Boom Nao!"

[Ice-Master]

VGC 2010 RMT Updated with lead Replacements!

Ok, so this is the team I have had planned for the upcoming VGC, if it ends up in my area. I dont have any of these pokemon yet, so their IV's will not be listed, just assume they are flawless. This team is designed to start off with a Choice Band Explosion Metagross, and a Mix Giratina-O (Someone tell me if this is possible to do without an event Arceus, I need to know) being immune to the explosion. With the absence, or weakening of my opponents first two pokemon, I figure I can safely switch one of my remaining two pokemon with ease, being able to take on the situation at hand. The two main weaknesses on this team that I see currently are:
1:That people have been saying Rayquayza would be too frail for proper use
2: Due to my lack of Experience, I do not know what kind of leads there are in the VGC Metagame. SO I do not know if the Explosion lead is a good idea.



REPLACEMENTS FOR METAGROSS
Ok, since I have been told that Metagross is not such a good Idea, I have come up with three replacements for it. This is what I would like to hear any and all opinions on, as it is much more important.

Smeargle @ Focus Band
Jolly
252 HP / 252 Spe
Spore / Dark Void
Toxic
Knock Off
Helping Hand

I decided on a Smeargle like this because with Spore/Dark Void. it still follows the same strategy as the Explosion. Crippling the opponent at the start of the game. It also has the added Bonus of being a support pokemon. With my opponents pokemon, they will either be forced to switch, or take a beating from my pokemon. I can use toxic to weaken whatever pokemon Giratina isnt focusing of, and Knock Off to cripple certain pokemon. Helping hand can be used afet I have run out of uses for Smeargle. I decided Focus Band would be best, this way, as long as someone doesnt attempt to OHKO him, AND attack him with both pokemon, he should be able to put my opponents to sleep.

Shuckle @ Leftovers
Impish/Sassy
252 HP/ 4 Atk / 124 Def / 124 Sp. Def
Knock Off
Toxic
Gastro Acid / Encore
Rest / Helping Hand

Ok, so I figured this could be used as pure support, simply to cripple my opponents pokemon one-by-one. With the combination of Gastro Acid and Knock Off, I have eliminated my opponents ability and their Item. If my opponents pokemon relies on one or both of them, It could seriously mess up their strategy, and I fell this could be a powerful asset to my team. I can go between either Encore or Gastro Acid, since I didnt see Gastro Acid on any of its sets. I dont understand why, but I figured I would put Encore up there and see what comments I get about the two. I dont think Encore will be as useful since I dont know if pokemon rely on stat up's as much as in Singles, and I dont know If I would be able to predict it. Between Rest and Helping Hand I would go with Rest, but I dont know if it is more of a risk in doubles than it is in singles, but on this thing, I dont think it should be too bad, and even if my opponents focuses on it to take it out, It like a shield for my other pokemon.
The strange IV's are to get a ballance between my defences since I could be going up against combinations of both Physical and Special sweepers, so it just becomes more generally bulky this way. I can go with either nature so its whatever I end up breeding/Trading.

Cresslia @ Leftovers
Bold
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp Def
Ice Beam
Moonlight
Reflect
Thunder Wave

This would be just a regular defensive wall to help support Giratina untill either one of them is knocked out. Reflect can help boost my teams defence, Ice Beam can take care of any Dragons, so Giratina doesn't have to lower its Sp Atk with Draco Meteor. I went with Thunder Wave on this opposed to Toxic like my other choices since this actually has an offensive attack with a REAL base power, unlike the Smeargle and Shuckle who only have Knock Off.

Metagross @ Choice Band
Adamant
252 HP / 252 ATK / 4 DEF
Explosion
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Thunder Punch

Ok, so this is my bomb. There really isnt much to say about the pokemon other than, it goes boom. On most cases (Unless both pokemon are highly resistant to Explosion) I will start off with Explosion right off the bat with this pokemon. I have never used Metagross before, and I havent faced many in the OU environment, so I dont know if the Explosion would even be thought of on the first turn. I initially came up with the idea of a Belly Drum Lickylicky that would get a STABed bonus from an explosion, but this seemed like a more stable idea... The other moves are in case I cannot use Explosion for any reason, I figure the normal set should be able to work well in either situation. My main concern with this pokemon is that I dont know if there are common leads that immune to Explosion. Any info on this would be very much appreciated.

