Kommo-o x Penguin (VGC18)

[Usatoday]

Team Preview

Team Building Process

I knew that I wanted to build a team around Kommo-o. I heard that the core of Tapu Bulu + Mega-Gengar + Kommo-o was efficient at supporting a Kommo-o sweep so I started there.

Then, I added an Incineroar because of how splashable it is. It gave a psychic immunity, intimidate, and fake out in a single slot. So it joined the team.

I knew that I would need some form of speed control and Zapdos is a pretty common pick for the given meta. It functioned as a tailwinder and also provided roar support to deter trick room from being set-up. Then, I decided that I wanted to have a secondary set up sweeper incase I didn't bring Kommo-o. I decided on Azumarill because it allowed gave the team a strong priority attack and a bulky water type to help against rain.

After testing the team, I found that if I faced a Mega-Gengar, that I would often lose my Azumarill very early in the match and lose as a result. To fix this, I initially tried running a very bulky kebia berry Azumarill, that could live a Mega-Gengar sludge bomb and still belly drum 100% of the time. However, the speed was still large concern for me because the team was extremely weak to Tapu-Lele. I knew that I still wanted a water type and a steel type would also be nice. So, I found Empoleon and went with an agility set instead of an assault vest set.

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 84 Def / 44 SpA / 140 SpD / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
- Ice Beam
Empoleon was actually the last pokemon to join the team, replacing Azumarill. I found that when I encountered a Mega-Gengar/Kommo-o match up my Azumarill would always get OHKO'd by the Gengar and I would usually end up losing. Empoleon allowed me to have something that could set up on Gengar with moderate ease. It also provided a crucial fairy and psychic resist to check Tapu Lele. Because the team revolved around having a secondary sweeper besides Kommo-o, I decided to borrow a set from DPP OU and go with agility. As much as I detest hydro pump, it is necessary to have any measurable damage output comparative to scald. Ice beam is primarily to hit Zapdos and Landorus-T without having to rely on hydro pump. The evs allow Empoleon to live a LO Thunderbolt from Tapu Koko outside of electric terrain and live 2 earthquakes from Landorus-T in grassy terrain. 180 speed allows Empoleon to outspeed Mega-Manectric after an agility. 44 special attack evs allows Empoleon to OHKO 4/0 Tapu Koko with hydro pump when in torrent.

Gengar-Mega (F) @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
A pretty standard Mega-Gengar set. The primary focus is to trap fairies for Kommo-o to setup and sweep. Sludge bomb hits fairy and grass types, specifically Tapus. Shadow ball is a secondary stab that hits Mega-Metagross and Aegislash. Will-O-Wisp allows Gengar to neuter physical attackers, usually this ends up being AV Landorus-T and Mega-Kangaskhan. By burning physical attackers it allows either Empoleon or Kommo-o an easier time setting up. The evs are pretty straight foward, max speed to speed tie with Tapu Koko and max special attack to maximize the damage done and net specific KOs.

Tapu Bulu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
I knew that choice scarf Tapu Bulu was the most common set that is used with Mega-Gengar and Kommo-o, so I decided to try the set and it helped the rain matchup immensely. Wood hammer provides for a powerful stab that OHKOs just about anything that doesn't resist it in grassy terrain. Horn leech is there as a secondary stab that doesn't take away from Tapu Bulu's health. Stone edge is there specifically to catch Charizard, Volcarona, and Zapdos off guard and net a quick kill. Charizard especially is problematic for the team and this allows for easy removal if you hit it. Superpower is primarily filler, but it helps the matchup against Incineroar and Ferrothorn. The evs allow Tapu Bulu to outspeed Mega-Salamence and underspeed timid Tapu Koko. This allows me to check the speed of Tapu Koko relative to Gengar and ensure that they do not have electric terrain. The remaining evs were spent maximizing attack and the rest went to bulk.

Kommo-o @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Soundproof
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 12 Def / 156 SpA / 76 SpD / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse / Substitute
- Protect
Kommo-o is the star of the show and my Z-move user. Clangorous soulblaze allows Kommo-o to obtain an omni-boost and sweep through unprepared teams. Clanging scales is required to use the z-move and acts as the primary attack on Kommo-o. Because Kommo-o does not have a lot of decent special moves I chose to run focus blast to handle Incineroar and Celesteela. The final moveslot is really personal opinion. I prefer dragon pulse because it allows me to hit opposing Kommo-o who run soundproof, but substitute is nice to outpredict Amoonguss who try to spore. The evs were take from a sample team post on Ansena's Blog. The spread on the Kommo-o sample team had insufficient evs and I was able to have an extra 8 evs by running a modest nature over a timid nature.

