Resource VGC 2013 Pokemon Analyses

Lucien Lachance · Nov 6, 2025

With the increased attention being given to VGC 2013 due to Classics League and the Ruins of Alph spotlight ladders, it is long overdue that the resources for players new to the format get overhauled (or in this case created). Below is an attempt to present something resembling "standard" sets for the Pokemon one will regularly encounter. For many Pokemon, however, there is no such thing as standard. In such cases I have attempted to convey the sometimes many things these Pokemon are capable of doing without being too loquacious.

Thanks to Radio for the occasional assistance.

Overview
Abomasnow is a strong anti-meta Pokemon due to its unique typing and ability. Its Ice and Grass-type STABs hit several top Pokemon for super effective damage, including but not limited to Thundurus, Landorus, Latios, Rotom-Wash, Politoed, and Tyranitar. Abomasnow’s ability, Snow Warning, allows it to act as a check against weather teams, Rain teams in particular. The residual chip damage of Hail is useful for breaking Focus Sashes or putting Pokemon into KO ranges of its partners. Although Abomasnow’s base 60 speed leaves much to be desired, it allows Abomasnow to benefit from all forms of speed control, and it has seen success at tournaments on Trick Room teams or packing a Choice Scarf.

Set - Trick Room Sweeper
Abomasnow @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Ice Shard
- Protect

Abomasnow has found the most consistent success when operating under the effects of Trick Room, letting it turn its bad base 60 speed into a positive.
Focus Sash ensures Abomasnow can get off 1-2 Blizzards, which is especially helpful since it has seven different weaknesses on the type chart.
252 Special Attack with a boosting nature to maximize damage. Because defensive EVs are useless on a Focus Sash user, 252 EVs are allocated into Attack to strengthen its Ice Shard.
Blizzard is the best STAB, hitting genies and Amoonguss for super effective and threatening a 19% chance to freeze one or both opponents
Giga Drain hits bulky Waters for super effective. It is especially useful against Rain teams.
Ice Shard offers useful priority chip damage when Abomasnow is about to be KOed

Other Options

Choice Scarf or a Mild nature with 252 Speed EVs to operate outside of Trick Room.
Ice Gem lets Abomasnow reliably OHKO bulky Thundurus-Incarnate.
Ice Shard can be replaced by a multitude of specific tech moves to improve matchups.
- Wood Hammer can be used to hit specially defensive bulky waters like Rotom-Wash and Suicune harder, although it makes Abomasnow more susceptible to Intimidate and breaks its own Focus Sash.
- Icy Wind provides speed control.
- Sheer Cold is a 30% last ditch effort, especially against Cresselia and Ice-resists.
- Hidden Power Ground hits Heatran and Metagross. Focus Blast hits Tyranitar. Hidden Power Fire hits Scizor.
- Safeguard, Light Screen, and Grass Whistle are extremely niche options.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Steel-types and Fire-types such as Metagross, Heatran, and Volcarona resist both STABs and can OHKO back with their STABs, although Metagross does have to be mindful of a Blizzard freeze.
Although Tyranitar is weak to Grass, it is expected to beat Abomasnow in a 1v1, especially if sand is up.
Landorus-Therian can also check Abomasnow. It is faster and can safely U-Turn to deal massive damage, although it has to be mindful of an Ice Shard.

Overview
Amoonguss has been a staple on VGC teams since its creation in generation 5, and with good reason. It has a good defensive typing, fantastic bulk, and its Regenerator ability allows it to switch in and out multiple times while applying pressure on the opponent with Rage Powder and Spore. For these reasons, Amoonguss is the premier redirector in the format, and the ideal partner for several sweepers. In addition, its base 30 Speed gives it the ability to check Trick Room teams all by itself, if not dealt with properly.

Set - Bulky Support
Amoonguss @ Mental Herb / Lum Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb
- Protect

252 HP EVs provide Amoonguss with general bulk, the 156 Special Defense EVs hits a +2 stat point, and the remaining EVs are dumped into Defense.
Minimum Speed allows Amoonguss to more consistently check opposing Trick Room teams. Amoonguss is slower than the most common sweepers, Heatran & Conkeldurr, and can potentially nullify the majority of the 5 turns of Trick Room due to Spore.
Giga Drain is the standard attacking option, letting it heal while doing non-neglibile damage to bulky waters and Tyranitar. Sludge Bomb lets Amoonguss hit Thundurus and Latios for neutral damage.
Mental Herb blocks Taunt while Lum Berry is useful in the mirror.

Other Options

Running any speed IVs can let Amoonguss Spore other slow Pokemon when outside of Trick Room, most notably opposing Amoonguss and Conkeldurr.
ChestoRest gives Amoonguss increases Amoonguss’s survivability while preserving its MU against opposing Amoonguss.
Sunny Day allows Amoonguss to further check Rain.

Common Partners

Amoonguss supports most everything well by drawing the opponent’s attention to itself (either with Rage Powder or the threat of Spore), and its presence on the field enables its partner to attack or setup with impunity.
One specific example is Tyranitar, which checks Amoonguss’s counters while Amoonguss redirects and resists almost all of Tyranitar’s weaknesses.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Tornadus OHKOs Amoonguss with Flying Gem Acrobatics, and has a 50% chance to do so without its Flying Gem.
Heatran’s most common sets can all check Amoonguss. Substitute blocks Spore, while Fire Gem sets are capable of OHKOing it.
Latios, Metagross, and Cresselia all are capable of KOing Amoonguss with their STAB Psychic-type attacks. Latios and Metagross can even OHKO with a boosting item, while Cresselia commonly sports a Chesto Berry and is capable of 2HKOing Amoonguss.
Opposing Amoonguss can be a major threat if you are holding a Mental Herb, if they are holding a Lum Berry, and / or if they move first.
Conversely, Taunt users can shut down Lum Berry sets, forcing Amoonguss to either switch or attack with its pitiful Giga Drain.
Conkeldurr can be an interesting check to Amoonguss. Conkeldurr is faster than Amoonguss outside of Trick Room, but is slower than it after using a single Hammer Arm, letting it move first if under the move’s effect. Ice Punch can deal up to 98% of Amoonguss’s health, making it potentially a major threat.

Overview
Breloom’s high base 130 Attack, workable Speed stat, and access to Spore makes it a threat to many Pokemon. Its base 70 Speed allows it to hit a respectable 134 Speed stat which is faster than top threats such as Cresselia, Metagross, and many Heatran sets. Unlike its defensive Spore-spamming counterpart in Amoonguss, Breloom is an offensive threat to be respected. If unaccounted for in builder or left unchecked, it can overpower teams.

Set - Offensive Spore
Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Spore
- Protect

Focus Sash ensures Breloom can attempt to get at least one Spore off.
Max Speed allows Breloom to Spore as many Pokemon as possible before they are capable of attacking. Many common Pokemon such as Metagross, Cresselia, and Rotom-Wash, and various Heatran sets fall under this category.
Bullet Seed and Mach Punch take advantage of STAB, Breloom’s base 130 Attack, and its Technician ability to deal significant damage to a surprising number of common Pokemon.
Protect allows Brellom to stay on the field as long as possible. Breloom draws a lot of attention to itself by virtue of its threatening kit, and it can steal an opponent’s turns with a timely Protect just as easily as it can by abusing Gen 5 sleep mechanics.

Other Options

Choice Scarf allows Breloom to put significantly speedier targets to sleep before they can act, such as Latios and Tornadus.
Fighting Gem + Superpower gives Breloom an unexpectedly powerful attack option at the cost of longevity.

Common Partners

Tornadus supports it with Tailwind and OHKOs Latios which threatens Breloom. Other Tailwind users like Suicune or Togekiss can perform a similar function.
Liepard supports Breloom with Fake Out & Encore, punishing opponents who Protect to block a Spore.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Thundurus-Incarnate with Taunt prevents Breloom from sleeping its partners and it resists both of Breloom’s STABs.
Fast Substitute users, such as Heatran, can freely set up in front of the Breloom and prevent it from sporing them.
Because Breloom is so frail and lives and dies by Spore, it is susceptible to being caught off guard by an unexpected Lum Berry holder, absorbing the sleep and then KOing back. This is compounded by Pokemon with redirecting moves such as Amoonguss or Volcarona, drawing the Spore to itself and allowing their partner to freely attack the Breloom.
Although unreliable, an untimely one-turn Sleep can often be the end of a potential Breloom sweep.

Overview
Conkeldurr is the best physical Trick Room sweeper in the format, touting incredible damage output capable of OHKOing targets even after being intimidated. Because Ghost-types are uncommon in the format, switching into its overpowering Fighting-type attacks can be difficult for some teams. Were that not enough of an appeal, Conkeldurr’s great natural bulk and access to priority Mach Punch gives it ample viability outside of Trick Room teams as well.

Set - Trick Room Sweeper
Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Detect

This set stacks the damage multiplication modifiers of Life Orb, Iron Fist, and STAB to deal unmatched physical damage. There are few Pokemon which can switch safely into Conkeldurr.
68 HP EVs minimizes Life Orb recoil and is optimal for bulk due to Conkeldurr’s higher base HP stat.
The remaining 188 EVs are dumped into Special Defense to maximize Conkeldurr’s special bulk - Timid Latios’s Psychic only has a 37.5% chance to OHKO.
Hammer Arm is an incredibly strong attack, threatening OHKOs on neutral targets. In addition, Conkeldurr will be slower than opposing Amoonguss after one Hammer Arm
Mach Punch lets Conkeldurr pick up KOs on weakened foes when Trick Room ends (with the added benefit of having 100% accuracy).
Ice Punch hits several top meta Fighting-type resists for super effective damage such as Latios, Thundurus, Landorus-Therian, and Amoonguss, the first three are OHKO’d by Ice Punch, the latter takes >80%.

