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Death Trap Doubles Team

Shinzan

Active Member
Death Trap Doubles Team (VGC Format)

I want to have my team rated under VGC rules.


Team Overview:

This team is designed mainly for Double Battles usage. Double Battles account more for synergy than Base Stat prowess and as such becomes a whole different ball game compared to Singles OU. Many tactics such as Trick Room and Protect/Detect variants are prevalent throughout the VGC battles and because of that, the metagame becomes completely unpredictable.

The theme for this team is "Traps". The reason why I think traps are important for this metagame is because the metagame itself favors (I usually spell favours for Canadian spelling) switch-ins to outwit and counter certain tactics the opponent can think of. As such, the importance of traps is to disrupt a key strategy commonly used in the metagame, effectively placing importance on team leads during the beginning of the match. However, traps alone would not improve the odds of success in my favor, so for my team to become a serious threat, I had to come up with a counter-strategy against the majority of the metagame.

Another thing I realized about the metagame is that offense and supports are very commonly used. To counter those, I had to find some sort of weakness in both of those tactics. After some pondering, I realized that offensive users usually favor hard-hitting moves that either have high power, or ones that has higher priority. In exchange, their defensive abilities are usually lacking. Support users in return, usually boast higher defensive abilities to increase survivability to make up for their lack of offensive traits. At first, the two cover their respective weaknesses, but in the end, if they are struck down quickly, they wouldn't leave much of an impact. Therefore, I came up with the second theme of "Death".


Team Building Process Version 1:

I started the team building process by identifying pokemon with the ability to trap other teams:

Diglett, Dugtrio, Magnemite, Magneton, Wobbuffet, Nosepass, Trapinch, Wynaut, Magnezone, Probopass, Gothita, Gothorita, Gothitelle, Litwick, Lampent, Chandelure


Through quick analysis, I knew Magnet Pull wouldn't have much effect on the metagame. I got rid of them first, leaving me with:

Diglett, Dugtrio, Wobbuffet, Trapinch, Wynaut, Gothita, Gothorita, Gothitelle, Litwick, Lampent, Chandelure


Afterwards, I picked away those that are banned in VGC play. Not much has changed though, so I also got rid of those that are not yet available in-game:

Diglett, Dugtrio, Trapinch, Gothorita, Gothitelle

Wobbuffet and presumably Wynaut are banned in competitive play due to an incident back in the Ruby and Sapphire days. Gothita, as well as the Litwick family line with Shadow Tag has not been released as of yet, Gothorita and Gothitelle with Shadow Tag can only be male due to the wifi event and thus cannot be bred. This leaves me with Diglett, Dugtrio, and Trapinch as Arena Trap users and Gothorita and Gothitelle as Shadow Tag users. After analyzing the usability of each Arena Trap user, I ended up favoring Dugtrio over the rest mainly due to its high speed and because bulkiness wouldn't make a difference anyways. On the other hand, between the two Shadow Tag users, Gothorita won my vote over Gothitelle since I needed someone with more bulk and it'll find good use with Eviolite. With that, my two trappers have been decided:

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Setting them aside for now, I needed to come up with a couple of ways to quickly eliminate the opposition as fast and unpredictable as possible. A couple of moves I can think of that will get the job done are: Selfdestruct, Explosion, Destiny Bond, OHKO moves like Sheer Cold, Perish Song, and Ghost-Version Curse. To narrow the search, I only need Selfdestruct or Explosion, and Perish Song since Destiny Bond only takes down one pokemon upon the user's death, which wouldn't help much; OHKO moves have a low accuracy rating and only hits a single target; and Curse is a double-edge move that takes a quarter of the target's HP per turn in exchange for half of the caster's HP per cast. Meanwhile, Selfdestruct/Explosion and Perish Song can hit multiple targets with certain limitations. Selfdestruct/Explosion sacrifices a member to inflict massive damage and can be hindered by the Rock and Steel resistances, the Ghost immunity, the Damp ability which stops it from setting off, and Protect/Detect/Wide Guard usage that effectively shields them from a devastating attack. On the other hand, Perish Song only suffers from a three-turn delayed effect and cannot affect Soundproof pokemon (which is uncommon in these parts) but in return grants guaranteed death upon the three-turn wait (in which can be successfully performed with stall tactics plus the appropriate trapper).

To fast-forward the selection process, for Selfdestruct/Explosion users, I only need normal types to play that role. Those that match their roles are:

Explosion Users:

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Selfdestruct Users:

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and by extension:
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Munchlax is automatically removed in favor of Snorlax due to its superior attack as its evolved form, which leaves me with the competition between Lickilicky and Snorlax.

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VS
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The main purpose of my chosen exploder is to inflict maximum damage possible with minimal effort. Lickilicky benefits for having Explosion, a stronger version of Selfdestruct, while Snorlax has a superior Base Attack stat over Lickilicky, making it difficult for me to choose from at first glance. I then had to evaluate them from a different angle.

So far, Lickilicky can be immune to confusion or Attract, depending on its ability, or it can negate weather, an increasingly common factor in the metagame, while Snorlax is immune to POISON, has added resistance to fire and ice through Thick Fat, and eats berries earlier due to Gluttony. Ability-wise, Lickilicky finds most use in Own Tempo and Cloud Nine, while Snorlax is mostly useful with Thick Fat, due to lack of poison in fast-paced battles. Stats-wise, Lickilicky is more well-rounded with its speed just about half of its average stats, while Snorlax is much more inclined as an Offensive Sponge with Superior HP, awesome Base Attack and Special Defense, decent Defense and Special Attack, with its Speed as terrible as an Amoongus. Lickilicky can take advantage of those well-rounded defenses to utilize its bulk and survive non-Fighting attacks with ease, while it can take advantage of Trick Room yet outspeeding Conkeldurr without priority in a non-Trick Room environment. Snorlax can take on Special-based attacks with ease but this in turn makes it more vulnerable to physical Fighting attacks. However, Snorlax outspeeds most pokemon under Trick Room, allowing it to strike hard at its threats with little fear of its downfall.

Lickilicky Advantage: Explosion, Own Tempo, Cloud Nine, Well-Rounded Defenses, Faster than Conkeldurr by default.

Snorlax Advantage: High Attack, Specially Bulky, Outspeeds most pokemon under Trick Room.