Incineroar @ Figy Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 100 Atk / 76 Def / 84 SpD / 28 Spe
204 HP / 220 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Knock Off
- Protect
Ever since Incineroar has gotten it's ability released, it has seen a huge increase in usage. Incineroar acts primarily as fake out user to allow Kommo-o to set up. I usually end up leading Incineroar + Kommo-o if I only see one fairy type at team preview. I'll fake out the fairy type and clangorous soulblaze. Knock off allows me to remove pinch berries and assault vests from various pokemon. Flare blitz acts as Incineroar's main attack for dealing damage. The top ev spread I honestly do not remember where I got it from, but it has served me well and I use it. It runs enough evs to outpace standard Incineroar and get the fake out off first. The second ev spread is from Ansena's blog. It would probably be better for someone that wants to ladder with this team to use her EV spread. Lastly, I chose a pinch berry over assault vest because it allows me to run protect.

Zapdos @ Safety Goggles / Wiki Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 116 Def / 28 SpA / 84 SpD / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind
- Roar
Zapdos is mainly here to provide tailwind support and act as a trick room deterrent with roar. Thunderbolt allows Zapdos to have a stab that hits Tapu Fini and Politoed for good damage. Heat wave helps against Ferrothorn and the rare Mega-Scizor. Tailwind allows me to match an opponents speed control and allow Kommo-o to still outspeed my opponent. As mentioned previously, roar for stopping trick room setup or phasing Snorlax on the turn they decide to belly drum. Again I don't remember where I got the ev spread from, but it allows Zapdos to live a Mega-Metagross zen headbutt in psychic terrain, or a life orb psychic from Tapu Lele. Zapdos' item I honestly go back and forth between. Safety goggles is primarily for Amoonguss so that I can't be put to sleep and can phase out the setup sweeper next to it. But, wiki berry provides better survivability against most teams.

Imports:
Empoleon

Kebia Azumarill

Sitrus Azumarill

Replays:
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[shoz999]

Pretty good team there but I'm not so sure about Kommo-o's moveset. Not a lot of people use Kommo-O these days and if they do, you should add some other reliable anti-Dragon moves other than Clanging Scales without taking another slot on Kommo-o. Personally I throw in flamethrower but I can understand that if you see another Kommo-o, that would be very problematic for your team. Also personally, I would replace Incineroar's Protect with snarl or U-turn and give it an assault vest instead but yours is a safe option too.

Other than that, yours is a somewhat tricky team to counter against. I'd say your biggest weakness would easily have to be dealing with heavy-dragon teams filled with hard-to-counter Pokemon like Garchomp and Mega Salamence that possess better speed than most of your Pokemon.

 

[EKZ1505]

Very cool team with the Empoleon being especially unique, and I disagree with shoz about Kommo-o. While most top players will have a check to it, Kommo-o is still in the top 15 of most-used Pokemon in VGC because it is such a threat if supported and played well.

Unfortunately I’m not quite sure what Empoleon adds to the team as currently constructed. Agility is fine, but without a boosting item or z crystal (not to mention more special attack investment), it’s really not much of a sweeper, especially compared to Azumarill. The few Empoleon I’ve encountered do decently well in a support role (mainly focusing on Icy Wind speed control, the ability to take attacks from Lele (especially with AV), and good coverage (Scald, Flash Cannon, Ice Beam/Hydro Pump)), but otherwise you could consider other sweepers for this spot.

What does Kommo-o’s spread achieve? I didn’t see an explanation in that post. I might personally go in another direction with the moveset, but your reasoning is very solid so it’s good if it works for you. Incineroar is solid, and I agree the second spread is better, especially if you aren’t sure what the first spread is built for.

The spread on Zapdos looks familiar – is the speed built for anything with Tailwind up? Otherwise it looks very good. Depending on what you do with the Empoleon slot, HP Ice could be much more useful than Heat Wave, but otherwise is ok. Item choice is tough. The berry is much more useful overall and will be used more often, but I love Safety Goggles and think it’s greatly underrated. May really just come down to personal preference or trends in the meta.

Overall the team is good, just a couple of decisions that mainly come down to your preferences. Only thing that really stands out on the team is the Empoleon being outclassed or just out of place. Is there anything else in terms of cores or individual Pokemon that gives your team trouble?