Other Options

Bulkier sets, ala Mean’s World’s winning team, leverage Conkeldurr’s great natural bulk with the longevite of Drain Punch and a Sitrus Berry to apply long term pressure to the opposing team.
Although Guts with Flame Orb is weaker than Iron Fist with Life Orb, it is a viable alternative for teams which are particularly weak to Amoonguss or status spam.

Common Partners

Trick Room setters like Cresselia or Jellicent then let Conkeldurr use its low base Speed to sweep teams.
Tyranitar checks almost all of Conkeldurr’s major threats, such as Cresselia, Latios, Jellicent, and Tornadus.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Cresselia & Jellicent can both freely switch into Conkeldurr. The former can 2HKO Conkeldurr while the latter threatens with burn status.
If Trick Room is not in effect, Conkeldurr is threatened by a plethora of strong threats, such as Latios, Metagross, and Tornadus, among others.

Overview
Cresselia has long been in the discussion of being the best Pokemon in the format. It has an incredibly deep movepool, with diverse enough coverage options and a supporting movepool capable of enabling practically anything. Its ridiculous bulk makes it nearly impossible to OHKO, and its Special Attack is high enough to make offensive sets viable. Lastly, Cresselia has an enviable ability in Levitate, granting it a useful immunity. This combination of traits makes Cresselia a threat to teams defensively and potentially offensively.

Set - Bulky Support
Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 HP / 60 Def / 160 SpA / 76 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psychic / Ice Beam
- Light Screen / Skill Swap / Sunny Day
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room / Icy Wind / Thunder Wave

Cresselia excels at supporting a wide variety of teammates with its absurd bulk and incredible moveset.
The HP and Special Defense EVs allow Cresselia to survive a Helping Hand Dragon Gem Draco Meteor from 252 Special Attack Latios.
The Special Attack investment allows Ice Beam to OHKO no bulk Landorus-Therian and Salamence.
Psychic or Ice Beam are great value attacks, with the rest of the moveset being dedicated to supporting the rest of the team. Any number of these moves can be mixed and matched to create the perfect Cresselia for an individual team - some may need Sunny Day for the rain match up, others may want Skill Swap to make Heatran unkillable.

Set - Expert Belt Offensive
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 132 HP / 4 Def / 248 SpA / 8 SpD / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground] / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Trick Room

Despite its uninspiring base 75 Special Attack, an offensive Cresselia can be very effective, turning an otherwise support oriented Pokemon into an offensive threat.
116 Speed EVs lets Cresselia outspeed Latios after hitting it with an Icy Wind
Remaining EVs are distributed into bulk
Psychic & Ice hits the majority of Pokemon for meaningful damage, and the Steel-types who resist those types can be hit for super effective damage by the chosen Hidden Power. Ground lets Cresselia beat the more common Heatran while Fire enables Cresselia to flip the matchup against one of its counters in Scizor. The EV spread will need to be adjusted based on the selected Hidden Power type chosen. The above set is for HP Ground.

Other Options

ChestoRest
Deluge of support moves to fit one's team.

Common Partners

Cresselia can quite literally support any Pokemon.
Heatran benefits from many things which Cresselia can do, such as setting Trick Room, clicking Sunny day, or using Skill Swap to give Heatran the Levitiate ability and removing its biggest weakness.
Rotom-W + Cresselia has great neutral matchups against most things. This duo of bulky Pokemon can trade advantageous against many Pokemon, and the two cover each others weaknesses as well.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Tyranitar is immune to Psychic, residual Sand chip damage limits Cresselia’s survivability, and 2HKOs Cresselia with Crunch
Metagross outdamages even offensive Cresselia sets with a relevant Hidden Power type, and it resists both Psychic and Ice-type attacks.
To a lesser extent, the other Steel-types can also be a major threat to Cresselia depending on sets and game state. Heatran will defeat any non-Hidden Power Ground sets (or if Levitate is Skill Swapped onto it), and Scizor can set up on non-Hidden Power Fire sets prior to sweeping the team.
Landorus-Therian, although greatly threatened by an Ice Beam, outspeeds Cresselia and deals meaningful chip damage with U-Turn.

Placeholder

Overview
Excadrill is the only viable Sand Rush sweeper in VGC 2013, leveraging an impressive base 135 Attack and respectable base 88 Speed to attempt to run over unprepared teams. In addition, Excadrill can elect to use the Mold Breaker ability, allowing its powerful STAB Earthquakes to hit the many levitators of the format, such as Rotom, Latios, and Cresselia.

Set - Sand Rush Sweeper
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush / Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
- Protect

Max Attack and Speed to hit fast and hard. Excadrill is exactly one speed point faster than Kingdra and will move first outside of weather or under Tailwind.
Earthquake and Rock Slide have excellent synergistic coverage and hit almost every Pokemon for at least neutral damage
Swords Dance to maximize its damage output

Other Options

Leftovers & Substitute increases its longevity
Life Orb & X-Scissor lets Excadrill OHKO Latios while also empowering its other attacking options
Sand Rush is the preferred ability, often paired with an allied Tyranitar, but Mold Breaker lets Excadrill hit the plethora of levitators the format has to offer with a Ground-type move

Common Partners

Tyranitar to set Sand and double Excadrill’s speed
Togekiss to draw threatening attacks to itself while being Ground-type immune. Can also provide Tailwind support for non-Sand teams or Mold Breaker sets.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Landorus-Therian reduces Excadrill’s damage output with Intimidate, is immune to Excadrill’s Earthquake, and threatens it with its own Earthquake
Conkeldurr can OHKO Excadrill with an Iron Fist + Life Orb boosted Mach Punch
Bulky Water-type Pokemon like Suicune or Gastrodon can shrug off an Earthquake and will 2HKO with their STAB attacks.

Placeholder

Overview
Gastrodon finds its niche as a bulky Water that isn’t afraid of Electric or other Water-types. This comes from the combination of its Water/Ground-typing, and the ever-useful ability Storm Drain. This ability allows it to redirect Water-type attacks and get Special Attack boosts from them, making it great at supporting teammates that would otherwise be threatened. Its solid offensive coverage and useful support moves give it presence on the field, when its stats may otherwise be lacking.

Set - Bulky Utility
Gastrodon @ Rindo Berry / Leftovers / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 172 HP / 148 Def / 52 SpA / 132 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam / Scald / Muddy Water
- Recover / Yawn
- Protect

Gastrodon’s offensive investment allows it to OHKO no bulk Landorus-Therian with Ice Beam, and OHKO Mean’s Heatran spread with Earth Power.
A Water-type move is common as well, with Scald and Muddy Water both leveraging dangerous secondary effects.
172 HP EVs gives Gastrodon a HP stat of 208, optimal for Leftovers, Sitrus Berry, and Recover.
The physical defense investment guarantees that Gastrodon survives a Life Orb Max Atk Hammer Arm from Conkeldurr or a Flying Gem Acrobatics from Tornadus.
76 Special Defense EVs are needed to survive a Timid Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor, but the remaining 64 EVs were dumped into Special Defense.
The 4 leftover EVs put into Speed let Gastrodon outspeed minimum speed Tyranitar or no investment Gastrodon, but the speed can be flexible given team needs.
The final moves on Gastrodon’s set are determined by what the team needs, with Yawn giving it a strong pressure option or Recover allowing it to win long endgames.
Rindo Berry ensures Gastrodon can survive one hit from Amoonguss and Abomasnow, while Leftovers or Sitrus Berry increase Gastrodon’s longevity outside of Recover.

Other Options

Gastrodon can also run Toxic or Clear Smog to allow it to deal with set up threats it otherwise couldn’t beat.
More offensive sets that run items like Ground Gem or Life Orb have also seen some success.

Common Partners

Heatran is supported well by the Storm Drain ability, removing one of its few weaknesses.
Tyranitar is also protected by Storm Drain, while Gastrodon is immune to Sand Stream and can help with the Steel-types Tyranitar can struggle against.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Amoonguss, Breloom, and Abomasnow are the only commonly used Grass-type Pokemon in the format and can wipe Gastrodon off the board with ease. Rindo Berry only reduces the damage of the first hit of Breloom’s Bullet Seed, and the second will KO it.
Conkeldurr, Latios, and other Pokemon with explosive single target attacks can KO an even slightly weakened Gastrodon with their STAB attacks.
The stray HP Grass set, such as Aaron Zheng’s Worlds Heatran, can catch any non-Rindo Gastrodons by surprise.

Overview
Although nowhere near as bulky as the premier Psychic-type, Cresselia, Gothitelle’s Dream World ability Shadow Tag gives it an incredible niche in the format, which in BW still traps Ghost-type Pokemon. With it, Gothitelle can tactically pin and eliminate key threats to its team’s endgame as well as enabling the Perish Trap archetype in its entirety. Although Gothitelle was seldom utilized during the 2013 circuit, make no mistake in underestimating this Pokemon.

Set - Shadow Tag Trapper
Gothitelle @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Trick Room / Thunder Wave
- Rest
- Protect

Gothitelle’s main goal is to stay on the field and provide whatever support it can to it’s teammates. To this end, defensive moves like Rest and Protect are necessary to keep it alive and keep the trap going.
Psychic and Trick Room/Thunder Wave give Gothitelle the ability to exert some pressure on the field, either threatening chip or speed control.
EVs are dumped into the defensive stats, allowing you to comfortably live most major hits like Dragon Gem Draco Meteor from Latios and then recover back with Rest.

Other Options

Skill Swap lets Gothitelle pass its incredible ability to its partner, creating potentially unwinnable gamestate for the opponent as they stare down a Shadow Tag Ferrothorn or Suicune.
Gothitelle gets numerous interesting support moves, such as Safeguard, Charm, and Tickle to support its team.
Other items like Sitrus Berry, Leftovers, and Lum Berry can also fit on Gothitelle as needed and allow it to run other moves stated above.

