Rate My VCG 2018 Team

[omanyte93]

Whimsicott: Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Tailwind
- Sunny Day
- Taunt
- Endeavor

Whimsicott's main purpose is to set up Tailwind. Being the fastest Pokemon with Prankster, Whimsicott is optimal for this role. Whimsicott can also use Taunt to shut down any other Tailwind or Trick Room users. Endeavor is used after its brought down to 1 HP with Focus Sash, allowing an easy KO from Whimsicott's partner. This allows easy KO's against bulky targets like Celesteela, Stakataka, and Chansey. Sunny Day disrupts teams centered around Rain Dance/Swift Swim or Tyranitar and Excadrill combos. Prankster makes sure Sunny Day is activated before the opponent can attack. I did not want to give up a spot on my team for either Torkoal or Mega-Charizard Y.

Volcarona: Bugium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 SpA/ 4 Spe
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
- Rage Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Heat Wave

Volcarona has max HP investment to soak attacks redirected by Rage Powder and to be able to take an Earthquake from Landorus-T. I did not invest in speed since the team focuses so heavily on Tailwind and it also has access to Quiver Dance. Kartana makes a good partner since Volcarona can redirect attacks that would OHKO it while allowing Kartana to set up Z-Tailwind. Kartana also covers Volcarona's weaknesses to rock and water. While Bugium Z may seem like a strange choice, its sole purpose is to get OHKO's on common Trick Room setters like Cresselia and Oranguru as well as threats like Mega-Tyranitar.

Gengar: Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body/Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Protect
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb

Outside of Pokemon with Prankster, Mega-Gengar is one of fastest Pokemon with Taunt and can shut down most Tailwind/Trick Room setters. Gengar is also immune to Fake-Out with the exception of Mega-Kangaskhan. Sludge Bomb can OHKO most of the Tapu's except for Tapu Fini. Shadow Tag also prevents the opponent from switching. Gengar is only out-sped by Pheromosa, and a couple of Mega's which are probably very rarely used and ties with Tapu Koko.

Landorus-T: Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
- Protect
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Landorus provides coverage against Poison and Steel types to help compensate for having 2 Fairy types on the team. Stone Edge provides coverage against Ice types and Superpower for Normal types and Stakataka's that attempt to spam Wide Guard. Life Orb works best with Landorus since all of its attacks have a base power of 100+.

Tapu Lele: Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Moon Blast
- Psychic

Tapu Lele's ability shuts down Fake Out and other priority moves like Shadow Sneak and Bullet Punch. When paired with Whimsicott, it becomes impossible to prevent Whimsicott from setting up Tailwind. Psychic and Moonblast are its main STAB's while Dazzling Gleam provides a weaker multi-target STAB. Shadow Ball provides coverage against Aegislash, Metagross, and other Tapu Lele's. Choice Scarf lets it out-speed Naganadel and Mega-Salamence.

Kartana: Flyinium Z
Ability: Beast Beast
EVs: 4 Def/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Detect
- Tailwind
- Smart Strike
- Leaf Blade

With Z-Tailwind, Kartana has a 100% crit chance with Leaf Blade. Kartana can be paired with Volcarona, as it can use Rage Powder to let Kartana set up safely.

 

[EKZ1505]

Having more than one form of speed control is really good to build a balanced team, but I think three Tailwind users is way too much. Same with having three Taunt users honestly. There’s a lot of different ways to go, so to save myself time from going through all the routes, which Tailwind and Taunt users have you used most? Or which ones don’t tend to see the field during testing? I think you should drop one of each move and give yourself a bit more flexibility.

Only other thing I can add right away is that Whimsicott is tough to judge here as it should probably have as little HP as possible if you’re running Endeavor/Focus Sash (and the speed doesn't really help it either), and it may be a good idea to have a Pokemon who can really thrive under Trick Room so that move can justify a spot more.

Edit: Lando-T and Lele could afford some more bulk as well with so much speed control if it's consistent.

 

[AmbipomMaster]

I agree with EKZ1505, having that many Tailwind and Taunt users is a bit overkill. And since you're running so much Tailwind, it's not necessary to have 252 Speed on every single mon.

