VGC VGC 2016 Ray - Toge RMT

[Tweetie]

Since the new format started I was really excited to use Mega-Rayquaza. Being able to Mega-Evolve and not even need to waiste an item slot seemed pretty sweet to me. Then I looked for a good support mon to send out with Rayquaza. I quickly found that Togekiss provided everything I needed. The rest of the team was just me filling in the blanks with some pokemon I think are well positioned and cover up some holes. I've made it to as high as 1400 with this team and wanted some feedback to put it even higher up the ladder. Still looking for better ways to answer Kyogre and Groudon.

Shen-Ron (Rayquaza-Mega) @ Life Orb
Ability: Delta Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Draco Meteor
- Extreme Speed
- Protect

I originally tried a Dragon Dance set, however I found that you really don't need it. Rather than run Dragon Dance I just went for Mixed as Draco Meteor blows up just about every Dragon type and even on nuetral hits if they are uninvested in bulk. Extreme Speed makes sure you can get a hit off through pretty much everything but a fake out or para hax. Mega Ray is a monster and protects Togekiss with Delta Stream.

Togeparty (Togekiss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 4 SpA / 116 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Follow Me
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Magic Coat

Togekiss brings the hax to the party. It provides a wonderful check to Smeargle and makes them either think twice about dropping a dark void and can also disrupt any speed shenanigans going on. Sometimes you run into problems though when they have an electric type and a groudon out and Togekiss just sits their air slashing, but it's worth it as Follow Me lets you just use your Rayquaza or your other lead to blow stuff up while dodging your ice and dragon weaknesses, statuses, or sucker punch. The longer Togekiss lives the more likely you win as the flinch hax she provides can shut down a pokemon indefinitely. Togekiss is also a tank and can shake off 2-3 attacks before biting it.

Rock Lobster (Groudon-Primal) @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
- Eruption
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power
- Protect

I designed the spread by doing calcs until I could have my groudon ohko another groudon with Earth Power. My team was having big issues when I lost the speed tie not being able to recover. This helps a lot as on an even setting you live with 5-10% and just blow up their groudon. I may switch to Modest if I see people start using bulkier sets.

Tank-n-Spank (Aegislash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
- King's Shield
- Sacred Sword

I needed a good way to check a +2 Xerneas. Aegislash does that quite handily. Rest of the set is just their to hit stuff hard after he does his job. I sometimes swap out Sacred Sword for Wide Guard if I need extra help against Groudon's. Now that people are moving more towards special groudon I have found having more coverage moves helps more. Aegislash is really good at closing out a game with his priority and bulk along with okay damage. Leftovers helps him live longer and tank more hits. Weakness Policy is another option, but people tend to be able to blow him up in one shot sometimes if you let a big fire attack through. So I stick with Leftovers

Goku (Blaziken) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 28 Atk / 232 SpA / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

I'm using Expert Belt as I wanted to use Life Orb for Rayquaza and Blaziken is mainly their to clean up certain threats. Blaziken is able to just blow up Kanga's ohko the main intimidaters with HP Ice. I chose 30 HP and 30 Def as he is only their to blow stuff up and can only tank minor hits. Sacrificing Speed or Attack hurts the amount of targets he can ohko. This set up can outspeed Scarf Lando at +1 while still one shotting Kanga, Mawile, Ferro, uninvested aegislash, Salamence, and Lando T. He can also ohko a lot of other threats if Sun is up.

Cleaner (Rotom-Wash) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 44 HP / 252 SpA / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

I needed a good way to check Kyogre and Scarf Rotom seemed to do it quite handily. Scarf Rotom can tank a lot of hits while being able to 2hko most Kyogres. Also being able to disrupt random shenanigans with Trick is nice as well. For example making a Xerneas use Geomancy over and over ;)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2016-338213961
Good Example of the power of Rayquaza and Togekiss leading.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2016-338229202
Example of Smeargle getting wrecked

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2016-338230460
General Gameplay and shows some of the tricks to deal with annoying disruptors like Whimiscott.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2016-338273428
Aegislash proving his worth

 

[Psynergy]

This is an interesting team, Rayquaza + Togekiss is a solid duo and I'd say that pair is probably perfectly fine as it is without changes. The rest of the team offers some interesting concepts but I don't think all of them are necessarily worth it.