Common Partners

Scrafty supports Gothitelle by threatening some of its biggest threats and aiding in Trick Room going up.
A Perish Song user, most commonly Politoed, is required for a Perish Trap team.

Successful Compositions

Oopsgtg's Perish Rain

Checks & Counters

Thundurus-Incarnate is not threatened by Gothitelle and can Taunt to prevent it from setting up Trick Room or look to Thunder Wave its partner.
Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Scrafty are immune to Gothitelle’s Psychic and 2HKO with Crunch.
Landorus-Therian nearly 2HKOs with U-Turn, and can switch itself out of the effects of Perish Song.
Volcarona, particularly Bug Gem sets, is capable of OHKOing Gothitelle and eliminating it as a potential threat.

Overview
Heatran is not only the premier Fire-type Pokemon of the VGC 2013 metagame, but also one of the best Steel-types as well. It utilizes its numerous resistances and great bulk to switch in on the pervasive Psychic, Steel, and Dragon-type Pokemon of the metagame and begin threatening with its impressive base 130 Special Attack and access to the power spread moves Heat Wave and Eruption. Although Heatran’s typing does it a lot of good, it does render it weak to three very common attacking types in Fighting, Water, and Ground, with the latter being a 4x weakness, which makes positioning Heatran all the more important. When enabled, Heatran can be devastatingly effective.

Set - Fast & Bulky Sub
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 204 HP / 100 SpA / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Timid nature and 204 Speed EVs is the minimum investment needed to outspeed Breloom, letting it Substitute in front of an otherwise very threatening Pokemon
204 HP EVs gives Heatran a HP stat of 192, which is both a Substitute and Leftovers number to maximize its recovery.
The remaining EVs were dumped in Special Attack, although they can be meaningfully distributed into Defense and Special Defense for certain matchups.
Heat Wave provides Heatran with a powerful spread STAB move with a potentially game winning secondary effect.
Earth Power is for the Heatran mirror, letting it beat any slower and non-Shuca Heatran sets, but also gives Heatran a way to hit Fire-resists not named Rotom-Wash.
Substitute and Leftovers are the calling card of this set, leveraging Heatran’s fantastic defensive typing and natural bulk to regularly switch in, try and get a free Substitute on a switch, and threaten their team an advantageous position.

Set - Fire Gem ErupTran
Heatran @ Fire Gem
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect

Fire Gem Eruption from Heatran is the strongest spread special attack in the format.
Eruptran Heatran’s are locked to a Quiet nature, and this set has opted for minimum speed to be a Trick Room sweeper.

Other Options

Shuca Berry allows Heatran to survive an Earthquake from Landorus-Therian or Earth Power from an opposing Heatran.
Hidden Power Grass gives Heatran a way to beat Gastrodon, which would otherwise OHKO it with Earth Power.
Fire Gem Overheat gives Heatran a 62.5% chance to OHKO bulky Thundurus, while also OHKOing Conkeldurr.
A plethora of EV spreads and speed stats are viable. Heatran can run some Speed EVs on an Eruption set to operate under Tailwind, for example.

Common Partners

Cresselia and Heatran have incredible synergy. Cresselia not only checks some of Heatran’s biggest threats in Landous-Therian and Conkeldurr, but it also has access to a copious amount of supporting tools which enable Heatran, such as Sunny Day, Skill Swap, and Trick Room.
Thundurus-Incarnate checks pesky Water-type Pokemon and debilitates faster threats with Thunder Wave, allowing even the slowest Heatran to move first.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Landorus-Therian greatly threatens even Shuca Heatran sets with its powerful STAB Earthquake.
Other Heatran are powered up by your Fire-type attacks and threaten with an Earth Power of their own.
Bulky Waters all check Heatran in a variety of ways. In addition to all checking Heatran with their STAB moves and resisting Heatran’s, some can mitigate Heatran’s damage output with Light Screen, Snarl, or setting Rain.
Fighting-types, particularly Hitmontop and Conkeldurr, are capable of OHKOing Heatran.

Overview
Hitmontop is one of three commonly used Intimidate users and one of two Pokemon with access to both Fake Out + Intimidate in the format. Hitmontop enables some of the most threatening Pokemon in the format while still packing a significant punch with a Fighting Gem STAB Close Combat. With a deep enough movepool to suit its team’s needs, Hitmontop makes a valuable addition to a team.

Set - Offensive Support
Hitmontop (M) @ Fight Gem
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
– Fake Out
– Sucker Punch
– Close Combat
– Wide Guard / Filler

Max Speed and Attack to outspeed common Pokemon such as Metagross, Rotom, Politoed, and others, and fire off a Gem-boosted Close Combat for significant damage. Hitmontop does not have a good defensive typing or the natural bulk to consistently switch in multiple times in a match, so maximizing its damage is considered ideal.
Fake Out (usually) gives its partner a free turn to do whatever best enables itself.
Sucker Punch lets Hitmontop threaten Fighting resists (namely Latios) and pin low-HP Pokemon.
Wide Guard supports its preferred partners who are weak to a different spread move, although there are a variety of viable moves which can round out Hitmontop’s kit.

Other Options

Feint allows its partner to bypass Protect and also provides a priority-move to pick up KOs on very low HP targets.
Helping Hand boosts the attack of its partner and can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs.
Stone Edge gives Hitmontop a way to hit Thundurus and Volcarona.
Fighting Gem Mach Punch almost always OHKO Choice Scarf Tyranitar sets, as well as providing a more powerful and reliable priority attack than Sucker Punch or Feint.

Common Partners

Volcarona was the first quintessential partner for Hitmontop, coined TopMoth back in 2012. Hitmontop’s Intimidate offsets Volcarona’s abysmal Defense stat, and Fake Out lets it Quiver Dance with (relative) ease. Volcarona appreciates that Hitmontop can Wide Guard to block Rock Slide and can deal meaningful damage to threats which check it.
Similarly, Thundurus-Incarnate appreciates Hitmontop’s ability and ability to check Tyranitar, while also enabling it to Thunder Wave or Nasty Plot freely.
In a metagame where most Pokemon are EV’d specifically to survive its attacks, Latios greatly appreciates Hitmontop’s kit of Fake Out, Helping Hand, and Feint.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Every Psychic-type checks Hitmontop. Even minimally invested Cresselia can OHKO Hitmontop, although Latios does not enjoy taking a Sucker Punch nor Metagross a Fighting Gem boosted Close Combat.
Amoonguss can freely click Rage Powder and renders all of Hitmontop’s offensive options useless, forcing it to predictably use its supporting move or switch.
Tornadus is given a Defiant boost from Hitmontop, resisting Fighting, and OHKOs.
Landorus-Therian resists Close Combat and reduces Hitmontop’s middling base Attack with Intimidate, removing its offensive presence from the field.

Overview
Although 12 base Speed slower and 5 base Special Attack weaker than Latios, Hydreigon’s unique movepool and typing allows it to carve out a niche as a Dragon-type Pokemon capable of standing up to the common Steel-types of the format. In addition, Hydreigon's superior physical bulk allows it to survive a Flying Gem boosted Acrobatics from Tornadus, a move which always OHKOs standard 4 HP Latios. While perhaps less plug and play compared to Latios, Hydreigon is equally threatening with Draco Meteor and uniquely dangerous with its potential coverage moves.

Set - Temu Latios
Hydreigon @ Dragon Gem / Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower / Earth Power
- Protect

Hydreigon’s powerful STAB moves give it a good matchup into most of the format, with Dragon Gem boosting Draco Meteor to levels only surpassed by Latios.
Coverage moves like Earth Power and Flamethrower give it a niche in its ability to beat common steel types such as Heatran, Metagross, and Scizor.
Hydreigon’s speed tier allows it to beat most of the format, and catch out any naturally faster mon choosing to run a non-speed boosting nature.

Other Options

Hydreigon can sometimes run Tailwind, to shift from a more offensive to supportive role on teams.
The natural bulk can also allow Hydreigon to run Choice Specs or Choice Scarf, allowing it to surprise opponents with high damage or speed and flip certain matchups.

Common Partners

Cresselia can take down the Fighting-types that threaten Hydreigon or offer it support, while Hydreigon can deal with the Steel-types that Cresselia struggles to beat.
Metagross offers the same ability to beat Fighting-types as Cresselia, while also being able to tank many of the faster mons that threaten Hydreigon. In return, Hydreigon can obliterate many of the mons Metagross doesn’t want to face.
Thundurus offers the best speed control for Hydreigon in Thunder Wave, letting it fire off attacks with no fear of being removed first.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Latios is faster and OHKOs with Draco Meteor.
Conkeldurr and Breloom 2HKO Hydreigon with Mach Punch. Conkeldurr deals 80 - 97% with LO Mach Punch, needing only minimal chip damage before it can eliminate Hydreigon. Breloom deals 68 - 80% but survives any hit thanks to its Focus Sash.
Similarly, although Tornadus doesn’t OHKO Hydreigon, any chip damage makes Hydreigon fodder for Tornadus.
Volcarona can be faster than Hydreigon and OHKOs with Bug Buzz.

Overview
Jellicent possesses a plethora of tools which allow it to succeed in the format. Its superb typing and natural bulk enable support sets, while its workable base 85 Special Attack can be leveraged on Water Gem sets to use Water Spout set to attempt to sweep teams while under Trick Room. Jellicent is one of few viable Ghost-types, and certainly the best of them, and its immunity to both Fake Out and Fighting-type attacks are valuable assets to an already versatile Pokemon.

