Think Outside The Box

[Luispipe8]

So, you might be wondering: "What the hell are you doing here?!" Well, I tried VGC on Showdown because I wanted to know the format a bit before I get a 3DS later this year. So, I wanted to give this team a shot. I've won a lot of battles, but lost almost as much. Any input is appreciated. Just a few notes: I don't like standard gimmicks. That's why I'm using Banette and Gallade. I do have some "staples", like Rotom, but basically because they provide some coverage. Of course, any other way I can replace that with another decent Poké is welcome as well. Oh, and Choice Items are a NO. I just really dislike their functioning and rather use something else. I AM willing to try some uncommon Pokés like Medicham, or Raichu, to name a few. xD

Aegislash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

I always liked the way Aegislash played. Can be very defensive or very aggressive. King's Shield is an obvious move here. Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon for STAB. I was kind of torn for the last slot, so I placed in Substitute. I haven't got any remarkable results with that move, though. The EV split is like that so Substitute can be a bit more functional, but If I were to take out Sub, I'd change it accordingly, maybe to a more defensive approach. Quiet nature to give it a boost in Sp. Attack and reduce it's Speed, so it can move last: a must so you receive hits in Shield Forme.

Gallade @ Expert Belt
Ability: Steadfast
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psycho Cut
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Protect

I run Gallade in this team mainly for 2 reasons: 1) My favorite Poké (duh?). 2) Its amazing Attack and bulky Sp. Def. can save me a lot of times. I just struggle to be able to hit because it just doesn't have enough Speed. But when it does, barely nothing can resist a hit from him, specially with his Expert Belt.Psycho Cut and Close Combat as powerful STAB attacks and Leaf Blade for coverage. EV's are very basic, just full Attack, full Speed and a 4 in Def, so it can have a teeny-tiny boost in its lackluster Defense.

Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect

I first saw this guy when a friend played it in our VGC League and was incredibly surprised of its bulk and its troll moves when used correctly I just loved it instantly. Some standard moves here, nothing too special, but very effective. I placed full defensive EV's for a heavy bulky build and 4 in Attack so whenever it attacks, it hits for decent damage. Also, Gyro Ball and the Sassy Nature have a perfect synergy. Also, the key here is to know when to use it, since absorbing Kangaskhan's Fake Out is huge. Leech Seed is there because it might be useful, but I can't say I used it a lot. Power Whip, in the other hand, is amazing against Tyranitar, Azumarill and Rowom-W-

Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Return

This is one of the staples here. I rarely use Mega-Kanga, though, so I'm more leaned to use Inner Focus over Scrappy so I can avoid other flinches. Fake Out is just to flinch the opponent and hopefully hold their set-up. Power-Up Punch for coverage and boost in one move. Sucker Punch is HUGE in this format, can hit very hard with Mega Kanga as well thanks to Parental Bond. And Return is just a powerful STAB that can hit hard everything that doesn't resist it. EV are also placed for a full offensive approach.

Banette (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Cursed Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute
- Protect

The punch line of the team. At first I saw it got Prankster upon Mega Evolving, so I wanted to make some trolly set, but after seeing its incredible base Attack I HAD to make it an offensive set-up set. Mega-evo and Protect T1, Sub T2 and hit hard and fast afterwards. It had helped me a lot of times, because Shadow Claw can hit for ridiculous amounts of damage. Sucker Punch hits very hard as well, thanks to Banette's huge Attack stat. 100 Atk leaves it at a reasonable stat for a heavy hitter, 252 HP to abuse Substitute and the rest in speed so it can hit faster that a lot of Pokés.

Rotom (Rotom-Heat) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp

Rotom is not my first choice for coverage, but it's nice, at least. It helps against those Mawile I can't KO otherwise, so, at least works for something. Overheat is there for that and to have a shot against opposing Ferrothorn, Thunderbolt it's a nice coverage move and Will*O-Wisp can cripple most Physical Attackers or slowly wear down Special ones. Protect just to scout and give it a bit more time on the field. EV's in HP give it a bit more bulk, and max in Sp. Attack is key to hit hard against most threats.

So hope to get some input! Thanks!

 

[King Arceus]

One thing that will help you is getting a Pokemon that has Intimidate as its ability. Right now they only way you can lower their attack is with Rotom's Will-o-Wisp.

I strongly would recommend Thunder Wave on Ferrothorn instead of Leech Seed. This basically makes scarf Pokemon useless against your team and is also helpful if you have to face a faster Pokemon without a scarf. Leech Seed is better as a singles move because in doubles it can get double targetted. It works on Ludicolo because you also have Rain Dish and Leftovers to heal with.

Another thing that comes to mind is why Bannette? It doesn't get to take advantage of Prankster the turn it mega evolves which forces you to use Protect on that turn. It also doesn't add a lot of coverage since you already run Aegislash as a ghost type. I am going to suggest to replace Bannete with Garchomp.

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
Rough Skin
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SDef
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Rock Slide
Protect

With a unique speed it gains the ability to outpace base 100 Pokemon such as Salamence, Charizard, and Mega Kangaskhan. It also gives your team an option to hit both opposing Pokemon. It also doesn't need to have a Mega Stone so you can still use Kangaskhan.