Rotom-W in particular struggles a ton in this metagame since its stats are really iffy, and it needs Rayquaza support to not be walled by Groudon. Kyogre's gigantic SpDef is also annoying and Draco Rayquaza brutalizes it while being unable to beat it in return without weather support. Trick is a neat option for Xerneas though I'm not sure if that alone is worth it for being Scarf locked otherwise. Choice Scarf in general doesn't seem like a strong choice in this metagame especially on something with types that are really risky to be locked into. Thundurus would be a solid alternative here that can at least Thunder Wave stuff or even Taunt Xerneas to prevent the Geomancy, though it fares worse against Groudon outside of risky Swagger cheesing. It does check Salamence though which is great for both Rayquaza and Groudon. Liepard can offer Taunt and/or Thunder Wave while providing useful Fake Out and Encore support though it relies on Foul Play for damage. I think either one would offer more utility than Rotom-W though.

Aegislash looks fine but I would ask how Shadow Sneak is doing for you. It doesn't really seem like it offers much in general though it does get considerable usage so I won't question it much. That being said I'd consider Wide Guard in its place for giving you extra outs against Groudon and Kyogre with their spread moves if those two are giving you issues. It can also force Xerneas into Moonblasting which you can potentially take advantage of. You already have the best Primal check in the game though, and Groudon can beat other Groudon and Kyogre so you do have options as it is.

Blaziken is an interesting pick that I've seen get minor usage at events before but I've never seen it place high so I question its viability, though in theory I see the use for hitting Steels and stuff like Salamence and Landorus-T. I'm not quite sure you need the extra Steel answer with a Groudon on your team though if you don't go for Liepard over Rotom-W, I'd consider giving Infernape a shot for its Fake Out and Feint utility. Feint in particular is very useful for Rayquaza as very few things can take a hit from Rayquaza and the minor chip damage can be enough to put something in KO range.

Groudon is always good though that set and spread don't seem ideal for this team. I don't think Bold is worth just for taking single-target Precipice Blades, if you're in such a situation chances are you're in a losing position unless it's just Groudon v Groudon left (which may or may not be healthy enough at this point), so you're better off risking the Speed tie. I'd go with either the standard Timid or Modest if you stick with special. Ancient Power is also generally not a great move, usually you just leave Rayquaza and Salamence to its teammates since both can often just stomp Groudon anyway. Flamethrower is preferred to hit through Wide Guard and do damage when Eruption is weak. However, when you pair Groudon with Rayquaza it's with the intention of checking Xerneas reliably and special Groudon is a strictly worse Xerneas check due to Geomancy boosts. I'd consider trying out physical Groudon for this reason, though your team lacks strong special presence otherwise so a mixed set is a viable alternative too.

Hope this gives you some ideas, the team has a solid basis in Rayquaza/Groudon/Togekiss/Aegislash though there's a few things that could use fixing here.

 

[Tweetie]

This is an interesting team, Rayquaza + Togekiss is a solid duo and I'd say that pair is probably perfectly fine as it is without changes. The rest of the team offers some interesting concepts but I don't think all of them are necessarily worth it.

Rotom-W in particular struggles a ton in this metagame since its stats are really iffy, and it needs Rayquaza support to not be walled by Groudon. Kyogre's gigantic SpDef is also annoying and Draco Rayquaza brutalizes it while being unable to beat it in return without weather support. Trick is a neat option for Xerneas though I'm not sure if that alone is worth it for being Scarf locked otherwise. Choice Scarf in general doesn't seem like a strong choice in this metagame especially on something with types that are really risky to be locked into. Thundurus would be a solid alternative here that can at least Thunder Wave stuff or even Taunt Xerneas to prevent the Geomancy, though it fares worse against Groudon outside of risky Swagger cheesing. It does check Salamence though which is great for both Rayquaza and Groudon. Liepard can offer Taunt and/or Thunder Wave while providing useful Fake Out and Encore support though it relies on Foul Play for damage. I think either one would offer more utility than Rotom-W though.