(Ignore the sprite, couldn't find Giratina-O)
Giratina-O @ Gradient (Did I get it right?) Orb
Naive/Hasty
248 ATK / 64 SPA / 196 SPE
Earthquake
Aura Sphere
Shadow Sneak
Draco Meteor

This is the pokemon I decided to have next to my bomb. Its immune so there are no worry's there, and these are the moves I decided for it after a comlete analysis of my teams coverage. I chose Earthquake, because I figure it can combo nicely with Explosion on the off chance that I dont OHKO something, that and I have another pokemon that is immune to it. I can go with either nature, since I cant be really picky, and it doesn't make a big difference (If you have a reason for a preference on a specific nature, I would love to hear). I replaced Dragon Claw/Outrage with Aura Sphere for a better coverage, and if needed I still have Draco Meteor in stock, and because this is a mix set, I dont see its draw back being to much of a problem (once again, if this is a bad move on my part, please speak up).
The main concern I have with this set, is if I can acctually obtain it. I am not sure if there are any other means of getting its orb other than by the Shinjoh Ruins event. I dont have any event Arceus, and I dont even know when an event happened for Arceus... So yeah, any info appreciated.

Rayquaza @ Leftovers
Naive/Hasty
40 ATK / 252 SPA / 216 SPE
Draco Meteor
Ice Beam
ExtremeSpeed
Brick Break

So this is my MixQuaza. I changed Fire BLast with Ice Beam because I have my Heatran, and if I needed fire I would have switched him in, also I didnt see much dragon coverage in this team. I left the rest of the set pretty much as it was. This is probably what I will be switching in after my Metagross since paired with my Giratina, I will have two Mix sweepers, so no fear from any pokemon that wall a specific attack type, and will have access to Giratina's Earthquake without fear of damaging my partner.
I have heard a couple of comments that Rayquaza was frail, but I feel it is an asset to my team, as its ability should be able to cancel out any teams that rely on weather, and it is just plain powerful. I would love to hear comments on this.

Heatran @ Life Orb
Timid/Naive
4 ATK/ 252 SPA / 252 SPE
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Hidden Power (Electric)
Taunt

I looked for a while and ended up thinking that this ballanced and completed my team. It has the coverage of Fire and Electric, which none of my other pokemon have, and it's a threat in OU so I figure it should work well in this team. It should be able to pair with either Rayquaza or Giratina since both of them are Mix Sweepers and should clash against any walls. I went with Life Orb because of all the coments on Rayquaza's Frialness. I dont know how the items will play out, but I would love to hear comments.


Im hoping that a lot of the personal changes I made to the sets were fitting and not just hindering. I need to hear any type of comment, negitive or positive. This is my first VGC and I have very little experience in double battles as well as no experience in Ubers, so I dont know much of what Im dealing with, but after looking around and reading about, I hope I learned something.

 

[Benlisted]

I believe you can get griseous orb on Giratina simply by catching it in Platinum, though I'm not 100% on that.

You've identified that you need to be wary of explosion immune pokemon in your opening, but what about protect, or switching in ghosts to take the explosion? This could very well render your metagross' sacrifice utterly useless, especially as exploding will be such a common strategy so many will prepare for it.

I really don't understand the lefties on Rayquaza. It doesn't seem set to gain much from them at all, as like you said it is frail - one ice beam will be likely to KO. A yache berry is an option to prevent this if you want?

Also, CB on metagross isn't a great idea either. Earthquake can be avoided, as can explosion, by both pokemon quite feasibly as they will both be so common, meaning you will be forced to switch out, wasting a very valuable turn in doubles, and your opponents are free to concentrate on your other poke.

 

[Ice-Master]

You've identified that you need to be wary of explosion immune pokemon in your opening, but what about protect, or switching in ghosts to take the explosion? This could very well render your metagross' sacrifice utterly useless, especially as exploding will be such a common strategy so many will prepare for it.

Yeah, but is an exploding Metagross so common? Is it easily predicted?Will people think to switch in Ghosts? I can see where protect might be used on the first turn, but I dont know about the Ghost switch. Is Metagross really all that common of an Explosion lead in Doubles? I will put it into consideration, but the basis of this team originally started on eplosion leading, and If I can take out just one pokemon, It will help me.

I really don't understand the lefties on Rayquaza. It doesn't seem set to gain much from them at all, as like you said it is frail - one ice beam will be likely to KO. A yache berry is an option to prevent this if you want?

Yeah... Im not so sure about that one either. I had it written down on the notes I made, but I cant remeber what I was thinking, I might just switch it around, Give the Leftovers to Heatran and give Rayquaza A Yache. I was thinking it sounded wierd when I wrote it, but I wanted to see what other people said, so I could remeber what I was thinking about, lol

Also, CB on metagross isn't a great idea either. Earthquake can be avoided, as can explosion, by both pokemon quite feasibly as they will both be so common, meaning you will be forced to switch out, wasting a very valuable turn in doubles, and your opponents are free to concentrate on your other poke.