Ultimately, it all comes back to who can inflict the most damage out of Selfdestruct/Explosion. I ran damage calculations for each pokemon, using their respective suicide attacks, calculating them at level 50 each, with max Attack EVs and IVs, accounting for STAB as well as the boosts that Normal Gem would give. The results are pretty close, and the ultimate winner for highest pure damage output is:

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Lickilicky.


Now for the Song user, I factor every pokemon that can learn Perish Song:

Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Seel, Dewgong, Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Cubone, Marowak, Jynx, Lapras, Igglybuff, Marill, Azumarill, Politoed, Murkrow, Misdreavus, Smoochum, Celebi, Swablu, Altaria, Absol, Kricketune, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Arceus, Meloetta


By process of elimination, I get rid of any pokemon that are banned in this format. Celebi, Arceus and Meloetta thus are unusable for this team. Afterwards, I keep any pokemon with higher speed or good bulk on the list. After elimination, I have:

Speed: Gengar, Jynx, Murkrow, Absol, Mismagius

Gengar has the highest Base Speed of all the Song users, with Mismagius being second in that department, but Mismagius outclasses Gengar with its superb Base Special Defense Stat. Jynx has a relatively okay speed, being the third highest, but it is ridiculously frail with its base physical Defense stat of 35. Murkrow is second last in terms of base Speed, but with Hidden Ability Prankster, allows it to pull off Perish Song the quickest. Absol is dead last in the speed department. After eliminating the weakest links (Absol and Jynx), I had to decide between Gengar (the fastest when it comes to non-Prankster comparison), Mismagius (the toughest in the Special Defense Department), and Murkrow (who can pull off priority +1 Perish Song with little chance of stopping it). Ultimately, Murkrow won my vote, since Prankster Thundurus and Tornadus are common in the metagame.

Bulky: Marowak, Lapras, Azumarill

Marowak possesses a high base Defense stat of 110 and a good base Special Defense of 80. However, its base HP is 60 and its speed is mediocre to say the least, making it vulnerable to a concentrated array of attacks, preventing it from pulling off Perish Song. Lapras benefits from 130 base HP, 80 Defense and 95 Special Defense, which makes it a very bulky user of Perish Song. It is also capable of Rest + Hydration under rain, allowing it to restore to full health without the two-turn sleep drawback. It is slow however and if it is hit by a super-effective move, it may not live long enough to use Perish Song. Azumarill has decent bulking capabilities, but what stands out is that with Sap Sipper, Azumarill gains one immunity to an otherwise super-effective weakness (Grass), leaving it with only one weakness in return (Electric). After much thinking, since Marowak is ineffective in its tanking role, and after deciding between Lapras and Azumarill, Azumarill is ultimately preferable to Lapras since it has less weaknesses to look out for and that a good majority use Fighting Types which could take down Lapras, plus I probably won't use a rain summoner for it to take advantage of that ability.

Mixed (Speed and Bulky): Dewgong, Politoed, Altaria

Dewgong is an inferior version of Lapras, but is faster than it by 10 points in base Speed. Politoed has decent bulkiness, with more in Special Defense and good HP, plus it can summon rain to get rid of other harmful weather like hail and sandstorm. Altaria has a good base Defense of 90, an awesome 105 in Special Defense, and a decent 70 points in Base HP, along with 80 base Speed, allowing it to use Perish Song with little difficulty. It also comes with Cloud Nine to remove all weather. Between those three, Altaria is favored because it can destroy weather without risk of benefiting a different weather user.


Thus, it comes down to those three:

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If I analyze the metagame trends so far, I would find that weather users are prevalent in use, therefore Altaria would help destroy a core strategy. However, its typing renders it 4x weak against Ice-type moves, including Ice Beam, its variant HP Ice, and a less accurate Blizzard from hail users. It can also be stopped by taunters like Thundurus and Tornadus (also common in the metagame) from using Perish Song. Azumarill could be instantly struck down by a Thunderbolt/Thunder Thundurus anyways, and Murkrow is frail enough to fall in a single hit and Thundurus/Tornadus can ruin it with Prankster Taunt. Ultimately, what I need for my Song user is to use a Perish Song at least once before it goes down. Hence my decision is to utilize:

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Murkrow

Getting back to my list of Team Rosters, I now add the next two members:

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That said, I have no faith that this strategy would work completely as I had anticipated, thus I needed some additional powerhouses to sweep the remaining forces in case I either mess up, or the opponent can counter my moves. I needed pokemon that can effectively sweep or add additional synergy to my team. With a little searching, I added those two to the team:

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Hydreigon is selected because it can learn a good variety of moves that could provide coverage to the weakness of my team and mow down offensive threats. Terrakion is chosen in order to boost my team synergy while also capable of sweeping with impunity, but more importantly so that it can support Dugtrio with Smack Down.

And with that:

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A new team is born: A Death Trap team designed to disrupt any opponent, while destroying them as quickly as possible before they can recover from the setback.


Additional Notes: Before I came up with this build, I once thought of using Cresselia as my Song user before I came to realize it can't learn Perish Song. If it could, I would've went with Perish Song for the kill, Gravity to trap airborne targets for Dugtrio to prevent retreat, Moonlight to recover lost health, and Psycho Shift to transfer BADLY POISONED status to the unfortunate. Alas, I curse that Cresselia for looking so sinisterly beautiful that it made me mistake it for being capable of lulling others to death. And that is all.

Team Building Process: Version 2

After having my team rated and criticized, I decided to take the constructive advice of those who gave their utmost effort into improving my team and ignore those who are unhelpful for the most part. So far, most of the problems of my team are that they have movesets that contribute very little to help my team. As such, I reviewed my Version 1 Team Roster:

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For starters, I reviewed my choice of Pokemon. Gothorita and Dugtrio are central to the theme of trappers so of course them staying is a given. It seems that those who are constructive in their criticism actually find Lickilicky and his purpose in the team good for the most part. Therefore, it stays.

