To LCQ and Beyond

Momaster12

Momaster12

The Temporal Destroyer
Member
So this year is my first year playing the VGC. The following team is one I've been working on for a hot minute. It works pretty well but suffers in certain matchups but I am actually not sure what it is that exactly jacks things up. So here is my team that I plan on using for the LCQ. All suggestions will be considered and GREATLY appreciated.

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

Yup it's yet another Mega Kangaskhan. This set is pretty standard and solid too. I'm not sure about the nature, though. I was thinking of using a Jolly nature instead to make Kanga a least a little faster to get a better chance of outspeeding Mega Zard Y and other Pokémon of the same speed. I've also seen a set that uses Protect in place of Fake Out but I haven't tried it out with this team yet.

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Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

So this Rotom-Wash is also a pretty generic set. I needed a Specially Defensive Pokémon so I don't get steamrolled by pretty much and strong special attacker. Not much else to say here...

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Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Quick Guard
- Protect

Yay Talonflame... I guess. Talonflame is pretty strong, really fast, and gets KO'd in 2 hits. So I guess that's a good thing maybe? Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, and Protect are pretty standard attacking and stalling moves. Now I chose Quick Guard because other Talonflame are threats to most teams including mine. Fake Out is another popular move that can be blocked this way.

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Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast

I found myself hardly using the Mega Gengar so I decided to try something else out! Yup it's still Gengar only this time with some cool Specs. This set is very similar to the set I had with Mega Gengar only more coverage. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb for STAB that already deals a bunch of damage with good coverage. Thunderbolt and Focus Blast add to the coverage though I was thinking of replace either one or both for something else like Dazzling Gleam. What do you think?

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Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Garchomp, the longest lasting overused Pokémon I've come across. Garchomp's pseudo-legendary status really makes up for all of its weaknesses and counters, kinda. Power is the name of the game for Garchomp hence its moveset and Choice Band. Dragon Claw as a pretty much go-to attack ideal for taking care of Dragons. EQ is pretty standard STAB for an all-around good attack. Rock Slide is here to help out with Talonflames, Charizards, and other Fire or Flying types like Zapdos. Iron Head is my last choice that actually comes in handy dealing with Fairies, Rock-Types, and Ice-Types such as Gardevoir, Gigalith, Aerodactyl, Rhyperior, Carbink, Weavile, Abomasnow, Mamoswine, among other threats.

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Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
- Stone Edge
- Hydro Pump

Another popular Dragon type, Salamence is a good Special Attacker but for some reason I just don't get it. Like, it comes in handy sometimes but always falls short. Maybe its the fact that all of its viable attacks are either a little to weak or has poor accuracy. This Salamence set makes sure it deals big damage fast. However, Salamence suffers the same faults Garchomp does, a lot of counters and weaknesses.


Well there's my team for the LCQ. I am very excited to finally go to Worlds and share the experience with everyone else. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated greatly. I'll upload some matches later and as the team changes. Thanks in advance for helping me out! Bold=Change


Also, here are some sets that I have an eye on, maybe they can replace some members of the team.
Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 196 SpA
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword

Sableye @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 196 HP / 60 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Confuse Ray
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Taunt

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Extrasensory

Lastly, here are some replays from Showdown! to help demonstrate my play style. Any criticism on playstyle will also be GREATLY appreciated.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144671457
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144669020
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144667989
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144517530
The following replays use Sableye in place of Gengar inspired by MountainDrew and grantm1999 as well as Substitute on Kangaskhan.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144865843
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144867545
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144898178
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2014-144899768
 
Nice team, Momaster, it has some good coverage. However, if I were you, I'd actually go for the Jolly nature in Kanga. The damage output might not be as huge, but it can outspeed other Kangas when in the same field(and that happens A LOT... :p ). Let me know what you think! :D
 
Thanks for the advice! It really came in handy. I updated the OP with some replays on Showdown featuring Choice Specs Gengar in place of Mega Gengar and it really makes a difference. So adios Mega Gengar!
 
For the Sableye that you're considering I would run recover over confuse ray. Priority Recover on a semi bulky Pokemon is way too good to pass up.
 
I think your team is pretty good. I have a few comments but I may come off as rather blunt. Hopefully the time I take to share my opinions to improve your team will prove helpful should you decide to test them out.

Kangaskhan looks good and standard, but I would consider using Substitute on it instead of Fake Out. Substitute is great because it can catch opponents off guard and will win games when played correctly. In best of three your opponent will be aware of Sub and possibly expect it when they shouldn't which will cause mind games to further trip them up. If you are confident in your ability as a player then Substitute may be a great call.

Both Quick Guard and Protect on Talonflame is redundant. Talonflame has many other great options that could be used instead of wasting two spots with defensive moves like U-Turn, Will-o-Wisp, and Tailwind. My personal favorite, though, is Taunt. Taunt is a great move on the super speedy Talonflame. With the format having a plethora of offensive and support moves, Taunt can swing a matchup. Just be careful of potential Mental Herbs and Aroma Veil!