 

[Luispipe8]

One thing that will help you is getting a Pokemon that has Intimidate as its ability. Right now they only way you can lower their attack is with Rotom's Will-o-Wisp.

I strongly would recommend Thunder Wave on Ferrothorn instead of Leech Seed. This basically makes scarf Pokemon useless against your team and is also helpful if you have to face a faster Pokemon without a scarf. Leech Seed is better as a singles move because in doubles it can get double targetted. It works on Ludicolo because you also have Rain Dish and Leftovers to heal with.

Another thing that comes to mind is why Bannette? It doesn't get to take advantage of Prankster the turn it mega evolves which forces you to use Protect on that turn. It also doesn't add a lot of coverage since you already run Aegislash as a ghost type. I am going to suggest to replace Bannete with Garchomp.

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
Rough Skin
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 SDef
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Rock Slide
Protect

With a unique speed it gains the ability to outpace base 100 Pokemon such as Salamence, Charizard, and Mega Kangaskhan. It also gives your team an option to hit both opposing Pokemon. It also doesn't need to have a Mega Stone so you can still use Kangaskhan.

Sounds very interesting, I'll definitely try that. However, I wanted Banette so I don't use THAT Mega everyone is expecting. You'll see Mega Kanga, Mega Manectrico Garchomp in every other team, so that's wher I wanted to try something different. Anything I can replace Banette with so I don't end up as Kanga as my sole Mega?

Oh, and don't get me wrong, KA, that's great advice, thanks!!

 

[Teal]

You shouldn't say such a big no to choice items. They are extremely powerful and in a format that has quick matches with only 4 Pokémon, two potential targets on the field (!) and little switching and team preview, they are especially good.

Also if you want to become good you shouldn't reject something because it's popular. It's popular because it is good and works.

Just saying.

 

[King Arceus]

Mega Garchomp is not that good tbh. It loses speed which is a key thing Garchomp had going for it. That means you'd have to waste a slot to have Tailwind for it to outpace some of the things regular Garchomp could.

There is also nothing wrong with only having one Mega. Two of the top 4 VGC Worlds teams in Masters only had one Mega. The real key is for the team to work together.

 

[Luispipe8]

You shouldn't say such a big no to choice items. They are extremely powerful and in a format that has quick matches with only 4 Pokémon, two potential targets on the field (!) and little switching and team preview, they are especially good.

Also if you want to become good you shouldn't reject something because it's popular. It's popular because it is good and works.

Just saying.

I don't know, I just don't like being locked in a single move. :/ Besides, this team would be just for fun, since I'd only play this sometimes at league. My main focus is still TCG, but I want to explore competitive VGC once in a while.

---

Mega Garchomp is not that good tbh. It loses speed which is a key thing Garchomp had going for it. That means you'd have to waste a slot to have Tailwind for it to outpace some of the things regular Garchomp could.

There is also nothing wrong with only having one Mega. Two of the top 4 VGC Worlds teams in Masters only had one Mega. The real key is for the team to work together.

Hm, I don't know, but I guess you're right. I'll give that a try sometime tomorrow and see how it goes. Any input in the other pokes?

 

[Shining Goodra]

*Runs in room

*forgot clothes

*runs back out

*runs back in clothed.

Now that I'm ready, I'm here to help you build this beast of a team, looking over the team at first glance it is a solid team, kudos to you. On second glance you have 2 things that stick out, 2 Pokémon sharing fire weakness and 3 Pokémon sharing dark/ghost weakness. Both weakness issues can be worked out by axing 1 Pokémon and replacing it with a Pokémon that can answer it all.

Axing:

Mega Banette

It shares weakness with Aegislash and Gallade which Aegislash also shares weakness with Ferrothorn. Banette isn't a great choice for this spot anyway, a bunch of Pokémon do the job considerably better.

Arriving:

Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk /252 Spd
– Draco Meteor
– Hydro Pump
– Stone Edge
– Flamethrower

Salamence doesn't exactly handle the dark/ghost shared weakness besides only having 2 Pokémon now instead of 3 that share it. On the other hand Intimidate will hamper any physical Dark/Ghost move users. Salamence does answer the fire weakness with Hydro Pump, barring that the user is of fire type it will help overall on switch ins if the problem arrives in a match. Draco Meteor + Choice Scarf allows you to take out Chomp, so it can't EQ your Aegislash to death. Stone Edge is for Rotom-H, and Talonflame.

You may be opposed to using Choice items but it's all apart of being a competitive player, you'll realize when you're switching like a mad man in competitive matches that choice items don't hamper a thing but give you that extra needed edge.

 

[Luispipe8]

Huh, I certainly didn't even consider Salamence. I'll take that in mind and give that a shot soon. Thanks, Goodra!!!

 

[Shining Goodra]

You can also try this fella.

Lanturn @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 12 HP / 252 SAtk / 244 Spd
Modest Nature
– Volt Switch
– Hydro Pump
– Ice Beam
– Soak

Choice Scarf allows Lanturn to do several important things:

Soak + Thunderbolt, Surprise Garchomp with an Ice Beam OHKO before it can move. Surprise Mega Charizard Y with a fast Volt Switch, taking over half of its health while evading the incoming Solar Beam. Surprise Rotom-H with a fast Hydro Pump (sometimes a OHKO depending on the Rotom-H stat spread)