Murkrow got criticized mainly for wearing Choice Scarf, which allows it to outrun Thundurus and Tornadus with Prankster. One suggestion a rater gave was to replace Murkrow for Politoed, another was for Sableye. Murkrow's niche in the team is to use Perish Song before it falls in battle and Choice Scarf allows it to use Perish Song before they could Taunt it. If the prankster taunter uses Scarf, it would lock them to using taunt and they can't switch out due to a trapper present. Should Murkrow be replaced with Politoed, a new set of tactics would be open, but at the cost of being vulnerable to Taunt, an event I wanted to prevent. If replaced for Sableye with a suggested build, it could add synergy for Lickilicky being immune to Explosion, adding more firepower to it through Swagger, breaking shields with Feint, but would allow the opponent to switch in. I considered that change for Politoed, but left it for a later time to test if the same members of the team with moveset improvements could do better than the Version 1 team. I also left Sableye for future usage.

Terrakion's flaw is moveset based, but apart from that, it was relatively good. For Hydreigon, it is favored for its role. Its only improvement is to focus on Speed, to give it a Choice Scarf to outrun faster threats, and to replace Focus Blast with Earth Power for higher accuracy rates. A suggestion from the user who suggested earlier to replace Murkrow with Politoed also suggested to use Kingdra to compliment rain with Swift Swim. That was also considered.

But before I finalized my team for Version 2 update, I tested my unchanged members with improved movesets as Version 1.5 over an Online Battle Simulator.

Version 1.5 Roster

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash ;051;
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Nature: Adamant
- Protect
- Dig
- Rock Slide
- Swagger

Roles: Trapper/Staller

Gothorita @ Eviolite :575:
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def 252 SDef 4 Hp
Nature: Naughty [too lazy to change in the Simulator, plus I feel it makes little difference]
- Protect
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Trick Room

Roles: Trapper/Support

Murkrow @ Quick Claw ;198;
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP 4 SDef
Nature: Timid
- Perish Song
- Thunder Wave
- Quash
- Foul Play

Roles: Support


Lickilicky @ Normal Gem ;463;
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Atk 252 HP 4 Def
Nature:
- Explosion
- Hammer Arm
- Power Whip
- Protect

Roles: Suicide Lead


Terrakion @ Life Orb :639:
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk 252 Speed 4 Def
Nature: Lax
- Quick Guard
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Close Combat

Roles: Support/Sweeper

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf :635:
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk 252 Speed 4 SDef
Nature: Mild [Likewise, too lazy to change]
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Dark Pulse

Roles: Sweeper

After playing with this team a couple of times (with my win no more successful than the Version 1 roster), I built another team which is the Version 2 build based on the suggestions of a user, taking the improvements of Version 1.5 and adjusting the team as necessary. This leads to:

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However, this leaves Terrakion as the odd one in my team. Thankfully, I came up with a new experimental tactic before coming up with Version 2 and it was some time after responding to the raters. It was a strategy that has not been used against me nor commonly seen in the metagame, but however suits my overall theme and compliments the new additions. The pokemon to replace Terrakion is:

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Dewgong.

Why Dewgong, you may ask? Why not use Lapras, who has superior stats, the same ability (Hydration), and generally a more viable moveset consisting of Rest, Curse, Dragon Dance, and even Perish Song, the one move that is key in this set? Two reasons for that; One: I overlooked Lapras' similarity to Dewgong, and Two: I am not looking for a second Perish Song user. As I stated before, I came up with a strategy that no one uses that I want to experiment with in a competitive environment.

Dewgong is one of the pokemon that learns Encore and another move that can be combo-ed together, combined with a trapping strategy, would turn certain strategies into another suicide attempt. That move is Disable. If Dewgong uses Encore first to force its target to use the exact same move, then use Disable on the Encored, it would lock it from being able to use another standard move, being forced to struggle itself to death. With a trapper out, the opponent cannot switch out the affected as it continues to use struggle, giving me one less threat to worry about. Lapras cannot learn Encore or Disable.

Now of course Encore + Torment combo works essentially the same way the Encore + Disable combo would, with some differences. The problem is that most of the pokemon that learns both Encore and Torment are generally not bulky enough to survive a concentrated attack on it, hence why Dewgong is suited for this role. Of course it helps to have rain to allow Dewgong to shrug off the damage it will be taking.

Hence, a new team has been formed:

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The team are the following:

Standard text is for the initial sets introduced in Version 1.
Bolded text are changes introduced since the posting of Version 1 up to Version 2.

Version 2 Roster

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Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Nature: Adamant
- Protect
- Dig
- Rock Slide
- Swagger

Dugtrio is the only fully evolved pokemon with the Arena Trap ability. Arena Trap prevents opponents from switching non-Flying types on a fatal attack. Protect gives Dugtrio free protection for a turn, allowing it to stall while its partner does the work. Dig stalls the opponent further by one turn and hits non-flying steel-type pokemon hard on the next turn. Rock Slide with STAB hits multiple pokemon hard enough to do some damage and possibly cause flinching. Swagger raises the attack of its target by two stages and inflicts confusion in return. This allows it to potentially stall or if partnered with Lickilicky, give Lickilicky additional firepower. Focus Sash allows Dugtrio to survive a hit once it resurfaces or while it is underground, take a devastating Earthquake.

Roles: Trapper/Staller

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Gothorita @ Eviolite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def 252 SDef 4 Hp
Nature: Calm (for competitive simulator purposes)
- Protect
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Trick Room

Gothorita is nominated for being one of the few pokemon with Shadow Tag that is available and not banned for tournament play. Protect stalls a free turn. Reflect gives the team additional defense, allowing them to take hits from offensive hitters. Magic Coat gives it taunt-protection from the likes of pranksters (especially Thundurus). Trick Room ruins sweepers and allows Lickilicky to outrun offensive threats. Eviolite lets Gothorita take additional hits.

Roles: Trapper/Support


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Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP 128 SDef 128 Def
Nature: Timid
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Scald
- Substitute

Politoed replaces Murkrow as a Song user, while adding versatility to the team's overall synergy. With Perish Song, every non-soundproof pokemon will fall in three turns. Protect stalls for one free turn. Scald does some damage while passing burns. Substitute saves Politoed from one fatal hit. Sitrus Berry restores enough health for Politoed to use Substitute.