Hmmm.... But without the choice band, how powerfull will the Explosion be. As I said, his main use will be Explosion, the other moves are just incase he cant use explosion.... But I see where the concern is...

Thank you for the help, im starting to put things into a bit more consideration.

 

[FMasamune]

You really need protect on your Pokemon. Also you are sort of screwed if your opponent sets up trick room. Also none of your Pokemon are bulky so a scarfed Kyogre will be a HUGE problem for your team (especially helping hand Cresselia water spout sweep). Heatran won't be able to OHKO it. I think your leads are fine except you really need protect. Also first turn may not be the BEST time to use explosion, because when I see a Metagross or Snorlax at the start of the game I protect with one poke, and instantly switch in my Giratina (btw it is Griseous Orb).I'd really rethink your subs though. They are both really too frail. An Ice Shard Abomasnow will even be able to put a dent in Rayquaza. Just a couple of things since I don't have time right now to do a full analysis. But I may help later.

 

[Prof. Elm]

You would need an event Arceus to have Giratina learn Shadow Sneak.

 

[Sixonesix]

As a general rule in VGC 2010, if a pokemon can explode, always expect it to do so given a suitable opportunity. If your opponent is any good he/she will likely do the same (so a first turn explosion is not as safe as you think).

 

[ShinyPachirisu]

You would need an event Arceus to have Giratina learn Shadow Sneak.

Incorrect it learns it in HGSS Level up meaning you need a heart scale(You can use D/P/Pt giratina) [However you NEED Event Arceus to get G. Orb since when you try to trade it the orb is removed.] <- Wifi Only Im pretty sure you can wirelessly trade since Ive seen people battle with Giratina-O on Wireless Battling

 

[Nico V]

so im just gonna comment on your strategy as a whole and not really individual stuff, maybe if i have the time though. First off, explosion is THE most predictible thing in double battles. The people playing in VGC know everybody who explodes and know when theyre going to do it, meaning that just about every non-ghost pokemon will have protect/detect on it to block your explosion leaving you wit a dead guy that made no good use of himself. Unless you know youre gonna be playing 4 year olds that lead with sandshrew and pikachu or whatever, seriously look at redoing your strategy. Now onto your team, im seeing that everyone of them only has an offensive moveset. You should really look into getting at least one or two moves onto that team to help you set up wheather it be screens or status effects. Cresselia would be a pretty great partner for Quaza as it can swagger and use helping hand or whatever. And metagross, first off choice band = horrible choice especially for a lead metagross. And most of the metagrosses ive seen that are really successful have been paired with Kyogre to eliminate the fire weakness and carry a shuca berry for the ground weakness (im not sure on what moveset it runs though). On your items, leftovers really is pointless on raquaza. might as well throw a life orb on shedinja. But as a whole all im seeing is items that boost attack anf leftovers. Get some items that will stop all those smeargles out there, get some chestos and lums and maybe get some stuff like a Yache berry for quaza or a Shuca berry for heatran. But yeah, seriously think about re-making this team.

 

[Ice-Master]

I have taken all comments into consideration. I understand about Protect, but it is not something I will horribly worry about, If I feel I need it I will add it. I need Rayquaza because I know there are a good amount of teams that are really using the weather as part of their main startegy and Air Lock is my best counter to that. As for my other pokemon, Metagross is going to be changed entirely, as his ONLY use was supposed to be exploding. Nothing else. But it seems that is not the best Idea.

I have added three possible replacements for Metagross, I would love to hear opinions if anyone has the time

 

[FMasamune]

I have taken all comments into consideration. I understand about Protect, but it is not something I will horribly worry about, If I feel I need it I will add it. I need Rayquaza because I know there are a good amount of teams that are really using the weather as part of their main startegy and Air Lock is my best counter to that. As for my other pokemon, Metagross is going to be changed entirely, as his ONLY use was supposed to be exploding. Nothing else. But it seems that is not the best Idea.

I have added three possible replacements for Metagross, I would love to hear opinions if anyone has the time

Snorlax is a great replacement for Metagross. Give him self destruct, crunch, return/earthquake, and protect. He wil be able to wall plenty of things and setup up for selfdestruct if you wish. His attack may not be up to par with Metagross however he can wall Special moves incredibly well, and is completely resistant to giratina.