Set - Bulky Support
Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 4 SAtk / 104 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
– Scald
– Recover
– Will-O-Wisp
– Substitute / Toxic

Survives 2 Zen Headbutts from max attack Metagross, Crunch from Adamant Tyranitar, Latios Gem Draco Meteor, and any two attacks from Kingdra.
20 Speed EVs outspeeds 4 Speed EV Tyranitar.
This set maximizes survivability, while moves like Scald, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover wear down the opponent slowly until they can no longer threaten Jellicent.

Set - Trick Room Offensive Sweeper
Jellicent @ Water Gem
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam / Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
- Protect / Recover

Unlike most other Trick Room setters, Jellicent is its own sweeper, allowing its partner to help set up Trick Room instead of trying to find opportunities during the course of the match.
Although its base 85 Special Attack is not inspiring, with Water Gem and a 150 base power spread move like Water Spout, Jellicent becomes a dangerous threat.
Ice Beam and Shadow Ball are secondary attack options. The former threatens Latios and Tornadus while the latter threatens Cresselia and other bulky waters.
A well piloted Jellicent will find opportunities to click Recover, while Protect is easier to use.

Other Options

Water Absorb is a viable ability, making Jellicent an even better check to Rain.
Taunt lets Jellicent beat Amoonguss in a 1v1 by preventing Spore, outhealing Giga Drain damage with Recover, and once Cursed Body activates, the Amoonguss is incapable of doing anything to it.
Icy Wind for another type of speed control.

Common Partners

Amoonguss all but ensures Trick Room goes up and incapacitates opposing Pokemon with Spore.
Scrafty also helps Trick Room go up while threatening different threats to Jellicent like Tyranitar and opposing Jellicent.
Abomasnow is a useful secondary sweeper in Trick Room and checks Thundurus-Incarnate, Tornadus, and Amoonguss which can give Jellicent problems.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Latios resists Water Spout and 2HKOs with Psychic move + Draco Meteor.
Tyranitar Crunch OHKOs offensive sets, does considerable damage to even the bulkiest sets, and sand chip damage reduces the longevity of Jellicent and efficacy of Water Spout.
Amoonguss is not threatened by any of Jellicent’s moves and can freely click Spore on either it or its partner, and will more than likely be slower than everything if under the effect of Trick Room. However, a Cursed Body activation will prevent Amoonguss from damaging Jellicent.
Opposing bulky waters like Rotom-Wash, Suicune, and Gastrodon can all beat Jellicent in different ways. Rotom with Thunderbolt, Suicune with Snarl, and Gastrodon with its ability. However, with Toxic and Recover, Jellicent can flip these matchups.

Overview
Despite an unimpressive spread of base stats, Kingdra is a menace if properly supported in the Rain. Its two STABs threaten every common Pokemon for neutral damage save Ferrothorn, and when boosted by both Rain and a Life Orb, its base 95 Special Attack starts to pack quite a punch, even when using spread Water-type attacks. Because none of Kingdra's standing attacking moves have 100 accuracy, Kingdra will inevitably lose you what are otherswise "won" games had its attacks connected.

Set - Rain Sweeper
Kingdra @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Muddy Water
- Substitute
- Protect

STAB Draco Meteor deals significant damage to everything that does not resist it.
Spread Rain-boosted Muddy Water is capable of 2HKOing bulky targets it hits for neutral damage such as Metagross.
Substitute lets Kingdra protect itself from status moves, most notably Thunder Wave from Thundurus and Spore from Amoonguss.
Life Orb helps offset Kingdra’s paltry 95 base SpA while Lum Berry ensures it can setup a Substitute in front of an Amoonguss or Thundurus-Incarnate.

Other Options

Hydro Pump gives Kingdra a significantly stronger Water-type attacking move.
Disable can win the mirror match against opposing Kingdra and prevent Amoonguss from using Spore.
Choice Scarf gives Kingdra viability outside of the Rain mode, letting it catch unsuspecting Latios and Hydreigons unaware, and also ensures it wins the mirror.

Common Partners

Politoed to set rain.
Amoonguss to draw threatening attacks or status to itself.
A Lightning Rod user to redirect Thundurus’s Thunder Waves to itself or a Pokemon capable of quickly wiping Thundurus off the board, such as Landorus-Therian or Terrakion.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Latios can OHKO Kingdra at -2 SpA while Kingdra cannot OHKO Latios at -2 SpA.
Snarl Suicune has the natural bulk to not be threatened by Kingdra and it can minimize its damage output.
Amoonguss does not face KO pressure from the majority of Pokemon which encompass standard rain teams (Kingdra, Politoed, Thundurus) and can often freely click Spore into Kingdra and its partners.
Cresselia also cannot be dispatched by Kingdra and its partners and can click Trick Room or Sunny Day to nullify Kingdra as a threat.
Thundurus-Incarnate neuters non-Lum Kingdra sets with Thunder Wave, removing one of its most valuable assets and making Kingdra’s already inconsistent moves even more so.

Lucien Lachance · Nov 6, 2025

I hit character limit xdd

Overview
Landorus-Therian is perhaps the best Pokemon in the format. It is truly unique in what it provides a team, and no Pokemon can replicate the diverse number of tools within its kit, nor perform them with the efficacy that Landorus does. Landorus-Therian provides its team with Intimidate, a Ground-type and Electric-type immunity, a check to Thundurus, Heatran, Metagross, Tyranitar, and other top meta threats, the ability to pivot with U-Turn, and access to two incredibly powerful spread moves. Few, if any, teams are made worse with the addition of Landorus-Therian; every team can find value from what Landorus provides.

Set - Standard
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf / Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Protect

Focus Sash and Yache both prevent Landorus-T from being OHKOed by Cresselia Ice Beam. Focus Sash is better vs. Rain teams and Draco Meteor dragons, while Yache Berry is more consistent when pivoting. Choice Scarf lets Landorus almost always move first, letting it U-Turn into a favorable matchup, fish for Rock Slide flinches, or just outright KO threats such as Tornadus with Stone Edge.
252/252 to maximize speed and damage, although Scarf sets can elect to run a significant amount of bulk.
Earthquake is its best STAB, dealing massive spread damage against non-resists.
Rock Slide deals neutral damage against Ground-immunes and offers a flinch chance. Stone Edge can OHKO Thundurus if un-Intimidated, but has worse accuracy.
U-Turn pivoting with Intimidate is incredible, especially because it hits Cresselia for super-effective.
Protect increases the longevity of Landorus-Therian.

Other Options

Jolly Nature can be used to speedtie Jolly Landorus-T, outrun Adamant Landorus-T, and threaten both with Rock Slide Flinch. It will also be faster than Modest Thundurus-Therian, Hydreigon, and Volcarona, but slower than any Timid sets.
Superpower is a single-target option against Tyranitar and Heatran.
Imprison can shut down opposing Landorus-T.
A special Landorus-Therian set has been experimented with in the past, as Earth Power can OHKO Metagross and Hidden Power Ice opposing Landorus-Therians.

Common Partners

Both Thundurus formes
Cresselia
Steels (Metagross, Heatran)
Literally everything else in the game. Someone ran this with Garchomp at Worlds

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Cresselia is immune to Earthquake and can OHKO with Ice Beam.
Bulky Waters shrug off any of Landorus’s attacks and threaten it with either a Water-type attack or Ice Beam.
Tornadus-I is given a +1 attack boost due to Defiant, outspeeds non-Scarf sets and OHKOs with Acrobatics.
Opposing Landorus-Therian intimidates your Landorus, are immune to Earthquake, and -1 Rock Slide does very little damage

Overview
Latios is the meta-defining special attacker of the format. EV spreads are crafted specifically to survive its powerful STAB Draco Meteor. Its base stats are highly optimized for its role as an offensive sweeper, enabled further by its fantastic movepool, strong offensive-typing, and a useful ability. There are few games where Latios is unable to meaningfully contribute because of these attributes.

Set - Special Attacker
Latios (M) @ Dragon Gem
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Filler
- Protect

Dragon Gem Draco Meteor is among the strongest single-target attacks in the format and EV spreads are tailored to survive this attack.
Psychic and Psyshock are powerful secondary STAB options. Psyshock hits specially bulky Pokemon like Rotom-Wash and Amoonguss marginally harder while Psychic hits Conkeldurr harder and has a chance to lower the target’s Special Defense.
Latios’s third move can be whatever the team needs. Hidden Power Fire and Ground can be used to hit Scizor and Heatran respectively while Ice Beam can be used to punish Landorus-Therians. Latios has a plethora of useful support moves like Tailwind, Sunny Day, Safeguard, or a Screen, and self-help moves like Substitute and Calm Mind.

Other Options

Life Orb gives Latios more consistent power at the cost of losing its format defining nuclear button
Modest nature lets Latios get KOs on Pokemon specifically EVed to survive Timid Dragon Gem Draco Meteor 56.25% of the time (93.75% with a turn of sand or hail chip)
Latios is capable of running literally any special attacking move with a reasonable base power or support move if it sufficiently benefits the team given its stats.

Common Partners

Landorus-Therian to check Steel-types, as Latios is immune to Earthquake.
Tyranitar’s residual damage can easily flip matchups on Pokemon EVed to survive a Gem Draco Meteor.
Hitmontop supports Latios with Fake Out, Feint, Helping Hand, while also eliminating potential threats like Tyranitar and Steel-types.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Tornadus outspeeds and OHKOs with Flying Gem Acrobatics.
Most Thundurus-Incarnate sets are EVd to survive the Dragon Gem Draco Meteor and many players feel it is worth trading the majority of Thundurus’s hitpoints to Thunder Wave Latios, depriving the dragon of its two most important features: the Dragon Gem and its speed (with the added chance of either Draco Meteor missing or Latios being fully paralyzed).
Metagross resists both STABs, is not sufficiently threatened by any of its coverage moves, and 2HKOs Latios with Meteor Mash + Bullet Punch.