The one glaring issue I see with your team is Whimsicott. I really like the moveset you gave it (and it's one of my favorite Pokemon ever), but having it paired with Lele would not be a good time, as it cancels out all priority moves. So Whimsicott wouldn't even be able to get off a Tailwind/Taunt with Psychic Terrain on the field. My best suggestion would be to replace Whimsicott for another attacker, since Whimsicott might not be able to get an attack off anyway, and half of its moves are covered by other members of your team.

Since you're also running Shadow Tag Gengar, something fun you could try would be switching out Intimidate users to lower opponent's Attack stats to ridiculously low levels. This could be done by replacing Whimsicott with Arcanine, so when Gengar is trapping your opponents, switching between Landorus/Arcanine in the other slot can severely hinder your opponent's physical mons. If that were the case, then I would run Assault Vest on Landorus over Groundium Z (since you want to run Z-Tailwind anyway) and give it U-Turn over Protect. A good Arcanine set you could use would be:

Arcanine @ Choice Band
Adamant/Intimidate
252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpDef
~Flare Blitz
~Close Combat
~ExtremeSpeed
~Wild Charge

This is a bulkier set that could work well in Tailwind (you can opt to take less EVs out of HP and put into Speed if you need to, but Tailwind boosts its speed stat to 230 without any investment). You're mostly going to use Flare Blitz against opponents, but Close Combat and Wild Charge gives you good coverage over Tapu Fini/Hydreigon/Heatran/Tyranitar/Excadrill/Charizard/Pelipper (you get my point). ExtremeSpeed is on there for when you want to get some cheeky KOs, but be warned that you won't be able to use it with Psychic Terrain up.

 

[EKZ1505]

Just want to add that Prankster Tailwind can be used in Psychic Terrain since there's no "target," but I love the Arcanine suggestion. Maybe run a bit of speed to help matchups where you don't have the speed advantage, but the team definitely could use something to threaten Celesteela, who really may give you trouble.

 

[omanyte93]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did make a few changes, Togekiss had Tailwind replaced with Dazzling Gleam and Tapu Lele now has Shadow Ball instead of Taunt. I'm debating whether to give Tapu Lele Dazzling Gleam instead of Shadow Ball to pick of targets hit by Whimsicott's Endeavor. Whimsicott's extra HP lets it take a few hits from Earthquake from Landorus. There's also a higher chance Whimsicott can survive an attack and damage from Hail or some other field condition which would otherwise KO it if it was immediately brought down to it's Focus Sash.

As for Whimsicott and the Tapu Lele combo, Psychic Terrain doesn't cancel out field moves like Tailwind or Trick Room; however, Whimsicott won't be able to use Taunt. Tapu Lele's main role here is to block Fake Out and shut down opposing Whimsicotts or other 'mons with Prankster. If I needed a Taunt with Tapu Lele up, I could use Gengar for this role.

The Arcanine idea seems interesting. I've thought about including a Fire-type since my team seems to struggle with Steel-types like Celesteela and Ferrothorn. Besides Arcanine I was considering either Blacephalon or Volcarona.

Blacephalon: Firium-Z or Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Protect
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Mind Blown

Since I already have Gengar, I'm hesitant to add another Ghost-type. Mind Blown with Life Orb would be pretty nasty. I don't have any fire-resistant members on my team so they would be forced to use protect. Although, if paired with Whimsicott with full HP it can bring it down to its Focus Sash and start using Endeavor on the next turn.

Volcarona: Firium-Z or Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Protect
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Heat Wave

Quiver Dance makes Volcarona even more threatening and can be paired with Togekiss and Follow Me to make sure Volcarona isn't KO'd. Heat Wave can be used to pick of targets hit by Whimsicott's Endeavor and start doing major damage after Quiver Dance and Life Orb boosts. Firium-Z would allow Volcarona to have a hard-hitting single target fire attack that would most likely OHKO most steel-types. Giga Drain provides a form of recovery and coverage against water and rock types.

 

[AmbipomMaster]

Oh wow, I guess I need to brush up on my Terrains. