Resource VGC: Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer

[zee]

What are the basis of a good perish trap team? and what pokemon fit in the archetype? (not including goth and lapras)

Perish Trap is a really difficult strategy to pull off in this generation due to the lack of Mega Gengar, the dominance of Ghost-types, and the overall power level making things difficult to control. In all honesty, if you want to have a team with some viability outside of Perish Song I just recommend Lapras + Gothitelle + Incineroar and balancing it from there.

That being said, if you want to make a fully fleshed out Perish team, I would consider ways to control the opponent's damage output (Veil does this, but also things like Fake Out, Redirection, Intimidate) and ways to keep your own Pokemon healthy (Heal Pulse/Floral Healing, recovery items, etc). you're also gonna have to keep Gothitelle on the field often with things like Eject Button and pivot moves (maybe try Gothorita if you really want to tap into the trap aspect).

Some sort of offense is still appreciated, because Dragapult/Spectrier will likely run circles around you without it.

 

[Sugarbear]

I would really like to use Calyrex-Ice rider in the upcoming series 10 meta, but I’m struggling to build a team around it. What would be some good teammates for it? Im running an offensive Trick Room set if that helps

 

[Helios of Sun]

I would really like to use Calyrex-Ice rider in the upcoming series 10 meta, but I’m struggling to build a team around it. What would be some good teammates for it? Im running an offensive Trick Room set if that helps

I have been trying Namuko Pro's 6 from the Youtube Video below, but with Rillaboom instead of Venusaur, and some slight EV modifications:

It is a very solid team in general, but sometimes struggles against TornOgre Tsareena teams.

I feel like if you want to go with Calyrex-Ice Rider, some auto-includes are Mimikyu and Torkoal. I personally also like Fake Outs and possibly Indeedee on the team as well, in order to get safe Trick Room setups, which is why I have Incin, Rillaboom and Indeedee as my last 3.

 

[Yourwelcomethanku]

I would really like to use Calyrex-Ice rider in the upcoming series 10 meta, but I’m struggling to build a team around it. What would be some good teammates for it? Im running an offensive Trick Room set if that helps

I think goggles and lum Berry would be good items to consider on Calyrex-Ice. Amoonguss can pretty easily ruin calyrex in Trick Room but goggles fix that. the team helios showed doesen't have too much an issue with amoonguss though so probably not on that if you go with that

 

[Sugarbear]

I think goggles and lum Berry would be good items to consider on Calyrex-Ice. Amoonguss can pretty easily ruin calyrex in Trick Room but goggles fix that. the team helios showed doesen't have too much an issue with amoonguss though so probably not on that if you go with that

At the moment I’m using Weakness Policy, since Glastrier makes such good use of that item. I don’t think Safety Goggles is good as Sand is virtually nonexistent with Groudon and Kyogre everywher, and most Sleep Powder / Spore users want nothing to do with Calyrex-I. Lum Berry seems solid though, maybe mix with Swords Dance.

 

[Yourwelcomethanku]

At the moment I’m using Weakness Policy, since Glastrier makes such good use of that item. I don’t think Safety Goggles is good as Sand is virtually nonexistent with Groudon and Kyogre everywher, and most Sleep Powder / Spore users want nothing to do with Calyrex-I. Lum Berry seems solid though, maybe mix with Swords Dance.

Amoonguss underspeeds you in Trick Room if you are using that. it can also outspeed you outside Trick room set dependent

 

[PumpedAaron]

What's the Difference between VGC and Battlespot? Aren't they the same?

 

[Ace Emerald]

What's the Difference between VGC and Battlespot? Aren't they the same?

Today the difference is largely semantics. Battlespot is the in game ladder, VGC refers to the tournament circuit. In the past, Battlespot doubles had different rules than the VGC tournaments. Today, the rules are the same.

 

[sumwun]

Which Pokemon (like maybe the ones with defiant, competitive, rattled, or adrenaline orb) are best at taking advantage of opponents with intimidate?

 

[Helios of Sun]

Which Pokemon (like maybe the ones with defiant, competitive, rattled, or adrenaline orb) are best at taking advantage of opponents with intimidate?

Common Intimidaters in the meta include Incineroar and Landorus-T. I think the two best anti-Intimidate mons are Zapdos-Galar and Milotic right now.

 

[Evelyie]

Which Pokemon (like maybe the ones with defiant, competitive, rattled, or adrenaline orb) are best at taking advantage of opponents with intimidate?

I don't think there is a super solid answer to Intimidate. As Helios of Sun said, G-Zapdos and Milotic are the best, although, in my opinion, Mienshao and Entei can punish Intimidators more, due to their Inner Focus ability

 

[pix]

Which Pokemon (like maybe the ones with defiant, competitive, rattled, or adrenaline orb) are best at taking advantage of opponents with intimidate?