Roles: Rain Support/Staller/Suicide lead



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Lickilicky @ Normal Gem
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Atk 252 HP 4 Def
Nature:
- Explosion
- Hammer Arm
- Power Whip
- Protect

Lickilicky has the most powerful pure damage output (before calculating resistance and weaknesses) out of all the pokemon I can think of. A Normal Gem-boosted Explosion could cripple unprepared teams that aren't rock, steel, ghost, or Damp users. Hammer Arm helps eliminate Rock and Steel Types that resist Explosion and slows Lickilicky down further for Trick Room usage. Power Whip strikes down bulky Water Types, Rock and Ground Types like Chople Berry TTars. Protect gives it protection against certain hard-hitters like Terrakion. Own Tempo allows Lickilicky immunity to confusion and allows free boosts from swagger.

Roles: Suicide Lead


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Dewgong @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP 252 SDf 4 Def
Nature: Careful
- Encore
- Disable
- Rest
- Ice Shard

Dewgong is the most gimmicky user of the team. It benefits from rain and fits in reasonably well with the overall theme of trapping. Encore + Disable combo effectively forces its target to Struggle itself to death, preventing them from doing serious harm. Rest combined with rain gives it free recovery. Ice Shard gets STAB and priority to destroy weakened teams. Leftovers allow it to survive several more hits.

Roles: Disruptor/Sponge


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Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk 252 Speed 4 SAt
Nature: Lonely
- Waterfall
- Draco Meteor
- Bounce
- Protect

Kingdra benefits from rain due to Swift Swim, doubling its speed to outrun most sweepers. Life Orb boosts all of its attacks by 30% by draining away a portion of its health for every successful attack. Waterfall gets STAB and can cause flinching on its target. Draco Meteor also gets STAB, and is picked over Outrage for target control and to hit Physical Walls harder. Bounce is mainly to stall opponents while Perish Song is in play and to destroy Fighting Types that could destroy Lickilicky. Protect is to Stall for one free turn.

Roles: Mixed Sweeper/Staller

Results:

It seems that I've managed to score more victories using this team. Perhaps this is due to using Perish Song twice per match or the opponents I've faced weren't prepared to counter this team. There were two instances however where a pair consisting of Thundurus and a Liepard, both with Prankster as its ability, managed to taunt Politoed before it could Song them, resulting in a key strategy to be ruined.

On the other hand, stalling strategies tend to work in my favor, and it is much easier to pull off an Explosion thanks to Trick Room. Of course, I still need to worry about the taunters with this team.

Version 1 Roster

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash ;051;
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Nature: Adamant
- Protect
- Dig
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Dugtrio is the only fully evolved pokemon with the Arena Trap ability. Arena Trap prevents opponents from switching non-Flying types on a fatal attack. Protect gives Dugtrio free protection for a turn, allowing it to stall while its partner does the work. Dig stalls the opponent further by one turn and hits non-flying steel-type pokemon hard on the next turn. Stone Edge hits ground-immune pokemon harder. Stealth Rock once deployed discourages switch-ins from the opponent. Focus Sash allows Dugtrio to survive a hit once it resurfaces or while it is underground, take a devastating Earthquake.

Roles: Trapper/Staller

Gothorita @ Eviolite :575:
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def 252 SDef 4 Hp
Nature: Naughty [cannot be changed]
- Protect
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Gravity

Gothorita is nominated for being one of the few pokemon with Shadow Tag that is available and not banned for tournament play. Protect stalls a free turn. Reflect gives the team additional defense, allowing them to take hits from offensive hitters. Magic Coat gives it taunt-protection from the likes of pranksters (especially Thundurus). Gravity makes flying pokemon ground-borne, allowing Dugtrio to trap them in the case that it falls. Eviolite lets Gothorita take additional hits.

Roles: Trapper/Support

Murkrow @ Choice Scarf ;198;
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP 4 SDef
Nature: Timid
- Perish Song
- Thunder Wave
- Quash
- Foul Play

Murkrow can actually destroy teams with the right setup. Perish Song kills them in three turns and with Trappers in play, it means they'll be gone (unless U-turn and/or Volt Switch happens). Thunder Wave passes paralysis onto vulnerable targets. Quash suppresses its target, allowing slower pokemon to move before it. Foul Play is a backup attack designed to hit offensive pokemon hard despite its own lame attack stat. Choice Scarf allows it to outspeed non-scarf pranksters at the cost of a locking on one move (which doesn't matter as Murkrow is so frail to begin with).

Roles: Support

Lickilicky @ Normal Gem ;463;
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Atk 252 HP 4 Def
Nature:
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Protect

Lickilicky has the most powerful pure damage output (before calculating resistance and weaknesses) out of all the pokemon I can think of. A Normal Gem-boosted Explosion could cripple unprepared teams that aren't rock, steel, ghost, or Damp users. Earthquake handles Rock and Steel-types that resist Explosion. Gyro ball hits Ghosts-Types like Gengar hard. Protect gives it protection against certain hard-hitters like Terrakion. Own Tempo allows Lickilicky immunity to confusion and allows free boosts from swagger.

Roles: Suicide Lead

Terrakion @ Life Orb :639:
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk 252 Speed 4 Def
Nature: Lax
- Quick Guard
- Smack Down
- Earthquake
- Close Combat

Terrakion is designed to back up the team while being an effective sweeper. Quick Guard blocks all priority moves the opponent can throw. Smack Down smites flying pokemon and renders them vulnerable to ground attacks as well as trap them via Dugtrio. Earthquake hits Steels like a truck. Close Combat gains STAB and hits a single target harder than Earthquake. Life Orb boost its dangerous attacks to higher levels.

Roles: Support/Sweeper

Hydreigon @ Dragon Gem :635:
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk 252 Speed 4 SDef
Nature: Mild
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Protect

Hydreigon is the failsafe to my team, being a sweeper of sorts should my matchups become unfavorable. Heat Wave burns all Steels not named Heatran. Dragon Gem-boosted Draco Meteor destroys potential obstacles like Jellicent and Latios in one hit. Focus Blast destroys Heatran and the likes of Aggron. Protect stalls a turn and stops it from being a sitting duck.