Overview
Liepard makes full use of its Prankster ability and wide movepool to cause chaos and disrupt teams. The combination of Fake Out + Encore forces a lose-lose decision for the opponent much of the time, where they either take the Fake Out or Protect and are Encored (or forced to switch) the next. Combine this with the vast set of options it has to support the team and you end up with an extremely threatening disruptor. Unfortunately, it suffers from being extremely frail and its best partners also wanting to hold a Focus Sash. Although it requires careful play to maintain, a well played Liepard is exceedingly frustrating to play against.

Set - Disruptor
Liepard @ Dark Gem
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Foul Play
- Encore
- Filler

Without any meaningful attacking moves that rely on its Attack stat, Liepard is free to completely invest in bulk and Speed. At max Speed, it naturally outruns most of the format aside from Tornadus, the occasional Thundurus-Incarnate, Latios, and Scarfers.
As said before, Fake Out + Encore is one of the most annoying combinations in the format.
STAB Dark Gem Foul Play gives Liepard a way to exert meaningful offensive pressure on the field, even if it should be Taunted. Because it uses the opponents Attack stat, this makes Liepard agnostic to being intimidated, but weakened if paired with Intimidate.
- Foul Play has a 25% chance to OHKO Latios and a 75% chance to OHKO 4 HP Landorus-Therian.

Other Options

Occasionally, Liepard may run Focus Sash if no other teammate, like Breloom, needs it more.
The final move on Liepard sets is extremely malleable. Options include Swagger, Thunder Wave, Fake Tears, Taunt, and Weather setting moves.

Common Partners

Breloom is the most diabolical pairing for Liepard. Breloom forces Taunts and Substitutes to block its Spore, moves which Liepard can freely Encore.
Terrakion and Liepard can combine to Rock Slide and Swagger opponents, forcing them to play through horrible RNG. Fake Out also allows Terrakion to set up Substitute, vastly improving its longevity.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Thundurus-Incarnate can severely hamper Liepard’s plans with Taunt.
Conkeldurr resists Foul Play and can OHKO with Mach Punch.
Amoonguss’s Rage Powder moves before Prankster and can draw any of Liepard’s shenanigans to itself, allowing its partner to do things unabated.

Overview
Magmar is an unconventional redirector which first saw usage at Worlds in 2013, piloted by future world champions Sejun & Wolfe. Although it lacks Vital Spirit like its modern brethren to stand up against Amoonguss, Flame Body gives Magmar more value against physical attackers who make contact, such as Fake Out users, Tornadus-Incarnate, and U-Turning Landorus-Therians. Although a Gen 1 NFE, Eviolite transforms its mediocre defensive stats into something to be marveled, and it has a Special Attack stat that is capable of threatening common Steel-types (and Amoonguss) without much investment.

Set - Bulky Follow Me
Magmar @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 100 SpD / 76 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat / Flamethrower / Heat Wave
- Follow Me
- Helping Hand
- Will-O-Wisp

Survives an Adamant LO Iron Fist Hammer Arm from Conkeldurr
76 Speed EVs lets Magmar outspeed 252 Speed Adamant Hitmontop, allowing it to redirect its Fake Out and potentially burn the Hitmontop.
Remaining EVs are dumped into SpD, which always survives Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor and a Life Orb Muddy Water from Kingdra in the Rain, among other hits.
The attacking option for Magmar is largely inconsequential. Overheat does the most burst damage and can threaten an even slightly weakened Metagross or Amoonguss, while Flamethrower and Heat Wave let Magmar deal more consistent damage over multiple turns.

Other Options

Confuse Ray lets Magmar disrupt attackers in a different, albeit more RNG dependent, way.
Magmar has a base 100 Special Attack, and with minimal investment it can OHKO Metagross with Overheat.

Common Partners

Offensive Jellicent sets deal with two of Magmar’s biggest threats in Landorus-Therian and Heatran, while Magmar helps Jellicent set up Trick Room.
Dragon-types like Hydreigon and Latios synergize well with Magmar. Magmar redirects threatening attacks from Tornadus and deals with Metagross, while the dragons can threaten Heatran and bulky Water-types which threaten Magmar.

Successful Compositions

Sejun’s Top 8 Worlds Team - Report

Checks & Counters

Water-types, rain teams especially.
Magmar is unable to do anything to Heatran while it 2HKOs Magmar with Earth Power.
Landorus-Therian deals considerable damage with Earthquake.

Overview
Mamoswine has been an excellent anti-meta option since 2012. It has among the best offensive typing in the format, as Ground and Ice hits more Pokemon for super effective damage than any other two types. They also cover each other quite well, as Pokemon which are immune to Ground are often weak to Ice, and Pokemon which resist Ice are usually weak to Ground. Mamoswine also has a favorable stat distribution, as it is fast enough, bulky enough, and certainly more than strong enough to make its presence felt during a match.

Set - Standard Offensive
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash / Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Protect / Filler

Icicle Spear is chosen over Icicle Crash for a few reasons. Icicle Spear is expected to do more damage than Icicle Crash (it deals more damage when hitting 4 or 5 times, and it cannot miss). In addition, it circumvents Pokemon holding a Focus Sash or Yache Berry by hitting multiple times.
Earthquake is Mamoswine’s secondary STAB of choice. Ice and Ground is fantastic offensive typing, hitting several top threats for super effective damage.
Ice Shard lets Mamoswine pick up KOs on low HP Pokemon (such as if you only hit 2x with Icicle Spear).
Choice Scarf sets should drop Protect for a coverage move such as Rock Slide and can consider dropping Ice Shard for Icicle Crash for the flinch chance.

Other Options

A bulky Choice Scarf variant was used to win Worlds in 2013
Although largely unproven, Mamoswine does learn dangerous moves such as Endeavor and Substitute. The former takes advantage of its Focus Sash and the latter its ability to force switches to try and better position itself against an incoming threat.

Common Partners

Thundurus makes an excellent partner for Mamoswine, threatening the bulky Water-types which can wall Mamoswine and potentially threatening Fighting-types with Hidden Power Flying.
Strong attackers like Latios and Tornadus cover several of Mamoswine’s weaknesses by muscling through its threats.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Bulky Water-types, especially Rotom-Wash, resist its Ice-attacks, take negligible damage from Earthquake, and can easily dispose of Mamoswine with their STAB moves.
Conkeldurr deals significant damage with Mach Punch, OHKOs with its other Fighting-type STAB, and is more than bulky enough to shrug off Mamoswine’s attacks.
A Scarf Mamoswine locked into one of its STABs can find itself in a punishable position by several Pokemon it would otherwise threaten, such as Heatran, Metagross, and Landorus-Therian.

Overview
Metagross is consistently one of the most used Pokemon in the format, and for many valid reasons. Pre-nerf Steel-typing gives Metagross several valuable resistances enhanced by its excellent natural bulk. In addition, Metagross has a diverse enough movepool to threaten a multitude of Pokemon with its monstrous base 135 Attack. Because of these traits, there are few games where Metagross feels like a bad bring.

Set - Standard
Metagross @ Psychic Gem / Steel Gem / Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Bullet Punch / Earthquake
- Protect

This Metagross EV spread is uninspired, but it is more than sufficient thanks to Metagross’s stats. It is 3HKOd by opposing Metagross Earthquake, and max attack lets it threaten much of the metagame.
Meteor Mash is Metagross’s strongest Steel-type attacking move and has an excellent second effect (20% chance Attack boost). One activation can easily turn a game on its head.
Zen Headbutt hits more targets for neutral damage than Steel, and most importantly hits key threats like Amoonguss and Conkeldurr for super effective damage.
Metagross has several viable items depending on what its team needs Metagross to do. Psychic Gem lets Metagross OHKO Amoonguss, Steel Gem to OHKO Latios and Tyranitar, while Lum Berry prevents status effects or enables self-swagger.
Bullet Punch for guaranteed damage before being KOed, as well as finishing off low HP Pokémon. Non-Gem Meteor Mash + Bullet Punch combines to KO Latios.
Earthquake to potentially hit Metagross and Heatran.

Other Options

Iron Head cannot miss and has high chance for second effect (30% chance flinch)
Ice Punch to hit the numerous top tier threats weak to Ice.
Substitute + Leftovers.
Shuca Berry or Occa Berry allows Metagross to flip one of its bad matchups, in Landorus-Therian and Heatran respectively. Doing so requires teaching Ice Punch or Earthquake, however.
Speed EVs on Metagross can be useful but there is no “standard” amount to allocate. Investing to outspeed zero EV Cresselia and Rotom formes is worth considering, but so is preserving the power and bulk of Metagross.

Common Partners

Rotom-Wash + Metagross is a tried and true pairing, with Rotom threatening both Heatran and Landorus-Therian and Metagross eliminating Amoonguss and Latios for Rotom.
Cresselia can support Metagross in numerous ways. It can Swagger a Lum Berry set, provide speed support via Trick Room, Icy Wind, or Thunder Wave, threaten Landorus-Therian with Ice Beam or Heatran with Hidden Power Ground, and even Skill Swap Levitate onto Metagross.
Thundurus-Incarniate can do similar shenanigans.

Successful Compositions

Mojo Mogo Casa House - Report

Checks & Counters

Heatran resists both STABs and 2HKOs with Heat Wave. it can freely click Substitute in front of Metagross.
Rain teams. Metagross is nearly OHKO’d by a Rain-boosted Muddy Water and does not meaningfully threaten back with Zen Headbutt
Landorus-Therian survives any (non-Gem boosted) attack + Bullet Punch and 2HKOs Metagross with Earthquake.

