My First VGC Team

[Momaster12]

Hey there! I've been playing the TCG for a while and I'm just don't really want to continue with that due to the decreasing quality of the game and the fact that I just don't have the money for it.. So, I thought that now would be a great time to switch over to the VGC with the new XY games and regionals this weekend. The following team is my first attempt at a good competitive team for the VGC. However, I do know a bit about the competitive scene in these games. So here is my team.

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature
- Earthquake / Ice Fang
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Protect

I can guarantee that there will never be a team where I will not at least have Gliscor present. It is a great staller, physical wall, and support. The Toxic Orb is for Poison Heal which works great with its Substitute and Protect. this is especially good when Gliscor can outspeed an opponent. Use Toxic then Substitute and Protect until the Pokémon is KO'd. I've been debating on EQ or Ice Fang. My main problem with Ice Fang is that it is just very weak and only really comes in handy with other Gliscor. But even then Ice Fang is still pretty weak.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

Aegislash is a great physical sweeper. However, during testing I never really used it too much. When I did though, it was very helpful. Its EVs are so so that It can withstand a hit to get the Weakness Policy boost and the deliver a very powerful Sacred Sword, for coverage, or a nice Shadow Sneak, which I believe is needed on all Aegislash. Shadow Sneak does decent damage and works wonders with its +1 priority. Swords Dance to get even more power and King's Shield is required for all Aegislash.

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Perish Song
- Substitute
- Protect
- Shadow Ball

And here is the star of the team, Gengar. Mega Gengar is a beast. Its great speed and special attack makes this Pokémon quite unique when paired with its ability Shadow Tag. And that ability is mixed with its moveset is what makes Gengar such an important part of the team. With Perish song and Shadow Tag, this Pokémon is a big threat.

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 116 SAtk / 116 SDef / 20 Spd
Calm / Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

The first thing you may notice on this Rotom is its EV spread. I used this to make the most of Rotom's Offensive and Defensive capabilities with 20 points into speed to outspeed a few Pokémon including other Rotom. I have been debating about its Nature though. I was thinking either Modest or Calm. But I've been leaning more towards Calm to increase its SDef seeing as though the rest of the team doesn't have very good defenses overall. Rotom's Moveset is a pretty standard one for Rotom with the exception of Protect which would replace something like Volt Switch.

Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage

I don't find myself using Garchomp much but when I do it is a powerhouse. I use a Choice Band to maximize its attack and Rough Skin over that other ability... The EV spread is pretty standard for a Banded Garchomp so that Garchomp can come in and sweep quickly. Jolly nature to make sure that it is fast and a moveset to get some nice coverage. Outrage, however, is something I'm not sure about. I was thinking of replacing Outrage or Dragon Claw with Fire Fang or Poison Jab or something.

Gothitelle @ Light Clay
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Protect
- Psychic

Another star Pokémon, Gothitelle! Really it's just here because of Shadow Tag... It's a little bulky and has access to screens so I decided to use this as a bulky support.


Here are some others that I was thinking about using:

Spoiler

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moody
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dark Void
- Sticky Web
- Protect
- ExtremeSpeed / Any Other Attack

This Smeargle is used with Gengar to ensure that my Pokémon can setup as they like while the opponent is left to wait for its imminent death by Perish Song. This set would be great if I could get my hands on a Darkrai but I don't think that I'll be able to get one by Sunday.

Noivern @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Hurricane
- Boomburst

This would just be a basic Special Sweeper if the situation calls for it.

Well there it is, my first ever team built for VGC. Hopefully this Perish team will do well this Sunday. Thanks for the help and advise in advance!

 

[Freezing Blizzard]

Pretty sound team overall, but a few things I noticed on my first glance over. 1st, Mega Gengar and Perish Song. Unless you want to sacrifice your Gengar, you will need to make sure it lasts all those tree turns. While Gengar is fast and powerful, it is weak. On the other side of the coin, it could also be too strong. Not that that's a bad thing, but if you set up PS and then proceed to wipe out their team, the new Pokemon won't be under PS, just making you retreat, which may be a bad idea.

Secondly, your Garcomp. Running both Dragon Claw and Outrage is something you would be unwise to do. What I would do is something like this:

Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw / Substitute
- Outrage / Substitute

If you cans set up Substitute, Swords Dance, then land and Earthquake or a Dragon move (Depending on which you prefer) there are few things that will withstand that.

 

[PhantomHaze]

A pretty good team but i pretty sure a Gengar holding a Gengarite is illegal so try this:

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 160 Atk / 96 SDef
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Protect/Disable/Covage Move

This is more of a attacking set that Gengar can hit with while behind a substitute.Shadow Ball is a strong STAB and Focus Blast for any that Shadow Ball doesnt hit. The last slot is your choice, you can SubProtect to last even longer, disable to get rid of harm full moves against your Gangar, or if you want more attack a move that benifits your team.

Also, since Garchomp is Banded Sword Dance/ Substitute is pointless since you will be locked into those moves but choose either Outrage or Dragon Claw there is no point in two dragon moves on a banded Chomp.

I Dont think using a Noivern would be a good idea beacuse then 3 of your pokes would be 4x weak to ice( not a good thing)

Instead of Gothitelle maybe try Espeon:

Espeon @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Spd / 80 Def
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Psychic
-Support/Coverage Move

A pretty standard set for her and with Magic Bouce you can reflect entry hazzards onto your enemy. It is up to you though if you like Shadow Tag then keep Gothitelle.