Roles: Sweeper

Results:

The odds of winning using this team is more dependent on several factors: The element of surprise, the opponent making mistakes, the user of this team not making mistakes, and just sheer luck altogether. It can take on any team, including a pair of legendaries provided you are prepared and the opponent does not figure out its weakness before you gain the upper hand. In my case, I lost more than I have won.
Version 1.5 Roster

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash ;051;
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Nature: Adamant
- Protect
- Dig
- Rock Slide
- Swagger

Roles: Trapper/Staller

Gothorita @ Eviolite :575:
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def 252 SDef 4 Hp
Nature: Naughty [too lazy to change in the Simulator, plus I feel it makes little difference]
- Protect
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Trick Room

Roles: Trapper/Support

Murkrow @ Quick Claw ;198;
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP 4 SDef
Nature: Timid
- Perish Song
- Thunder Wave
- Quash
- Foul Play

Roles: Support


Lickilicky @ Normal Gem ;463;
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Atk 252 HP 4 Def
Nature:
- Explosion
- Hammer Arm
- Power Whip
- Protect

Roles: Suicide Lead


Terrakion @ Life Orb :639:
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk 252 Speed 4 Def
Nature: Lax
- Quick Guard
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
- Close Combat

Roles: Support/Sweeper

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf :635:
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk 252 Speed 4 SDef
Nature: Mild [Likewise, too lazy to change]
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Dark Pulse

Roles: Sweeper

Results:

During the few times I've tested this team, the same factors are crucial to victory. The odds are similar to the win/lose ratio of Version 1.
Sableye @ Sitrus Berry (Placeholder Item) ;302;
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP 252 Def 4 SDf
Nature: Relaxed
- Swagger
- Feint
- Will-o-wisp
- Recover
 
Last edited:
Terrible. so I'm going to be brief as I have more interesting and worthwhile comments to make. You don't need choice scarf on a Pokemon with prankster. You're already giving priority. You shouldn't use a pokemon who's nature and EVs/IVs you can't control unless you're lucky enough to have a good one (looking at Gothorita)

And yes. That's about all I have time for
 

Shinzan

Active Member
Terrible. so I'm going to be brief as I have more interesting and worthwhile comments to make. You don't need choice scarf on a Pokemon with prankster. You're already giving priority. You shouldn't use a pokemon who's nature and EVs/IVs you can't control unless you're lucky enough to have a good one (looking at Gothorita)

And yes. That's about all I have time for

True, Choice Scarf seems like overkill with prankster Murkrow, making it seem unnecessary at first glance. However, it is not the fastest of all the Prankster mons, with four others outspeeding it (but I assume you know that) and the only reason for Scarf is to make sure it always acts first. Of course, Murkrow can manage with scarf, so I'll consider that option as well, but that would make it vulnerable to priority taunts, effectively cutting its usefulness by about 90%.

For Gothorita, I assume you have improvements in mind?
 

jstinftw!

hey trainer
My team is :
Golurk
Haxorus
Beartic
Braviary
White Kyurem
Mienshao
Hahaha you might want to double check what the RMT section is for. xD That's cute though. :) I really hope I'm not being offensive, I just found this funny, and maybe you needed some direction. Peace!

This is literally the worst team I have ever seen.
That was helpful.

Terrible. so I'm going to be brief as I have more interesting and worthwhile comments to make. You don't need choice scarf on a Pokemon with prankster. You're already giving priority. You shouldn't use a pokemon who's nature and EVs/IVs you can't control unless you're lucky enough to have a good one (looking at Gothorita)

And yes. That's about all I have time for
Slightly better.

You know, the RMT section is for helping, right? At least Hell's Envoy added a little bit of advice, but there's so much more wrong with this team. Yeah, it's not beautiful, and I definitely have things to say about it, but it's an interesting idea, similar teams are actually very popular amongst some of the more gimmicky players in VGC (including Wolfe Glick, 2 time VGC National Champion & 1st Runner-Up at 2012 Worlds, who did not launch a single damaging attack all VGC '13 season and still winning more games than most of us "good" VGC Doubles players). Just telling Shinzan "Hey this sucks" does nothing to help. Without a serious rate, he can make 500 more teams and it would still be the same. So, if you want Shinzan to make a better team, you should help. Otherwise, you're just spamming.

But I guess that's what us other raters are for.
True, Choice Scarf seems like overkill with prankster Murkrow, making it seem unnecessary at first glance. However, it is not the fastest of all the Prankster mons, with four others outspeeding it (but I assume you know that) and the only reason for Scarf is to make sure it always acts first. Of course, Murkrow can manage with scarf, so I'll consider that option as well, but that would make it vulnerable to priority taunts, effectively cutting its usefulness by about 90%.

For Gothorita, I assume you have improvements in mind?
There's more to it than that. Choice Scarf Murkrow does make it have a better priority bracket, but in Wi-fi Doubles/VGC, you only have 4 Pokemon to work with, and limiting your support Mon with a Choice Item will do 1 of 2 things;

1.) Force you to switch, giving up any momentum you previously had.
2.) Force you to have dead weight on your side, MEANING, your opponent can simply gang up on your attacker, AND the next, AND the next, and boom. Choice Locked Murkrow (Most likely spamming Perish Song) against the world. Not a favorable match up.

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash ;051;
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 Hp
Nature: Adamant
- Protect
- Dig
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Dugtrio is the only fully evolved pokemon with the Arena Trap ability. Arena Trap prevents opponents from switching non-Flying types on a fatal attack. Protect gives Dugtrio free protection for a turn, allowing it to stall while its partner does the work. Dig stalls the opponent further by one turn and hits non-flying steel-type pokemon hard on the next turn. Stone Edge hits ground-immune pokemon harder. Stealth Rock once deployed discourages switch-ins from the opponent. Focus Sash allows Dugtrio to survive a hit once it resurfaces or while it is underground, take a devastating Earthquake.

It is important you understand that Stealth Rocks does nothing in VGC. Yeah, they switch, but not enough where it'll even matter. Not to mention, you're Arena Trapping them, meaning, it's not doing anything except wasting a turn of set up where your opponent will most likely OHKO your Dugtrio because Dugtrio isn't bulky at all.

Dig is a terrible move. You really don't want to use that in competitive Pokemon. For the most part, it's easy to see what you're going to be hitting with Dig, and they can switch out or Protect, blocking your attack, wasting your turn, and since you most likely moved first, you're going to get hit after you Dig, again, most likely KOing.