Gengar is a decent Pokemon in this format, but there are better and bulkier options that can use Specs better. Gengar is supposed to be either a support pokemon (and Kang counter) or an annoying perish trapper heavy hitter (the mega). Also, have three choice-locked Pokemon is an awful idea in my opinion. I would run Gengar with a Focus Sash because it is so frail. For attacking moves you can choose between Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dazzling Gleam are all decent options. For supporting/non-damage moves you can have Protect, Will-O-Wisp, Destiny Bond, Taunt, and something else that I'm probably forgetting. All of this is off the top of my head. You have a lack of support Pokemon so this one won't hurt. You could also use Sableye for this role.

There's a reason nobody uses Choice Band Garchomp. Garchomp is an extremely solid Pokemon. It has power, bulk, speed, and versatility... when it's not choice locked. I would take out Choice Band for Lum Berry because you already have Gengar to punish Kangaskhan (no real need for Helmet), and you don't have any redirection or Safeguard protecting Garchomp from burns. Also since Iron Head is nearly useless (Faries will probably kill you first or be Mawile/Azumarill) you could replace it with the ever-helpful Protect. This is a super standard Garchomp set, but it is so for a reason, it works.

Salamence is pretty good, but maybe a Timid Nature would be better over Hasty. Stone Edge still OHKOs 4x weak mons (I think, though I might need calcs to prove me wrong) and you don't need to unnecessarily sacrifice any bulk.

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geez i just wrote a lot, how unlike me. Anywho, hopefully this is helpful!
 
Wow that's a whole lot of feedback therefore a whole lot of thanks in return!

grantm1999 said:
Kangaskhan looks good and standard, but I would consider using Substitute on it instead of Fake Out. Substitute is great because it can catch opponents off guard and will win games when played correctly. In best of three your opponent will be aware of Sub and possibly expect it when they shouldn't which will cause mind games to further trip them up. If you are confident in your ability as a player then Substitute may be a great call.
Sounds interesting. I didn't know Kangaskhan was bulky enough to pull it off. I will definitely test this out, though

Both Quick Guard and Protect on Talonflame is redundant. Talonflame has many other great options that could be used instead of wasting two spots with defensive moves like U-Turn, Will-o-Wisp, and Tailwind. My personal favorite, though, is Taunt. Taunt is a great move on the super speedy Talonflame. With the format having a plethora of offensive and support moves, Taunt can swing a matchup. Just be careful of potential Mental Herbs and Aroma Veil!
I use Quick Guard to stop Sableye, Talonflame, Meowstic, Kangaskhan, Scrafty, Weavile, and a WHOLE lot more Pokémon that use priority attacks that pose a major threat to Talonflame's teammates. So Quick Guard is mainly for support while Protect is for the individual, Talonflame. I have tride using U-Turn and Tailwind before and out of those I think Tailwind was the most useful. However, against a Trick Room team, it doesn't really come in handy. I'll try out the other suggestions but I'll probably be sticking to Quick Guard.

Gengar is a decent Pokemon in this format, but there are better and bulkier options that can use Specs better. Gengar is supposed to be either a support pokemon (and Kang counter) or an annoying perish trapper heavy hitter (the mega). Also, have three choice-locked Pokemon is an awful idea in my opinion. I would run Gengar with a Focus Sash because it is so frail. For attacking moves you can choose between Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dazzling Gleam are all decent options. For supporting/non-damage moves you can have Protect, Will-O-Wisp, Destiny Bond, Taunt, and something else that I'm probably forgetting. All of this is off the top of my head. You have a lack of support Pokemon so this one won't hurt. You could also use Sableye for this role.
So what would you suggest as a replacement besides Sableye (which I am in the process of testing)? I can't really think of another Choice Spec user off the top of my head, probably because I'm stupid tired right now. As for the changes to Gengar, I like the way your thinking with this one. It's very different from what I've seen, namely Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. As for the Focus Sash/Destiny Bond combo, I was just wondering how that would work, if at all, with Pokémon that outspeed Gengar.

There's a reason nobody uses Choice Band Garchomp. Garchomp is an extremely solid Pokemon. It has power, bulk, speed, and versatility... when it's not choice locked. I would take out Choice Band for Lum Berry because you already have Gengar to punish Kangaskhan (no real need for Helmet), and you don't have any redirection or Safeguard protecting Garchomp from burns. Also since Iron Head is nearly useless (Faries will probably kill you first or be Mawile/Azumarill) you could replace it with the ever-helpful Protect. This is a super standard Garchomp set, but it is so for a reason, it works.
The main reason I chose the Choice Band was because of Rock Slide. In my experience in VGC and OU, Rock Slide tends to disappoint with its power against certain Pokémon that I would use it against. It also helps with Iron Head getting that extra damage on those fairies you listed if trapped. However, I do understand that the Band could hinder Garchomp throughout the rest of the match. It just seems like sometimes Garchomp just barely misses the mark against so many Pokémon. It was comforting to know that it would be getting out a ton of damage and usually OHKOs so consistently. Also, the only two fairies that could possibly pose a threat can be taken out with either Iron Head or EQ quickly which is why I love Iron Head so much. It consistently does so much damage against a much higher range of Pokémon than what you mentioned. So with all of that I have a few questions. Now, if I were to switch the Band out for a Lum Berry would that mean I should change Dragon Claw to Outrage or keep it the same? Additionally, what are your thoughts on keeping Iron Head over Rock Slide for Protect (I just think Iron Head is an over all superior attack that gains so much more coverage and hey, it has better accuracy which is always good)? What about Rocky Helmet instead or Life Orb? If Life Orb, what would be a good item for Talonflame? And please please please, if you disagree with any of this please say so, I don't want waste my time to make a team, go to World's and get rekt round 1.