Overview
Politoed is the only Drizzle Pokemon in the format, and because this is generation 5, weather is permanent. Many Pokemon can benefit from Rain’s numerous effects, such as Steel and Grass-types defensively, but also Water and Electric-types offensively. Politoed’s value does not end with its ability, however, as it possesses great special bulk and a good enough Special Attack to potentially threaten OHKOs with Rain-boosted Water-type attacks. It also has a very deep supporting movepool, enabling all sorts of strategies outside of just Rain.

Set - Bulky Support
Politoed @ Wacan Berry / Sitrus Berry
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Icy Wind
- Helping Hand
- Protect

The defensive EVs let Politoed survive a Hammer Arm from Life Orb max Attack Conkeldurr.
Remaining EVs were dumped into Special Defense, which is more than enough to survive a Draco Meteor from Latios.
0 Speed IVs lets Politoed be slower than 31 Speed IV Tyranitar, ensuring Rain is the active weather effect and not sand.
With a Wacan Berry, Politoed can survive Electric Gem boosted Thunderbolts from the Thundurus formes, while a Sitrus Berry increases Politoed’s longevity.
Scald in the rain does respectable damage - it has a chance to OHKO Landorus-Therian for example - and has the game changing secondary effect of inflicting burn 30% of the time.
An Ice-type move is useful as many of the checks to Rain teams are weak to them, such as Latios, Amoonguss, and Thundurus-Incarnate. Ice Beam provides the immediate damage, while Icy Wind can support the rest of the team.
Helping Hand in conjunction with Rain and a Life Orb helps turn Kingdra with its pitiful base 95 Special Attack into an incredibly dangerous threat.

Other Options

Politoed can learn other useful support moves such as Encore and Perish Song (with or without Gothitelle) to support its team.
Water Gem Hydro Pump lets Politoed become a legitimate offensive threat, capable of OHKOing Metagross, Scrafty, and potentially bulky Thundurus-Incarnate.
Rain Dance can be teched to try and counter a weather setter switching in or a manual Sunny Day user.

Common Partners

Kingdra is reliant upon rain to be a legitimate offensive threat
Any Steel-type not named Heatran greatly appreciates having its Fire-type weakness removed or mitigated

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Amoonguss is not particularly threatened by Politoed + Kingdra and can freely Spore
Cresselia cannot be quickly disposed of by most Rain teams and can setup Trick Room or click Sunny Day to hamper Rain’s offensive pressure
Thundurus-Incarnate can rain on Politoed’s parade with Thunder Wave
Gastrodon walls the Rain-mode and can easily become an offensive threat after a Storm Drain boost

Overview
Rhydon is a strong anti-meta option in VGC 2013. The rare ability Lightning Rod makes Rhydon a premier counter to the omnipresent Thundurus-Incarnate, as well as other Electric-types such as Thundurus-Therian, the rare Zapdos, and other Thunder Wave spreaders such as Cresselia. Rock/Ground-typing gives Rhydon strong offensive coverage, especially when supplemented by moves like Megahorn or Fire Punch. The combination of these traits and the excellent bulk provided by Eviolite allows Rhydon to thrive as an offensive support on primarily (but not exclusively) Trick Room focused teams.

Set - Bulky Attacker
Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 212 HP / 156 Atk / 140 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Drill Run / Earthquake
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Substitute / Megahorn
- Protect

The HP EVs give Rhydon a HP stat of 207, 16n-1 to minimize Hail damage. If Rhydon is used on a team without Hail consider using different HP investment.
The Special Defence investment allows Rhydon to always survive Timid Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor.
156 Attack EVs is a +2 stat point jump and lets Rhydon OHKO Thundurus--Incarnate with Stone Edge and potentially 2HKO Cresselia with Megahorn (depending on their Defence EVs or item).
Minimum Speed with a Brave nature to best advantage of Trick Room.
Moveset is flexible but Rhydon typically runs Drill Run to have a single target Ground move. Substitute is effective on Trick Room teams to punish defensive plays made to stall the Trick Room turns.

Other Options

Fire Punch KOs Scizor and Escavalier, Ice Punch can net a surprise KO on Landorus-Therian and Superpower can OHKO Hydreigon more reliably than Megahorn.
Helping Hand offers support on teams without Trick Room, however Rhydon is usually better off dealing damage itself.

Common Partners

The ideal partner for Rhydon is Jellicent, who is weak to Electric and sets Trick Room for Rhydon.
Any Water or Flying-type can benefit from the support of Rhydon, and most have good offensive/defensive synergy with it. For example the Rain core of Politoed + Kingdra appreciates Rhydon’s ability to redirect Thundurus-Incarnate’s Thunder Wave, as does Tornadus-Incarnate whose Defiant ability dissuades opposing Intimidate which can neuter the damage output of Rhydon.
Rain counters such as Abomasnow help to cover for Rhydon’s abysmal Water-type weakness.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Rhydon is slow with a lot of weaknesses, anything with a strong super effective move will be a threat to Rhydon if it is out of position.
Rhydon struggles against Rotom-Wash who despite being an Electric-type can threaten a KO with Hydro Pump.
Intimidate or burn cut Rhydon’s damage output considerably.

Placeholder

Overview
Rotom-Wash is in the conversation for being the best bulky Water-type in the format. Due to its typing and ability, Rotom-Wash is only weak to Grass, an offensive typing seldomly used. Water and Electric hit several top threats for super effective damage, and will hit most things for at least neutral damage. Rotom-Wash has a great stat spread for whatever it needs to do, and although its mediocre speed may leave something to be desired, its faster than the majority of physical attackers in the format and can potentially burn them before they get a chance to attack.

Set - Bulky Support
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Light Screen
- Will-O-Wisp

Survives Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor. Remaining EVs dumped into Defense.
Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump are Rotom’s STAB moves of choice. Hydro Pump hits some top meta threats such as Heatran and Tyranitar for super effective damage, while Thunderbolt consistently damages targets for neutral damage.
Light Screen and Will-O-Wisp allow Rotom-Wash to mitigate damage from both sides of the damage spectrum.

Other Options

Rotom’s 105 Base Special Attack can be leveraged on an offensive set, with either a Gem or Choice item.
Rotom-Wash seldom carries Protect, making it prone to being double targeted. Adding Protect can catch opponents off guard and turn matchups.
Low base HP makes it an ideal user for Pain Split, targeting high base HP Pokemon such as Cresselia and Amoonguss.
Reflect as to not have to rely on the often inconsistent “Will-O-Miss.”
Electroweb lets Rotom-Wash provide speed control for its team.

Common Partners

Metagross and Rotom-Wash cover each other’s weaknesses and form a tried and true defensive core.
Cresselia and Rotom-Wash have neutral matchups against most leads.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Latios resists both STABs and can potentially OHKO with Draco Meteor, depending on EV spreads.
Amoonguss is not threatened by anything Rotom-Wash can do, allowing it to freely click Rage Powder or Spore. It also can deal meaningful damage with Giga Drain.
Thundurus-Incarnate generates a lot of value by clicking Thunder Wave into the Rotom-Wash slot.

Overview
Compared to the other commonly used Steel-types of the format, Scizor sits on the frailer side of things, however its ample resistances are more than sufficient for it to switch in and threaten the opponent. What distinguishes Scizor from its peers is its access to Swords Dance and STAB Technician boosted priority Bullet Punch, which lets it sweep teams if positioned properly. Scizor’s Bug-typing is a good secondary STAB, letting it threaten the many Psychic-types of the format.

Set - Swords Dance Sweeper
Scizor @ Steel Gem
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Swords Dance
- Protect

252 HP for general bulk, max attack to threaten as many things as possible. Speed is largely irrelevant since you will almost always be clicking Bullet Punch.
Bullet Punch & Bug Bite are both boosted by Technician. Bullet Punches priority can make Scizor difficult to deal with without trading and Bug Bite can remove important berries used by the opponent.
Swords Dance turns Scizor into an offensive monster, threatening even Pokemon which resist both of its STABs.

Other Options

Flying Gem Acrobatics lets Scizor OHKO Amoonguss.
Scizor can use Tailwind to help support its team Tailwind (and let itself use Bug Bite more effectively).
A defensive item like Lum Berry to protect from status or enable a self-Swagger.
Speed EVs to outspeed investment Rotom and Cresselia and Bug Bite them before they can move have been used effectively as well.

Common Partners

Water-types which cover Scizor’s Fire-type weakness

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Rotom-W quad resists Bullet Punch and can burn Scizor before it can Bug Bite.
Heatran resists both STABs and OHKOs Scizor with Heat Wave.
To a lesser extent, Volcarona survives a +2 Steel Gem BP, can proc Flame Body, and OHKOs with any Fire-type attack.

Overview
Scrafty’s natural bulk, ability, typing, and movepool make it a natural choice to support many teams. Access to Fake Out gives it the ability to assist a wide variety of partners, which only further enhances its ability to continually pivot and stack Intimidate against the opposing team. Fighting/Dark has few weaknesses and a useful immunity to Psychic, forcing many of the common Psychic-types to struggle with knocking it out. However, these many useful traits come at the cost of damage output. Scrafty does not hit hard enough to OHKO Pokemon without a boosting item, forcing it to chip down enemies or focus on supporting the rest of the team. Despite a useful set of defensive tools, its lack of offensive presence always remains a consideration when being used.

Set - Bulky Offensive Support
Scrafty @ Dark Gem
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Detect
- Fake Out

36 Speed EVs allows Scrafty to outspeed 4 Speed EV Tyranitar
Max Attack EVs helps Scrafty become a meaningful threat that cannot be ignored
Remaining EVs are dumped into HP, although they can be meaningfully distributed into Special Defense to help survive key hits.
Dark Gem lets Scrafty OHKO Latios and deal respectable damage to Cresselia and targets it hits for neutral damage.
Drain Punch is Scrafty’s most reliable STAB, and synergizes with its low base HP to heal for significantly more HP % than other Pokemon.
Fake Out with Intimidate makes Scrafty a reliable pivot Pokémon.