Aegislash looks fine but I would ask how Shadow Sneak is doing for you. It doesn't really seem like it offers much in general though it does get considerable usage so I won't question it much. That being said I'd consider Wide Guard in its place for giving you extra outs against Groudon and Kyogre with their spread moves if those two are giving you issues. It can also force Xerneas into Moonblasting which you can potentially take advantage of. You already have the best Primal check in the game though, and Groudon can beat other Groudon and Kyogre so you do have options as it is.

Blaziken is an interesting pick that I've seen get minor usage at events before but I've never seen it place high so I question its viability, though in theory I see the use for hitting Steels and stuff like Salamence and Landorus-T. I'm not quite sure you need the extra Steel answer with a Groudon on your team though if you don't go for Liepard over Rotom-W, I'd consider giving Infernape a shot for its Fake Out and Feint utility. Feint in particular is very useful for Rayquaza as very few things can take a hit from Rayquaza and the minor chip damage can be enough to put something in KO range.

Groudon is always good though that set and spread don't seem ideal for this team. I don't think Bold is worth just for taking single-target Precipice Blades, if you're in such a situation chances are you're in a losing position unless it's just Groudon v Groudon left (which may or may not be healthy enough at this point), so you're better off risking the Speed tie. I'd go with either the standard Timid or Modest if you stick with special. Ancient Power is also generally not a great move, usually you just leave Rayquaza and Salamence to its teammates since both can often just stomp Groudon anyway. Flamethrower is preferred to hit through Wide Guard and do damage when Eruption is weak. However, when you pair Groudon with Rayquaza it's with the intention of checking Xerneas reliably and special Groudon is a strictly worse Xerneas check due to Geomancy boosts. I'd consider trying out physical Groudon for this reason, though your team lacks strong special presence otherwise so a mixed set is a viable alternative too.

Hope this gives you some ideas, the team has a solid basis in Rayquaza/Groudon/Togekiss/Aegislash though there's a few things that could use fixing here.

Thanks for the tips. I agree that Blaziken and Rotom W are the weakest links. Shadow Sneak has been real good for me. I've found people play around Wide Guard even if I don't have it so I don't mind not running it. Using a wide guard then eating an Earthpower to the face always sucks too. Unfortunately Iron Head doeesn't snag a ohko against Xerneas. Shadow Sneak can pick up the kill afterwards though and also lets me knock out anyone around the 25% or lower range which is nice considering all the sashes running around. Also good at mopping up gengars or getting some damage off before he goes down in a ball of melted steel xD

I could see adding Thundurus. The main thing I was looking for in the Rotom slot was something that can either OHKO or 2HKO Xerneas while not being complete garbage. I remember Rotom W used to be a staple so I went with that. Since I wanted Sitrus Berry for Togekiss I went with a trick set. Looking back though I really should consider another mon or just accept the fact that Rayquaza needs to kill Kyogre or I will get wrecked.

I designed my Groudon set after getting annoyed at having my Groudon get OHKO by every other Groudon packing Earthpower. Maybe that was a mistake, but he's been alright. I put ancient power on their so I can ohko Talonflame who is annoying for Blaziken. It's also randomly gotten me a stat boost and let me win games I shouldn't have won. I don't really wanna run Flamethrower because it's real annoying having Kyogre come out and turn off your moves. I don't have any Skill Swappers so I can't play around that. I think I should switch it back to a physical set and just take the speed tie. It was nice not getting hurt by intimidate though.

In regards to Liepard I'm not really a fan of running supports that are frail. I feel like I'm waisting a slot when I could just have something that can blow stuff up. Also Togekiss is my support and I bring it to most games unless I see a team where a Ray Toge lead won't be able to do a lot of damage. Like a bunch of steels and fairy types that can wall Ray while Toge gets hit hard.

The main things I'd like out of my last pokemon is to have a pokemon that can clean up the game and another that can take out Kyogre as I have trouble with it when Ray doesn't kill it.

Summary:
Test Physical Groudon
Replace Rotom and Blaziken for mons better able to check Kyogre and Rayquaza's counters and able to clean up after Ray goes down
Potential replacements to test are Infernape and Thundurus.