Protect is a good idea. I'm glad you have that part of VGC figured out. :)

Stone Edge is okay. There's nothing inherently wrong with Stone Edge unless you look at its low accuracy. Rock Slide is better, since you can hit both opponents with it, which is great for spread damage, and that flinch chance. You'll also hit more often, since its at 95 accuracy vs. 80.

To be honest, I'd suggest against using Dugtrio. I get that it's pretty much the only Pokemon you can use with your plan, but look at this. Dugtrio is not bulky, it'll be facing two Pokemon with a good chance to KO it, and you need to survive three turns. So you can Protect one turn, ok. So that's one turn. Turn two, what do you do? You have two Pokemon itching to take a hit on you. Pokemon one hits you, brings you to your Focus Sash, Pokemon two gangs up and hits Dugtrio, ending Arena Trap. Turn three they switch. Ok, Gothorita is in the back to help you keep them locked. You take out two, a new two Pokemon comes in, and Gothorita can't do anything to them. Then what?

If I were you, I'd probably just have a Gothitelle with Shadow Tag be your first trapper. It's bulkier, and it does the same thing.


Gothorita @ Eviolite :575:
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 Def 252 SDef 4 Hp
Nature: Naughty [cannot be changed]
- Protect
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Gravity

Gothorita is nominated for being one of the few pokemon with Shadow Tag that is available and not banned for tournament play. Protect stalls a free turn. Reflect gives the team additional defense, allowing them to take hits from offensive hitters. Magic Coat gives it taunt-protection from the likes of pranksters (especially Thundurus). Gravity makes flying pokemon ground-borne, allowing Dugtrio to trap them in the case that it falls. Eviolite lets Gothorita take additional hits.

If you don't have the required nature, you probably shouldn't use it. Naughty is also one of the worst it could have, since it + the Attack stat that Gothorita doesn't and shouldn't use, and - the Sp.Def stat which Gothorita needs. You really need another Gothorita, preferable with a Bold or Calm nature.

Magic Coat's ok. It's an underrated move for support Pokemon in VGC that could use some more use. I'd prefer to use Safeguard instead, however.

Reflect is ok, although since VGC is more of a Specially based Metagame, it could be a wasted slot.

Gravity is.... Interesting. One of my best friends runs Gravity, but it's a difficult theme to run, especially with Perish Trapping already being a theme of your team. There's too much going on, and only one Pokemon really benefits from it. I'd probably suggest you use an attacking move on it instead, like Psyshock or Psychic.

Murkrow @ Choice Scarf ;198;
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd 252 HP 4 SDef
Nature: Timid
- Perish Song
- Thunder Wave
- Quash
- Foul Play

Murkrow can actually destroy teams with the right setup. Perish Song kills them in three turns and with Trappers in play, it means they'll be gone (unless U-turn and/or Volt Switch happens). Thunder Wave passes paralysis onto vulnerable targets. Quash suppresses its target, allowing slower pokemon to move before it. Foul Play is a backup attack designed to hit offensive pokemon hard despite its own lame attack stat. Choice Scarf allows it to outspeed non-scarf pranksters at the cost of a locking on one move (which doesn't matter as Murkrow is so frail to begin with).

The set's fine, tbh. EXCEPT CHOICE SCARF. Murkrow is also a difficult Pokemon to use without Evilolite, and since you've already got it on your Gothorita, you probably should just opt for a different Perish Song Pokemon. Like Politoed. Politoed offers weather support, taking away weather from Sand and Hail teams, and lets you switch out Hydreigon for Kingdra, so that you have a faster Pokemon on your team. If anything, just run a bulky Politoed set with Perish Song. It may not have Prankster, but if all Murkrow is doing is setting Perish Song without an Eviolite, you really don't want to be running Murkrow.

You build your team around the Pokemon you use, not the other way around.

Lickilicky @ Normal Gem ;463;
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Atk 252 HP 4 Def
Nature:
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Protect

Lickilicky has the most powerful pure damage output (before calculating resistance and weaknesses) out of all the pokemon I can think of. A Normal Gem-boosted Explosion could cripple unprepared teams that aren't rock, steel, ghost, or Damp users. Earthquake handles Rock and Steel-types that resist Explosion. Gyro ball hits Ghosts-Types like Gengar hard. Protect gives it protection against certain hard-hitters like Terrakion. Own Tempo allows Lickilicky immunity to confusion and allows free boosts from swagger.
I mean, for what you want it to do, it works. But you really need to look into its moveset.

You have Perish Song on your team, so having a Substitute Lickilicky with a Sitrus Berry or Leftovers can be more beneficial for helping you stall out your opponents. Earthquake is not a good idea, considering you only have one EQ immune Pokemon on your team. Even Hammer Arm is better, since Lickilicky is so slow, and you could end up having Lickilicky be your Trick Room counter. This could also be a reason to use Trick Room on your Gothorita/Gothitelle.

Gyro Ball is ok, but it doesn't add to much coverage. I'd go with Power Whip so that you had an option to take out Rain Pokemon like Gastrodon, opposing Politoed, and even Tyranitar in case you don't want to use Hammer Arm for fear of Chople Berry.

Explosion is really a clutch move. You have to be very careful with it. But it could work in situations where you find it could be helpful.

And you need an Adamant or Brave nature, although a +Defense/Special Defense - Special Attack nature could be ok, to help improve bulk and your options for stalling.

Terrakion @ Life Orb :639:
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk 252 Speed 4 Def
Nature: Lax
- Quick Guard
- Smack Down
- Earthquake
- Close Combat

Terrakion is designed to back up the team while being an effective sweeper. Quick Guard blocks all priority moves the opponent can throw. Smack Down smites flying pokemon and renders them vulnerable to ground attacks as well as trap them via Dugtrio. Earthquake hits Steels like a truck. Close Combat gains STAB and hits a single target harder than Earthquake. Life Orb boost its dangerous attacks to higher levels.

Terrakion's a decent Pokemon. It definitely does work, but it has a lot of weaknesses while not being able to counter those weaknesses.

Terakkion is also a Pokemon that could benefit from a Choice Scarf, since you should really only be bringing it in when you've got the game wrapped up.

Smack Down works in theory, but low output damage really makes it difficult to use effectively. You're not doing enough in a such a fast paced metagame, especially with Terakkion having so many weaknesses and bad match ups.

- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
- Protect/Quick Guard/Earthquake

And a Jolly Nature. That's what you want from Terakkion. I've already explained why you shouldn't be using Earthquake. However, if you are Scarfed, it's not a bad fall back to have, in case you're put into a corner where that would be the best option.

Hydreigon @ Dragon Gem :635:
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk 252 Speed 4 SDef
Nature: Mild
- Heat Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Protect

Hydreigon is the failsafe to my team, being a sweeper of sorts should my matchups become unfavorable. Heat Wave burns all Steels not named Heatran. Dragon Gem-boosted Draco Meteor destroys potential obstacles like Jellicent and Latios in one hit. Focus Blast destroys Heatran and the likes of Aggron. Protect stalls a turn and stops it from being a sitting duck.

I love Hydreigon. But if you take my Politoed suggestion, I highly suggest Kingdra. If not, or you don't want to, Hydreigon is ok. It works decently in Trick Room if you take out the slower Pokemon first.

First of all, you want a Modest Nature. Not Mild.

Second, Earth Power > Focus Blast. Almost the same thing, really, except with better accuracy less attack, but virtually identical coverage.

If you don't use Choice Scarf on Terrakion, Hydreigon is a great Scarf user. Its low speed make people automatically assume it can be outsped by Pokemon like Latios, Garchomp, and Timid Hydreigon or even Kingdra. With a Choice Scarf, you can go ahead and take them by surprise.


Overall, this team has a decent chance of abusing Perish Trap. If you play smart, you can even set two Perish Songs to take out all four of your opponent's Pokemon. Also, a Follow Me or Rage Powder user like Togekiss, Amoonguss, and Volcarona can be really helpful.

These are just a couple of things I'd suggest for you team. Definitely test them out on Pokemon Showdown to get a feel for your team. :)
 

Silvershark

HAWLUCHA!!!
This is literally the worst team I have ever seen.

Help or GTFO.


As to the OP, quite the rudimentary trap team you have here. The Smack Down+Arena combo is pretty unique too, I like that kind of craftiness. The thing is, once you trap them... then what? You only have one pokemon that can really capitalize on that, and it's choice locked. With two pokemon on the field, the doubles metagame isn't as centralized on switching as singles are. Not to say that trap strategies aren't effective, there are some VGC players that have turned perish trapping into an art form, you just aren't using it to it's full potential. One thing that's bugging me is Stealth Rock on Dugtrio. Not only is the move for the most part useless in doubles, but you're trying to punish people for switching against a team that's meant to keep them from switching at all in the first place. Take it out for something else. Then there's Murkrow. Your right, the scarf's overkill. Like you said, there are only four other pranksters that outspeed it: Thundurus, Tornadus, Liepard, and Whimsicott. Thundurus is far more likely to blast Murkrow out of the sky with a gem-boosted Thunderbolt, Tornadus usually runs Defiant instead, Liepard has better things to be doing, and Whimsicott... Does anyone even use it outside of Terracott anymore? The only Pranksters that commonly run Taunt anymore are Sableye and other Murkrow, both of which can be outsped without the scarf. Being choice-locked also kills Murkrow's versatility, hurting it immensely. You also might also want to give it Swagger to combo with Foul Play and turn Lickylicky's gem-boosted Explosion into an absolute nuke when combined with it's Own Tempo. In fact, it'd probably be beneficial to switch Murkrow out for Sableye, so that your only sacrificing one pokemon instead of two. Something like:

Sableye
Calm
252 Hp, 6 Def., 252 Sp. Def.
-Fake Out
-Will-o-wisp
-Swagger
-Sunny Day/Taunt/Recover/Feint/Foul Play

I'll leave the item up to you, and the EV's no doubt could use some refinement, but that should give you an idea. Fake Out supports the team and gives room to setup, Will-o-wisp can cripple opposing physical attackers, Swagger we've discussed (but it can also help give you some wiggle room if your backed into a corner), and, for the last move, I prefer Sunny Day to give you some weather control, but really Sableye has a ton of moves to choose from.

The rest of the team needs work too, but it's getting late. I will say they need better natures at the very least, and swith Focus Blast on Hydriegon out for Earthpower or Dark Pluse.
 

Shinzan

Active Member
It is important you understand that Stealth Rocks does nothing in VGC. Yeah, they switch, but not enough where it'll even matter. Not to mention, you're Arena Trapping them, meaning, it's not doing anything except wasting a turn of set up where your opponent will most likely OHKO your Dugtrio because Dugtrio isn't bulky at all.

True, I should change that at least. As soon as I get the suggestions down on paper, I'll figure out which move to replace SR with.

Dig is a terrible move. You really don't want to use that in competitive Pokemon. For the most part, it's easy to see what you're going to be hitting with Dig, and they can switch out or Protect, blocking your attack, wasting your turn, and since you most likely moved first, you're going to get hit after you Dig, again, most likely KOing.

I mainly use it as a second Protect though, so it lasts longer and they have less turns to survive (if I were to Perish Song them first). It also saves it from Explosion Lickilicky, so that's a plus. It's unlikely I'll replace it unless it allows Dugtrio another turn.

Protect is a good idea. I'm glad you have that part of VGC figured out. :)

The Download Tourneys ingrained that idea to my thick skull.

Stone Edge is okay. There's nothing inherently wrong with Stone Edge unless you look at its low accuracy. Rock Slide is better, since you can hit both opponents with it, which is great for spread damage, and that flinch chance. You'll also hit more often, since its at 95 accuracy vs. 80.

Flinching? I like the sounds of that. Definitely in favor of replacing for Rock Slide.

To be honest, I'd suggest against using Dugtrio. I get that it's pretty much the only Pokemon you can use with your plan, but look at this. Dugtrio is not bulky, it'll be facing two Pokemon with a good chance to KO it, and you need to survive three turns. So you can Protect one turn, ok. So that's one turn. Turn two, what do you do? You have two Pokemon itching to take a hit on you. Pokemon one hits you, brings you to your Focus Sash, Pokemon two gangs up and hits Dugtrio, ending Arena Trap. Turn three they switch. Ok, Gothorita is in the back to help you keep them locked. You take out two, a new two Pokemon comes in, and Gothorita can't do anything to them. Then what?

Lickilicky Bomb happens.