Salamence is pretty good, but maybe a Timid Nature would be better over Hasty. Stone Edge still OHKOs 4x weak mons (I think, though I might need calcs to prove me wrong) and you don't need to unnecessarily sacrifice any bulk.
I'll definitely check that out along with other calcs tomorrow. Though, what Pokémon would it be outspeeding with a Timid nature and Scarf that it already doesn't out speed?
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Whew, well I hope you understand where I'm coming from with my comments. Thanks for your help!
 
Momaster12 said:
Sounds interesting. I didn't know Kangaskhan was bulky enough to pull it off. I will definitely test this out, though

I use Quick Guard to stop Sableye, Talonflame, Meowstic, Kangaskhan, Scrafty, Weavile, and a WHOLE lot more Pokémon that use priority attacks that pose a major threat to Talonflame's teammates. So Quick Guard is mainly for support while Protect is for the individual, Talonflame. I have tride using U-Turn and Tailwind before and out of those I think Tailwind was the most useful. However, against a Trick Room team, it doesn't really come in handy. I'll try out the other suggestions but I'll probably be sticking to Quick Guard.

You mention Trick Room, which Taunt happens to be great against. I was trying to say that while there are other options, Taunt is probably superior. You can keep Quick Guard and drop Protect, because let's face it, Talonflame doesn't have much staying power. With Taunt and Quick Guard though, it is important to predict correctly and not use support moves just because you can.

So what would you suggest as a replacement besides Sableye (which I am in the process of testing)? I can't really think of another Choice Spec user off the top of my head, probably because I'm stupid tired right now. I don't think you should use another Choice user. Two is a lot and three is just insane As for the changes to Gengar, I like the way your thinking with this one. It's very different from what I've seen, namely Taunt and Will-O-Wisp.This is standard Gengar...? As for the Focus Sash/Destiny Bond combo, I was just wondering how that would work, if at all, with Pokémon that outspeed Gengar. You would need to use Destiny Bond the turn before getting KO'd for Pokemon that are faster. Think of it this way, Destiny Bond stays in effect until Gengar does something different (like another attack or switching)


The main reason I chose the Choice Band was because of Rock Slide. In my experience in VGC and OU, Rock Slide tends to disappoint with its power against certain Pokémon that I would use it against. It also helps with Iron Head getting that extra damage on those fairies you listed if trapped. However, I do understand that the Band could hinder Garchomp throughout the rest of the match. It just seems like sometimes Garchomp just barely misses the mark against so many Pokémon. It was comforting to know that it would be getting out a ton of damage and usually OHKOs so consistently. Also, the only two fairies that could possibly pose a threat can be taken out with either Iron Head or EQ quickly which is why I love Iron Head so much. It consistently does so much damage against a much higher range of Pokémon than what you mentioned. So with all of that I have a few questions. Now, if I were to switch the Band out for a Lum Berry would that mean I should change Dragon Claw to Outrage or keep it the same? Definitely keep Dragon Claw over Outrage. Additionally, what are your thoughts on keeping Iron Head over Rock Slide for Protect (I just think Iron Head is an over all superior attack that gains so much more coverage and hey, it has better accuracy which is always good)? What about Rocky Helmet instead or Life Orb? You already have Gengar to give Kangaskhan grief, so Helmet isn't really needed. Additionally, since you have no redirector or Safeguarder, you need something keeping Garchomp safe from burns. If Life Orb, what would be a good item for Talonflame? You could use Choice Band, but I like Life Orb more because with Band you need a moveset on Talonflame that isn't that good. And please please please, if you disagree with any of this please say so, I don't want waste my time to make a team, go to World's and get rekt round 1.

I personally disagree with Iron Head. I, as well as many other players, have experience with Standard Chomp. There's a reason it's standard, it's simply the best in my opinion. That being said, I have not tested Iron Head at all so my thoughts about it are from a theoretical standpoint.

I'll definitely check that out along with other calcs tomorrow. Though, what Pokémon would it be outspeeding with a Timid nature and Scarf that it already doesn't out speed?

That question doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because you're already using a +Speed nature. I was simply recommending what I believe is the more optimal +Speed nature. To answer your question, the nature (Timid or Hasty) allows you to outspeed other Scarf users such as Hydreigon and Gardevoir, as well as certain Swift Swim Ludicolo spreads, which you may have trouble with.

Whew, well I hope you understand where I'm coming from with my comments. Thanks for your help!
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Hopefully this makes sense.
 
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