Other Options

Taunt to deny Amoonguss and Trick Room teams from setting up.
Lum Berry to prevent Spore and Will-o-Wisp.
Chople Berry for increased survivability vs. Conkeldurr.
Low Kick and Fighting Gem can OHKO Heatran and Hydreigon.
Super Fang lets Scrafty deal at most 50% to any target.
Snarl lets Scrafty reduce the damage output of the opponent’s Special Attackers, but it won’t be dealing any meaningful damage in the process.

Common Partners

Jellicent often requires support to set Trick Room effectively, and Scrafty can usually provide this in the form of Fake Out. This has lead to them being the most common lead for Hard Trick Room strategies.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Landorus-Therian intimidates Scrafty, weakening an already wimpy Pokemon, and is not threatened by any of Scrafty’s moves.
Conkeldurr OHKOs Scrafty even after an Intimidate unless it carries a Chople Berry, but Scrafty is then KOd by the follow up Mach Punch.
Tornadus is given a +1 Attack boost due to its Defiant ability and OHKOs Scrafty even without its Flying Gem.

Overview
Suicune is one of the premier support options in the format - it is one of the few viable Tailwind setters and is a solid check to most weather based strategies. It vies with several others for the title of “best bulky Water in the format,” and it held back only by its lack of an ability. Being pure-Water is great defensive typing, with only two weaknesses, and has great neutral coverage as well. Compounded with Suicune’s fantastic bulk, it can sit on the field unbothered for many turns each match. Suicune’s damage output is mediocre at best, but every turn it can attack is a chance to get a Scald burn or lower the opponents’ Special Attack with Snarl. Much like Cresselia, Suicune will often find itself in endgames where the opponent is unable to muscle through it and it wins the war of attrition.

Set - Bulky Support
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Icy Wind
- Snarl
- Tailwind / Roar

Suicune often has the opportunity to fish for Scald burns, which are hugely disruptive to the opponent, dealing ⅛ damage every turn and halving the damage of physical attackers. Scald also grants Suicune a reliable way to thaw from the freeze status, which can be valuable as Suicune is an Ice resist and may pivot into Ice Beams and Blizzards.
Ice Beam allows for Suicune to deal substantial damage to common threats such as the Genies, Dragon-types, Amoonguss, Breloom and others, while Icy Wind provides a method of speed control that is not vulnerable to Taunt.
Snarl is a form of damage mitigation which can dampen the special attacks used by the opponent. It is highly effective against Rain based strategies and gives Suicune a move to disrupt the opponent even in positions where it cannot deal substantial damage.
Tailwind is an effective tool against more offensive teams and most Rain teams. Suicune is a good tailwind setter due to its excellent bulk and typing, as well as a Speed stat which benefits from Tailwind itself.
Roar offers a check to Trick Room and Shadow Tag strategies which can otherwise be troubling for Suicune. It also works in combination with an ally’s sleep move to reset sleep turns and disrupt enemy positioning.
Sitrus Berry allows for Suicune to immediately recover a significant amount of HP after being targeted by a high powered move such as Dragon Gem Draco Meteor.
Calm Nature enables Suicune to more effectively check Rain strategies.
236 Speed EVs means that Suicune outspeeds Jolly Breloom which allows it to turn the tides with Ice Beam, alternatively running additional Special Defense EVs can be useful.
Suicune should always be shiny to bluff Sheer Cold and Extreme Speed.

Other Options

Suicune can use a multitude of items effectively. Leftovers when paired with Protect can often give it more HP recovery over the course of a game. Wacan Berry lets it better stand up against the Electric-types of the format. Suicune can also use a ChestoRest set.
Calm Mind sets have proven effective, making Suciune not only bulkier but potentially dangerous offensively.
Sheer Cold takes advantage of passive teams and/or Pokemon unable to muscle through Suicune (or vice versa) and fishes for OHKOs.

Common Partners

Suicune has excellent synergy with Landorus-Therian who appreciates Suicune’s resistances to Water and Ice whereas Suicune values Landorus-Therian threatening Grass and Electric-types.
Suicune is often used with powerful attackers who can benefit from Tailwind speed control and the damage mitigation Suicune provides, such as Conkeldurr, Metagross, Heatran, Latios, Hydreigon and Breloom.

Successful Compositions

Alcana’s Balance Team - Report

Checks & Counters

Tailwind Suicune loathes Prankster Thundurus, who can spread Paralysis which cuts speed by ¼, outpacing Tailwind by a factor of 2 and can deal significant damage to Suicune.
Tailwind Suicune often struggles against Trick Room based strategies featuring Life Orb Conkeldurr. Suicune usually only gets one opportunity to fish for a Scald burn before Conkeldurr breaks through.
Suicune lacking Roar is ineffective as a check against rain teams which include a Perish Trap option, as it has very low damage output, when building your rain matchup with Suicune ensure that you have ways to beat Gothitelle.
Suicune is vulnerable to Amoonguss who takes relatively low damage from Ice Beam and threatens Spore
Thundurus-Therian also can threaten Suicune tremendously.

Overview
Thundurus-Incarnate is considered one of the best Pokemon in the formats, and thanks to pre-nerf Paralysis and Prankster, it's certainly one of the most annoying Pokemon to play against. Despite a mediocre defensive stat spread, it is somehow bulky enough to stay on the field for far longer than it should, while Thundurus-Incarnate’s base 125 Special Attack and 111 Speed make it threatening enough offensively even without any investment. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of playing against Thundurus-Incarnate is that the options to eliminate it as a threat, in builder or in the battle, are often easily countered and feel suboptimal.

Set - Bulky Support
Thundurus (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 4 SpA / 204 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger / Taunt / Hidden Power Ice
- Swagger / Taunt / Hidden Power Ice

The Special Defense investment ensures it survives Dragon Gem Draco Meteor from Timid Latios 100% of the time.
28 Speed EVs is the minimum needed to outspeed max Speed Breloom.
The remaining EVs can be allocated however one likes - this set dumps them into Defense - but putting the remaining EVs into Speed is very helpful in the mirror.
Thunderbolt without investment does good chip damage due to its base 125 Special Attack.
Thunder Wave is the calling card of bulky Thundurus-Incarnate, allowing even your slowest Pokemon to move first, fully paralysing the opponent’s Pokemon and making them lose their turn 25% of the time, and synergizing with moves with a chance to flinch, most infamously Landorus-Therian’s Rock Slide.
The remaining two moves can be any combination of Taunt, Swagger, and Hidden Power Ice, depending on what your team needs.
Taunt for Amoonguss, Cresselia, and potentially other Thundurus.
Swagger to synergize with Thunder Wave, but also to potentially self-Swagger your own Lum Berry Pokemon.
Hidden Power Ice gives Thundurus a meaningful way to hit frail Ice-weaks like Landorus-Therian and Breloom.

Other Options

Seriously, just click Thunder Wave.
Hidden Power Flying lets Thundurus-Incarnate hit things like Volcarona and Conkeldurr harder at the cost of some stat points.
Nasty Plot turns Thundurus-Incarnate into an extremely dangerous sweeper.
Substitute can be used to block status and gem-boosted attacks in exchange for 25% of its HP.
A physical Defiant set takes advantage of Landorus-Therian being one of the most common Pokemon and common switch-in due to its Electric-type immunity, although physical sets have no way to meaningfully threaten Landorus-Therian.

Common Partners

Because paralysis reduces speed by one fourth in Gen 5, every Pokemon can take advantage of Thundurus’s support.
Landorus-Therian infamously synergizes with Thundurus-Incarnate, letting Landorus EQ freely and having the ability to combine Thunder Wave with Rock Slide to prevent the opponent from ever attacking.
Hitmontop or Scrafty greatly add to Thundurus’s bulk with Intimidate and enable Thundurus with Fake Out support.

Successful Compositions

Gebebo’s 2nd Place Worlds Team - Report

Checks & Counters

Landorus-Therian will beat any non-Hidden Power Ice set regardless of its Rock-type move. If they have Stone Edge, they are always expected to win the matchup, especially if they have a defensive item.
Opposing Thundurus-Incarnate can Taunt it.
Electric-immunes such as Thundurus-Therian and Gastrodon can switch in on a Thunder Wave or Thunderbolt and threaten it with their own attacks.
Tyranitar, although it can be paralyzed, quickly disposes of Thundurus with Rock Slide or even Stone Edge.

Overview
Thundurus-Therian is the one dimensional forme of Thundurus, but it excels at its primary function: outputting damage. In addition, its ability, Volt Absorb, makes it an excellent counter to Thundurus-Incarnate. Although outclassed by its Incarnate forme, teams which do not need Thundurus to provide speed control by spamming Thunder Wave but do need damage output could benefit from the addition of Thundurus-Therian.

Set - Special Attacker
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Electric Gem / Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Protect / Filler

Thundurus-Therian’s base 101 Speed should be fully invested so that it can outspeed Landorus-Therian, Volcarona, and Hydreigon, among other Pokemon.
Thunderbolt is the best STAB move, while Hidden Power Ice compliments it wonderfully, OHKOing Landorus-Therian and 2HKOing Amoonguss.
Volt Switch allows the genie to reposition while still dealing impressive damage.
Choice Sets should replace Protect with one of many filler moves.