Bisharp,zap galar , milotic , thundurus And articuno galar are some mons but at the same time none of these mons have a place in the meta

 

[sumwun]

I know Falinks is outclassed by a lot of other Pokemon. If I had to use Falinks, what would be a good moveset or teammate for it?

 

[pix]

I know Falinks is outclassed by a lot of other Pokemon. If I had to use Falinks, what would be a good moveset or teammate for it?

No retreat and something that can redirect moves, fake out mons and tailwind would be also cool.
this set would be cool

 

[D5405]

I know Falinks is outclassed by a lot of other Pokemon. If I had to use Falinks, what would be a good moveset or teammate for it?

Crobat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- U-turn
- Mean Look
- Heat Wave
Fun fact if u use mean look on falinks and it uses no retreat instead of plus one boosts to every stat it gives +2 to every stat.Additionaly a prankster user with mean look can work aswell like sabelye,mewostic etc who can provide screens to further help falinks.
Edit:i missread the thing mean looking on falinks and then it using no retreat does not give it +2 to every stat.Some gimmicky stuff like simple skill swap on falinks then no retreating can work maybe but its gimmicky.
Edit 2:Mean looking on falinks makes it so that it can use no retreat more than once i missread that and gave the wrong description heres the replay of the test:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1401034673-swexnhhg17b8vjh755cshirolj8epvopw

 

[sumwun]

No retreat and something that can redirect moves, fake out mons and tailwind would be also cool.
this set would be cool

Are you sure adrenaline orb is the best item? Life orb seems more reliable to me. What does iron head cover and why is it better than rock slide? Which one of these do you think is the best teammate?

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: lightning rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- fake out
- Volt Switch
- nuzzle

Regieleki @ Focus Sash
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Protect

Crobat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tailwind
- U-turn
- Mean Look
- Heat Wave

Neither Crobat nor Falinks are anywhere in the viability rankings. Are you sure that a team with 2 unviable Pokemon is better than a team with only 1 unviable Pokemon?

Fun fact if u use mean look on falinks and it uses no retreat instead of plus one boosts to every stat it gives +2 to every stat.Additionaly a prankster user with mean look can work aswell like sabelye,mewostic etc who can provide screens to further help falinks.

How do you know this? Did you test it in-game? It's wrong according to both Showdown! and Bulbapedia.

 

[D5405]

Are you sure adrenaline orb is the best item? Life orb seems more reliable to me. What does iron head cover and why is it better than rock slide? Which one of these do you think is the best teammate?

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: lightning rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- fake out
- Volt Switch
- nuzzle

Regieleki @ Focus Sash
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Protect Neither Crobat nor Falinks are anywhere in the viability rankings. Are you sure that a team with 2 unviable Pokemon is better than a team with only 1 unviable Pokemon? How do you know this? Did you test it in-game? It's wrong according to both Showdown! and Bulbapedia.

oops i misread the thing my b also u can use any prankster mon with reflect and screens it dosent rly have to be sableye or mewostic.Even eleki works aswell.Adrenaline orb with defaint is to really to counter intimidate users which is proally why pixxelsvgc chose that item but life orb works aswell.
And the mons which support falinks is team indipendant.

 

[D5405]

Are you sure adrenaline orb is the best item? Life orb seems more reliable to me. What does iron head cover and why is it better than rock slide? Which one of these do you think is the best teammate?

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: lightning rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- fake out
- Volt Switch
- nuzzle

Regieleki @ Focus Sash
Ability: Transistor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Electroweb
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Protect Neither Crobat nor Falinks are anywhere in the viability rankings. Are you sure that a team with 2 unviable Pokemon is better than a team with only 1 unviable Pokemon? How do you know this? Did you test it in-game? It's wrong according to both Showdown! and Bulbapedia.

Yo one more thing i tested the mean look into falinks and it does not give you +2 boosts to every stat instead mean looking on falinks allows u to use no-retreat more than once heres is the replay of the test:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1401034673-swexnhhg17b8vjh755cshirolj8epvopw

 

[XXmatthewxX]

Hello, I am looking to add Hitmontop to my current VGC team mainly as an intimidate +fakeout bulky Pokémon. At the moment I’m looking at a move set of:

Fakeout
Mach Punch
Wide Guard
?

I am having a lot of trouble coming up with the best EV set for it and I would really appreciate ant and all feedback/advice/critiques! Thank you and have a great day

 

[Ace Emerald]

Hello, I am looking to add Hitmontop to my current VGC team mainly as an intimidate +fakeout bulky Pokémon. At the moment I’m looking at a move set of:

Fakeout
Mach Punch
Wide Guard
?

