Hey all! Long-time lurker here. I've been playing competitive singles since DPP, but with the intentional updates to VGC and more accessibility to training Pokemon with Sword and Shield, I've become more vested in the official scene.
I've playtested this team on the in-game online ranked ladder and reached 1500~ in Master Ball Tier. I have also taken this team to a local tournament of a dry-run of the upcoming VGC 2020 format, and I placed 2nd out of 18 players.
The playstyle of this team is hyper offensive with some Trick Room checks. Even though I have had some success for a VGC noobie, I have been running into issues with common Pokemon, but first, I'll explain the core strategies of my team.
The Team
Whimsicott (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Helping Hand
- Tailwind
Whimsicott fulfills speed control and helping its teammates with securing "kills." Unfortunately, this is my main Gastrodon check, but she has been fairly effective at checking other water types as well. While many players opt for the more powerful Moonblast, I chose Dazzling Gleam to help break Sashes and inflict incremental damage simultaneously. In addition, with so many Dark, Dragon, and Fighting types in the meta, I found success in hitting both targets with Dazzling Gleam instead.
Darmanitan-Galar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
This is when things start getting janky. Through extensive testing, I found that I was outsped by other Tailwind users because opponents' Pokemon would have higher base speed, such as Dragapult. This was not an extremely common, but common enough where I felt like I needed a Scarf mon, even under Tailwind. Darmanitan has two main roles: one shot [insert victim here] turn one or clean up in the late game. Even if my opponent does not have a Tailwind strategy, the combination of Helping Hand from Whimsicott + Gorilla Tactics + Max Attack easily sets up an early 4 vs 3, and he threatens to one shot any wall in the meta this way. I chose Rock Slide to address fire types; Sunny Day teams and, more so, Arcanine have been seeing a lot of play. Earthquake did not seem suitable for this team, and I opted out of Superpower because it did not bring much benefit, other than hitting TTar. U-Turn has had resounding success. Darmanitan is easily one shot itself, so the cominbation of an early Tailwind/Helping Hand and immediately U-Turning after allows for significant damage and reserving Darmanitan for the late game. Flare Blitz is for Ferrothorn.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
The ideal strategy of this team is to set-up Dracovish. I did not go with Leech Life because Dracovish is not meant to sustain, but rather, one shot opponents. In the cases where it does not one shot, it deals significant damage to set-up Darmanitan for late game. Because of Dracovish's sub-optimal 90 base attack stat, Choice Band has helped in many situations with making up the gap between an opponent fainting or not.
Arcanine (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Arcanine is my answer to the physically-based meta via Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp. In addition, her support moveset also keeps special attackers in check with Snarl and max special defense. Because Snarl is a special attack, I chose to stick with the Calm nature and use Flamethrower. From my experience in singles, I'm accustomed to using Leftovers for support mons, but I understand that pinch berries are preferable in VGC. Should Arcanine stick with Sitrus Berry or go with something like Figy Berry?
Duraludon (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Stalwart
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 140 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Dark Pulse
Duraludon is one of my answers to the Hatterene/Indeedee (F) combo. In addition, with Assault Vest and this EV spread, it can survive Draco Meteor from any Dragapult set. The 20 speed investment also allows it to outspeed max speed Dragapult when Tailwind is active and be faster than Sylveon on this team. Now, when I say Duraludon is an answer to Hatterene/Indeedee (F), I'm referring to Max Darkness. Trick Room players have become very clever with Babiri Berry on Hatterene, so she would live even a Max Steelspike. However, with the special defense drop from Max Darkness, Sylveon attacks directly after Duraludon and cleans up the Hatterene and dealing significant damage to Indeedee (F). This combo also works well against other common Trick Roomers, such as Dusclops, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent. Otherwise, Duraludon has been a great swiss army knife and operates optimally in many situations.
Sylveon (F) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 212 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Psyshock
- Protect
Sylveon is my niche pick to combo with Duraludon against Trick Room because Hyper Voice is not affected by Follow Me from Indeedee (F). I haven't used her for much else, but she does keep Hydreigons in check, and sometimes, convinces the opponent to completely opt-out of bringing Hydreigon to the battle. Especially under Tailwind, Sylveon is also great against the common Conkeldurr. Throat Spray's synergy with Hyper Voice has been OK at best, so I'm considering parting ways with it for Choice Specs instead. I was wondering if I could get feedback on this aspect.
Common Problems
Bulky Rotom-Wash checks this team very well. To get around this, I usually take down other Pokemon first, but Will-O-Wisp and Trick are extremely disruptive. Whimsicott's Energy Ball comes in very handy when this washing machine shows up. And even then, the occasional Ally Switch can cost me the entire game. With that said, I don't always lose to it, but it always gives me problems, so what are some changes I could make to better handle this piece of tech?
I have no clue on how to handle Trick Room Mimikyu. My normal response to Trick Room, Duraludon + Sylveon, is not sufficient to take it down before it gets the TR off. Maybe there's a strategy I'm not seeing in my existing team, but what are some changes I could make to address this beast?
With unique typing and decent bulk, Ludicolo is difficult to deal with for my team. Darmanitan can deal significant damage with U-Turn, but I have yet to one shot it without the elusive critical hit. Fake Out has also been a problem for Whimsicott, stopping the Tailwind strategy and forcing me to work under non-ideal circumstances. I'm not sure how to address this dancing fellow.
Conclusion
I've tested that my team can handle much of the meta well through my personal experiences in online ranked and the IRL tournament.
However, the three Pokemon mentioned have been consistently giving this team problems, and I'm not sure how to update my team without fundamentally changing the hyper offensive strategy. I could add in a Flying type to help with Ludicolo, such as Togekiss or Braviary, but then Rotom Wash remains a problem and Mimikyu still has free reign. I could add in Mold Breaker Excadrill, but then Ludicolo is still a problem. These are the types of strategies I've been noodling over, but can't seem to find something holistic enough.
Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to your feedback!
I've playtested this team on the in-game online ranked ladder and reached 1500~ in Master Ball Tier. I have also taken this team to a local tournament of a dry-run of the upcoming VGC 2020 format, and I placed 2nd out of 18 players.
The playstyle of this team is hyper offensive with some Trick Room checks. Even though I have had some success for a VGC noobie, I have been running into issues with common Pokemon, but first, I'll explain the core strategies of my team.
The Team
Whimsicott (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Helping Hand
- Tailwind
Whimsicott fulfills speed control and helping its teammates with securing "kills." Unfortunately, this is my main Gastrodon check, but she has been fairly effective at checking other water types as well. While many players opt for the more powerful Moonblast, I chose Dazzling Gleam to help break Sashes and inflict incremental damage simultaneously. In addition, with so many Dark, Dragon, and Fighting types in the meta, I found success in hitting both targets with Dazzling Gleam instead.
Darmanitan-Galar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
This is when things start getting janky. Through extensive testing, I found that I was outsped by other Tailwind users because opponents' Pokemon would have higher base speed, such as Dragapult. This was not an extremely common, but common enough where I felt like I needed a Scarf mon, even under Tailwind. Darmanitan has two main roles: one shot [insert victim here] turn one or clean up in the late game. Even if my opponent does not have a Tailwind strategy, the combination of Helping Hand from Whimsicott + Gorilla Tactics + Max Attack easily sets up an early 4 vs 3, and he threatens to one shot any wall in the meta this way. I chose Rock Slide to address fire types; Sunny Day teams and, more so, Arcanine have been seeing a lot of play. Earthquake did not seem suitable for this team, and I opted out of Superpower because it did not bring much benefit, other than hitting TTar. U-Turn has had resounding success. Darmanitan is easily one shot itself, so the cominbation of an early Tailwind/Helping Hand and immediately U-Turning after allows for significant damage and reserving Darmanitan for the late game. Flare Blitz is for Ferrothorn.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
The ideal strategy of this team is to set-up Dracovish. I did not go with Leech Life because Dracovish is not meant to sustain, but rather, one shot opponents. In the cases where it does not one shot, it deals significant damage to set-up Darmanitan for late game. Because of Dracovish's sub-optimal 90 base attack stat, Choice Band has helped in many situations with making up the gap between an opponent fainting or not.
Arcanine (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Arcanine is my answer to the physically-based meta via Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp. In addition, her support moveset also keeps special attackers in check with Snarl and max special defense. Because Snarl is a special attack, I chose to stick with the Calm nature and use Flamethrower. From my experience in singles, I'm accustomed to using Leftovers for support mons, but I understand that pinch berries are preferable in VGC. Should Arcanine stick with Sitrus Berry or go with something like Figy Berry?
Duraludon (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Stalwart
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 140 HP / 252 SpA / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flash Cannon
- Dragon Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Dark Pulse
Duraludon is one of my answers to the Hatterene/Indeedee (F) combo. In addition, with Assault Vest and this EV spread, it can survive Draco Meteor from any Dragapult set. The 20 speed investment also allows it to outspeed max speed Dragapult when Tailwind is active and be faster than Sylveon on this team. Now, when I say Duraludon is an answer to Hatterene/Indeedee (F), I'm referring to Max Darkness. Trick Room players have become very clever with Babiri Berry on Hatterene, so she would live even a Max Steelspike. However, with the special defense drop from Max Darkness, Sylveon attacks directly after Duraludon and cleans up the Hatterene and dealing significant damage to Indeedee (F). This combo also works well against other common Trick Roomers, such as Dusclops, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent. Otherwise, Duraludon has been a great swiss army knife and operates optimally in many situations.
Sylveon (F) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 212 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Psyshock
- Protect
Sylveon is my niche pick to combo with Duraludon against Trick Room because Hyper Voice is not affected by Follow Me from Indeedee (F). I haven't used her for much else, but she does keep Hydreigons in check, and sometimes, convinces the opponent to completely opt-out of bringing Hydreigon to the battle. Especially under Tailwind, Sylveon is also great against the common Conkeldurr. Throat Spray's synergy with Hyper Voice has been OK at best, so I'm considering parting ways with it for Choice Specs instead. I was wondering if I could get feedback on this aspect.
Common Problems
Bulky Rotom-Wash checks this team very well. To get around this, I usually take down other Pokemon first, but Will-O-Wisp and Trick are extremely disruptive. Whimsicott's Energy Ball comes in very handy when this washing machine shows up. And even then, the occasional Ally Switch can cost me the entire game. With that said, I don't always lose to it, but it always gives me problems, so what are some changes I could make to better handle this piece of tech?
I have no clue on how to handle Trick Room Mimikyu. My normal response to Trick Room, Duraludon + Sylveon, is not sufficient to take it down before it gets the TR off. Maybe there's a strategy I'm not seeing in my existing team, but what are some changes I could make to address this beast?
With unique typing and decent bulk, Ludicolo is difficult to deal with for my team. Darmanitan can deal significant damage with U-Turn, but I have yet to one shot it without the elusive critical hit. Fake Out has also been a problem for Whimsicott, stopping the Tailwind strategy and forcing me to work under non-ideal circumstances. I'm not sure how to address this dancing fellow.
Conclusion
I've tested that my team can handle much of the meta well through my personal experiences in online ranked and the IRL tournament.
However, the three Pokemon mentioned have been consistently giving this team problems, and I'm not sure how to update my team without fundamentally changing the hyper offensive strategy. I could add in a Flying type to help with Ludicolo, such as Togekiss or Braviary, but then Rotom Wash remains a problem and Mimikyu still has free reign. I could add in Mold Breaker Excadrill, but then Ludicolo is still a problem. These are the types of strategies I've been noodling over, but can't seem to find something holistic enough.
Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to your feedback!