If I were you, I'd probably just have a Gothitelle with Shadow Tag be your first trapper. It's bulkier, and it does the same thing.

It's what I usually start with anyways.


If you don't have the required nature, you probably shouldn't use it. Naughty is also one of the worst it could have, since it + the Attack stat that Gothorita doesn't and shouldn't use, and - the Sp.Def stat which Gothorita needs. You really need another Gothorita, preferable with a Bold or Calm nature.

Is there someone with a Shadow Tag Gothorita with those nature I can trade with?

Magic Coat's ok. It's an underrated move for support Pokemon in VGC that could use some more use. I'd prefer to use Safeguard instead, however.

Considered, it could be beneficial to my team.

Reflect is ok, although since VGC is more of a Specially based Metagame, it could be a wasted slot.

I am deliberating between Reflect and Light Screen at the moment.

Gravity is.... Interesting. One of my best friends runs Gravity, but it's a difficult theme to run, especially with Perish Trapping already being a theme of your team. There's too much going on, and only one Pokemon really benefits from it. I'd probably suggest you use an attacking move on it instead, like Psyshock or Psychic.

Considered, but I imagine it wouldn't do much damage. I would much prefer support moves, but it would leave it weak to taunt.

The set's fine, tbh. EXCEPT CHOICE SCARF. Murkrow is also a difficult Pokemon to use without Evilolite, and since you've already got it on your Gothorita, you probably should just opt for a different Perish Song Pokemon. Like Politoed. Politoed offers weather support, taking away weather from Sand and Hail teams, and lets you switch out Hydreigon for Kingdra, so that you have a faster Pokemon on your team. If anything, just run a bulky Politoed set with Perish Song. It may not have Prankster, but if all Murkrow is doing is setting Perish Song without an Eviolite, you really don't want to be running Murkrow.

Politoed considered.

You build your team around the Pokemon you use, not the other way around.

I'll keep that in mind.

You have Perish Song on your team, so having a Substitute Lickilicky with a Sitrus Berry or Leftovers can be more beneficial for helping you stall out your opponents. Earthquake is not a good idea, considering you only have one EQ immune Pokemon on your team. Even Hammer Arm is better, since Lickilicky is so slow, and you could end up having Lickilicky be your Trick Room counter. This could also be a reason to use Trick Room on your Gothorita/Gothitelle.

Earthquake for Hammer Arm, I can agree with.

Gyro Ball is ok, but it doesn't add to much coverage. I'd go with Power Whip so that you had an option to take out Rain Pokemon like Gastrodon, opposing Politoed, and even Tyranitar in case you don't want to use Hammer Arm for fear of Chople Berry.

Sure, I'll go with Power Whip.

Explosion is really a clutch move. You have to be very careful with it. But it could work in situations where you find it could be helpful.

That is true.

And you need an Adamant or Brave nature, although a +Defense/Special Defense - Special Attack nature could be ok, to help improve bulk and your options for stalling.

Oops, hahaha. I accidentally forgot to put Adamant as its nature. I'll update it once I revise the team, which shall be after I take in suggestions from you guys.

Terrakion's a decent Pokemon. It definitely does work, but it has a lot of weaknesses while not being able to counter those weaknesses.

Terakkion is also a Pokemon that could benefit from a Choice Scarf, since you should really only be bringing it in when you've got the game wrapped up.

Smack Down works in theory, but low output damage really makes it difficult to use effectively. You're not doing enough in a such a fast paced metagame, especially with Terakkion having so many weaknesses and bad match ups.

- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
- Protect/Quick Guard/Earthquake

And a Jolly Nature. That's what you want from Terakkion. I've already explained why you shouldn't be using Earthquake. However, if you are Scarfed, it's not a bad fall back to have, in case you're put into a corner where that would be the best option.

Build considered.

I love Hydreigon. But if you take my Politoed suggestion, I highly suggest Kingdra. If not, or you don't want to, Hydreigon is ok. It works decently in Trick Room if you take out the slower Pokemon first.

Considered with Politoed.

First of all, you want a Modest Nature. Not Mild.

True that.

Second, Earth Power > Focus Blast. Almost the same thing, really, except with better accuracy less attack, but virtually identical coverage.

I'll take that suggestion to heart.

If you don't use Choice Scarf on Terrakion, Hydreigon is a great Scarf user. Its low speed make people automatically assume it can be outsped by Pokemon like Latios, Garchomp, and Timid Hydreigon or even Kingdra. With a Choice Scarf, you can go ahead and take them by surprise.

Considered, but if I do that, I'll need to replace Protect with something it can use offensively like Dark Pulse for STAB or Zen Headbutt for Fighting-Type killing.

Overall, this team has a decent chance of abusing Perish Trap. If you play smart, you can even set two Perish Songs to take out all four of your opponent's Pokemon.

Perish Trap is not the only tactic I use though, but if you thought otherwise, I like what is happening. Anyways, I agree that it has a decent chance of success and half of it is due to unpredictability, but it is incredibly satisfying though to take out legends not with power but through tactics.

Also, a Follow Me or Rage Powder user like Togekiss, Amoonguss, and Volcarona can be really helpful.

It could, I'll admit that.



You also might also want to give it Swagger to combo with Foul Play and turn Lickylicky's gem-boosted Explosion into an absolute nuke when combined with it's Own Tempo.

Very good idea. I could use a swagger on my team.

In fact, it'd probably be beneficial to switch Murkrow out for Sableye, so that your only sacrificing one pokemon instead of two. Something like:

Sableye
Calm
252 Hp, 6 Def., 252 Sp. Def.
-Fake Out
-Will-o-wisp
-Swagger
-Sunny Day/Taunt/Recover/Feint/Foul Play

I still need Perish Song though, but I guess that's what Politoed is for. I'll still consider replacing one pokemon for it though (most likely Terrakion).
 

Shinzan

Active Member
Sorry if I end up breaking the rules by double-posting, but I updated the OP with a new team to rate.

In addition, I added a Team Overview, a Team Building Process for the previous and the updated team, and an archive of previous team members as well as pokemon I haven't used yet but suggested.

If anyone wants to go straight to the team rating, please don't hit any spoilers otherwise it would only get more confusing. Ten hours was spent on the editing of the OP btw.
 
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