I am having a lot of trouble coming up with the best EV set for it and I would really appreciate ant and all feedback/advice/critiques! Thank you and have a great day

Mach Punch doesnt seem too good on Hitmontop, usually you want your priority moves to pack a punch and unboost Mach Punch just doesnt deliver that. For moves I'd run Fake Out/Wide Guard/Feint/Helping Hand or Close Combat. Helping Hand gives you a solid 4 great support moves, Close Combat gives you some offensive presence (though not much, especially if Hitmontop gets Intimidated). Also worth noting, Close Combat has cool synergy with the Eject Pack item: after using the move, hitmontop will switch out, allowing you to cycle Intimidate and Fake Out. Keep the EV spread simple and adjust as you play with it: 252 HP/ 252 SpDef Careful nature for bulk, or 252 HP/252 Atk Adamant nature if you want more power (again, dont expect much).

 

[pix]

Hello, I am looking to add Hitmontop to my current VGC team mainly as an intimidate +fakeout bulky Pokémon. At the moment I’m looking at a move set of:

Fakeout
Mach Punch
Wide Guard
?

I am having a lot of trouble coming up with the best EV set for it and I would really appreciate ant and all feedback/advice/critiques! Thank you and have a great day

Yo, here is a quick set I made for hitmontop
Hitmontop (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard / Helping Hand
- Close Combat
- Quick Guard / Feint
you can always drop by the smogon vgc discord server if you want help

 

[Helios of Sun]

Mach Punch doesnt seem too good on Hitmontop, usually you want your priority moves to pack a punch and unboost Mach Punch just doesnt deliver that. For moves I'd run Fake Out/Wide Guard/Feint/Helping Hand or Close Combat. Helping Hand gives you a solid 4 great support moves, Close Combat gives you some offensive presence (though not much, especially if Hitmontop gets Intimidated). Also worth noting, Close Combat has cool synergy with the Eject Pack item: after using the move, hitmontop will switch out, allowing you to cycle Intimidate and Fake Out. Keep the EV spread simple and adjust as you play with it: 252 HP/ 252 SpDef Careful nature for bulk, or 252 HP/252 Atk Adamant nature if you want more power (again, dont expect much).

Will second Ace's set of Fake Out/Wide Guard/Feint/Close Combat. Though, the item I would actually suggest is Eject Button, which is something that Wolfe ran in his run of Worlds 2016. Although it doesn't give Hitmontop the full pivoting potential of a mon like Incineroar, it helps it in that scenario, allowing it to cause several attack drops to mons such as Zacian, which is crucial for the current metagame.

For EVs, checking sites such as Pikalytics leads us to spreads such as:

Of which I think is a fairly good place to start. However, as you play more games with the team, I recommend optimizing your speed and defense stats to survive certain attacks you commonly face on ladder.

 

[XXmatthewxX]

Mach Punch doesnt seem too good on Hitmontop, usually you want your priority moves to pack a punch and unboost Mach Punch just doesnt deliver that. For moves I'd run Fake Out/Wide Guard/Feint/Helping Hand or Close Combat. Helping Hand gives you a solid 4 great support moves, Close Combat gives you some offensive presence (though not much, especially if Hitmontop gets Intimidated). Also worth noting, Close Combat has cool synergy with the Eject Pack item: after using the move, hitmontop will switch out, allowing you to cycle Intimidate and Fake Out. Keep the EV spread simple and adjust as you play with it: 252 HP/ 252 SpDef Careful nature for bulk, or 252 HP/252 Atk Adamant nature if you want more power (again, dont expect much).

Thank you very much! I was thinking Mach punch for those end of battle scenarios where the opposing mon has barely any health but I think that’s too situational

 

[XXmatthewxX]

Yo, here is a quick set I made for hitmontop
Hitmontop (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard / Helping Hand
- Close Combat
- Quick Guard / Feint
you can always drop by the smogon vgc discord server if you want help

I’ll check it out thank you for the help!

 

[XXmatthewxX]

Will second Ace's set of Fake Out/Wide Guard/Feint/Close Combat. Though, the item I would actually suggest is Eject Button, which is something that Wolfe ran in his run of Worlds 2016. Although it doesn't give Hitmontop the full pivoting potential of a mon like Incineroar, it helps it in that scenario, allowing it to cause several attack drops to mons such as Zacian, which is crucial for the current metagame.

For EVs, checking sites such as Pikalytics leads us to spreads such as:

View attachment 371222

Of which I think is a fairly good place to start. However, as you play more games with the team, I recommend optimizing your speed and defense stats to survive certain attacks you commonly face on ladder.

Thank you! I didn’t even know there was a website like that I’ll check it out for sure