Other Options

Filler is your coverage move of choice, but all of these will be rarely useful compared to Thunderbolt:
- Discharge pairs well with Landorus-Therian for big spread damage potential.
- Focus Blast hits Tyranitar and Hydreigon especially hard.
- Dark Pulse threatens a 20% flinch chance and deals marginally more damage to Creesselia and Latios.
- Grass Knot hits Tyranitar, Mamoswine, Rhyperior, etc. for consistently high damage.
- Sleep Talk is a useful tech to answer Amoonguss.
- Taunt.
Hidden Power [Flying] is better against the format generally, but it still 2HKOs Amoonguss (even with a Choice Specs) and fails to OHKO one of its biggest threats in Landorus-Therian.

Common Partners

Landorus-Therian is a safe lead partner due to Intimidate checking most Ground-types and Earthquake being a safe attack paired with Thundurus-Therian. In addition, you have multiple Turn 1 options due to not only switching but two pivot moves in Volt Switch and U-Turn.

Successful Compositions

Alcana’s Balance Team - Report

Checks & Counters

Latios OHKOs Thundurus-Therian with Dragon Gem Draco Meteor and resists Thunderbolt.
Landorus-Therian with Stone Edge is expected to beat Thundurus-Therian regardless of its item.
Common Choice Scarf users like Tyranitar and Mamoswine can OHKO.

Overview
Tornadus is a superb physical attacking option in VGC 2013. Thanks to its Defiant ability, Tornadus looks to take advantage of the omnipresent Intimidate Pokemon to get a +1 Attack boost and sweep teams. In addition, Tornadus benefits from the damage stacking interaction of Flying Gem and Acrobatics, giving it one of the strongest attacks in the format. Flying has good neutral coverage and it is easy to create a team which is weak to Tornadus, especially if it has a boost. Tornadus also has at its disponal a good enough supporting movepool, letting it enable its team or disrupt the enemy.

Set - Defiant Attacker
Tornadus (M) @ Flying Gem
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Superpower / U-Turn / Taunt / Tailwind
- Superpower / U-Turn / Taunt / Tailwind
- Protect

The most basic of EV spreads for Tornadus is its most optimal one, as a Jolly nature and max Speed EVs is required to outspeed Latios, while 252 Attack EVs are required to OHKO Latios.
Flying Gem Acrobatics OHKOs several top meta threats such as Amoonguss, Conkeldurr, & Latios, and deals significant damage when hitting for neutral damage.
The rest of the set can be versatile and is really what the team benefits most from. Tailwind provides speed control, Taunt can potentially shut down Trick Room, U-Turn good for pivoting and scouting, and Superpower allows Tornadus to hit Flying-reists for neutral or super effective damage such as Rotom-W, Metagross, Tyranitar and Heatran respectively.

Other Options

Prankster with Substitute, while having significantly lower damage output against teams with Intimidate, does allows Tornadus to have a better MU against Thundurus-Incarnate as well as Amoonguss when under the effect of Trick Room, as utilized by Sejun Park in his T8 Worlds team.
Smack Down when paired alongside a Landorus-Therian makes for an effective T1 opening, beating Rotom-W & both Thundurus formes.
It has a decent enough Special Attack that Heat Wave can be used as a way to hit the quad Fire-weaks such as Scizor and Ferrothorn which would otherwise beat you.

Common Partners

Breloom + Tornadus-Incarnate is an offensive oriented version of Breloom + Togekiss, with both Pokemon capable of threatening several top meta threats while enabling the other.
Tornadus supports Landorus-Therian by checking several of its biggest threats (namely opposing Landorus-Therians). The two have neutral or positive matchups against several common leads in the format.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Thundurus-Incarnate and Rotom-Wash resist Acrobatics. Thundurus will always OHKOs with Thunderbolt while Rotom-Wash can depending on its EV spread.
Even with Superpower, Tornadus does not particularly threaten the many Steel-types in the format.
Opposing Tornadus is capable of OHKOing and you will be speedtied, leaving you with only a 50% chance of winning the mirror before accounting for outside intervention.

Overview
Tyranitar is a staple of the VGC 2013 metagame. Its incredible stat spread gives it fantastic natural bulk and even better offensive potential. One of Tyranitar’s biggest assets is its ability: Sand Stream, which changes the weather to a sandstorm which gives Tyranitar a 50% Special Defense boost while also dealing 1/16 damage per turn to any non-Rock, Ground, or Steel-type Pokemon, breaking Focus Sashes and potentially putting Pokemon into KO ranges of subsequent attacks. Tyranitar’s typing can be polarizing, as it is weak to 7 types (including a 4x weakness), but it has 6 resistances of varying relevance and a very consequential immunity to Psychic-type attacks. In addition, Tyranitar two STABs hit several top tier threats for super effective damage. Potentially Tyranitar can be troublesome, but if piloted effectively it can be extremely dangerous.

Set - Choice Scarf
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Low Kick / Ice Punch

Choice Scarf Tyranitar is designed to catch an opponent by surprise and pick up a turn 1 OHKO on a major threat on a fast Pokemon they presumed was safe.
Max Speed to outspeed Latios and Tornadus and OHKO them with its STAB moves.
Rock Slide has the potential to flinch the opponent, in addition to dealing respectable damage when coming off of Tyranitar’s large Attack stat.
Stone Edge OHKOs bulky Thundurus-Incarnate
Low Kick hits Heatran, Hydreigon, and opposing Tyranitars harder, while Ice Punch lets Tyranitar catch a Landorus-Therian switching in for a KO.

Set - Bulky Attacker
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Atk / 44 Def
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Low Kick
- Protect

Defensive EVs allow it to survive a Meteor Mash from max Attack Metagross
Remaining EVs dumped into Attack
Can consider running minimum speed to underspeed Politoed and ensure Sand is the active field effect in a weather war.
Chople Berry lets it survive a Fighting-type attack
Rock Slide is Tyranitar’s preferred Rock-type STAB, as it still deals great damage and when paired with any form of speed control, can fish for flinches.
Crunch lets Tyranitar dispose of cornerstones of the meta such as Cresselia and Latios, while hitting Metagross, Rotom-Wash, and others for neutral damage.
Low Kick gives Tyranitar a matchup into Hydreigon, Heatran, and opposing Tyranitar.

Other Options

Fire Punch or Ice Punch to hit Metagross and Landorus-Therian respectively
Fling Iron Ball is capable of OHKOing Cresselia

Common Partners

Amoonguss resists Water and Fighting for Tyranitar while Tyranitar dispatches of the Fire, Flying, and Psychic-types which threaten Amoonguss
Thundurus-Incarnate makes an excellent partner for Tyranitar. Thunder Wave lets even slow bulky sets move first and fish for Rock Slide flinches, and it threatens Landorus-Therian and Water-types which can KO Tyranitar.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Conkeldurr OHKOs non-Chople sets with Priority Mach Punch and resists both of Tyranitar’s STAB moves.
Metagross resists Rock Slide and can OHKO even bulky sets with Meteor Mash.
Landorus-Therian threatens Tyranitar with Earthquake and lowers its damage output with Intimidate.

Overview
Due to its unique typing, Volcarona is a dangerous anti-meta option. Bug and Fire hit the ubiquitous Steel and Psychic-type Pokemon for super effective damage, and its base 100 Speed and 135 Special Attack are excellent compliments to one another. While Volcarona’s typing makes it an offensive threat, its typing can just as easily make it a defensive liability. Volarona is 4x weak to the ever prevalent Rock Slide, often used by Choice Scarf Pokemon or on teams with dedicated speed control. This leads to Volcarona having polarizing matchups. It is likely to check a few Pokemon on the opponent's team and by checked by the rest.

Set - Quiver Dance Sweeper
Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 212 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Heat Wave
- Quiver Dance
- Protect

This set aims to sweep teams with a Quiver Dance, making an already potent offensive threat all the more deadly.
44 HP and 4 Def lets Volcarona survive a Rock Slide from Adamant Landorus-Therian after it has been intimidated.
244 Speed EVs lets it outspeed Choice Scarf Hydreigon at +1
Remaining EVs were dumped into Special Attack.
Lum Berry is all but required in order to buy it an extra turn against Thundurus-Incarnate.
Heat Wave and Bug Buzz are the preferred attacking moves for Volcarona on all sets, dealing large amounts of damage to many Pokemon.

Other Options

Overheat lets Volcarona OHKO Amoonguss
Bug Gem leverages Bug Buzz’s great neutral coverage and turns it into a deadly attack.
Lum Berry sets with Rage Powder can support its team in a variety of ways.
Giga Drain can potentially flip matchups against bulky Waters, and give Volcarona some longevity.

Common Partners

Hitmontop is the quintessential partner for Volcarona, especially if using a Quiver Dance set. Hitmontop provides Intimidate to offset its partner’s abysmal Defense stat and Fake Out support (and potentially Feint or Helping Hand) enables Volcarona to get off a Quiver Dance and then deal significant damage after the fact.
Scarf Landorus-Therian checks or threatens most of Volcarona’s threats, although it exacerbates the Rain weakness.

Successful Compositions

Checks & Counters

Heatran resists Bug and is immune to its Fire-type attacks.
Rain teams greatly reduce Volcarona’s damage potential and their sweepers will easily OHKO Volcarona.
Tornadus outspeeds and OHKOs with Acrobatics.
Thundurus-Incarnate’s Thunder Wave turns Volcarona into a sitting duck.
What checks Volcarona is also largely dependent on its EV spread. Latios outspeeds on turn 1 and can OHKO non-bulky sets with Dragon Gem Draco Meteor. Slower sets without proper defensive investment can find themselves OHKOd by a Draco Meteor from a speedy Hydreigon. Landorus-Therian, particularly Choice Scarf variants, are also a major threat. Rock Slide OHKOs unless intimidated and Stone Edge OHKOs at -1.

Resource VGC 2013 Pokemon Analyses

Lucien Lachance

ILOVEMYWIFE9

Lucien Lachance

ILOVEMYWIFE9