Your team is also lacking a good Special Wall even if you keep Gothitelle it cant take a Shadow Ball to the face over and over again. I recomend removing Rotom since he doesnt fit in all to well with your team. I recomend using Trevent if you can trade for one.

Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 232 SDef / 228 HP / 48 Spd
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Horn Leech
- Phantom Force/Shadow Claw

Even though he is Ghost he can tank multiple hits because of his great recovery. With Harvest Sitrus Berry he can restore HP fast, also he can Leech Seed to get more health back. WoW can criple Physical attackers. Horn Leech benifits from Trev's 110 base attack and for the last slot i recomend Shadow Claw to hit pokes in that turn but if you like Phantom Force, it can by pass substitutes but can also give your enemy a turn to setup.( it is two turn attack) The only problem with him is his Ice weakness that your team is already treatened by but he can usally tank at least one ice beam and you can then switch to Gengar to focus Blast.

Sorry about me changing your team up a bunch(if you like my ideas) but hopfully it helps you!

 

[Puff-Sun]

Notes:

Freezing Blizzard: Choice Band with Swords Dance or Substitute is a terrible, terrible idea.

PhantomHaze: No, you're wrong. Mega Gengar is only banned on Smogon. This is VGC, the official metagame. Smogon bans don't apply.
You also missed the whole point of the team. This is doubles, where Perish Trap is exceedingly lethal, so Mega Gengar and Gothitelle are both needed for that nice Shadow Trap ability.

OP: Regarding Garchomp, Iron Head would be better than Outrage if you have to use it. However, it seems kind of out of place on this team as a whole.

Also, you might want a Soundproof mon on your team so you don't have to double switch whenever you finish the perish trap combo. I'd recommend something like:

Exploud@Choice Specs
Soundproof
248SpA 248HP 8Def
Boomburst
Blizzard
Focus Blast
Shadow Ball

This thing's main purpose is to provide an ally to sponge Perish Songs from Gengar. Sacrificing Scrappy does lose that ghost coverage, but most people will predict Scrappy and not switch in Ghosts anyway, at least before the first Perish Song. You could also run this as a more defensive set with Leftovers and Protect just in case.

 

[Momaster12]

Well, I've been testing quite a lot and realized that the original Pokémon in the team didn't really support each other. So I came up with the following team. The overall goal of the team is the same.

Politoed @ Mental Herb
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Perish Song
- Scald
- Bounce
- Protect

An extra Perish Song and decent defense. Drizzle helps get rid of sand and Charizard's drought which makes it great for that. I haven't decided on whether or not I should use Mental Herb or something else like Leftovers.

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball / Dazzling Gleam / Something Else Maybe
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Disable

Same OP only this time I use Disable to help stall longer. Disable paired with Taunt or Encore from Liepard is very helpful with stalling and just tolling the opponent.

Gothorita (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic

Exactly the same role as Gothitellr but this time with more SDef and Def with Eviolite. However, I'm not sure if Gothorita can take a hit better than Gothitelle or if Gothitelle is just a straight up better choice.

Scrafty (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Quick Guard

I was thinking about adding Scrafty to help Gengar stay in with priority support to defend from Pranksters and Talonflame. However, I rarely use Scrafty because Liepard is just a better choice because it can outspeed pretty much all Pranksters. I also have Scrafty to deal with Tyranitar which is a huge bugger to the team along with Talonflame. However, Scrafty can't take on both.

Avalugg @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Avalanche
- Recover

This is the slot that is constantly changing to help take out Talonflame. I tried Tyranitar, Exploud, and Tyrantrum before that and the only one that actually did well was Tyrantum, but Tyrantum has like 50 weaknesses so I've been trying to find away around this.

Liepard @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Taunt
- Encore
- Thunder Wave

And here is Gengar's right hand man. Liepard is fast and can greatly close down some really annoying matchups with the help of Gengar's disable.

Tyranitar and Talonflame give this team quite the trouble which is why Scrafty and Avalugg are here but the two just don't do a good enough job while supporting the rest of the team. Any suggestions on who I should replace?
Also, I noticed that when going up against another Perish team, my team doesn't fair well.

 

[iSharingan]

I'm not sure about this generation, but Dark Void was banned in gen 5 VGC. Spore on the other hand is just as viable as ever since Grass types are (as I expected) still not too commonly used - and if they are on a team, there's generally only 1 (I have personally used Spore Smeargle just as effectively in the XY metagame as in BW1/BW2, even on simulators). Considering this is doubles format anyway, Even iff the foe's grass type is out against Smeargle, the second pokemon will almost guarantee-ably not be a grass type and will still be vulnerable to Spore. Lastly, Hazards are generally useless in VGC due to how fast paced the metagame is (average life of a pokemon is usually 3-5 turns at the most), and even Sticky Web could backfire in the case of Trick Room sets that are slightly more common in VGC than in other metagames I have seen. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

 

[Puff-Sun]

Dark Void has been unbanned this gen.

@OP, even with the new team, i still think you need some sort of Soundproof user, seeing as Perish Song hits your own pokemon as well/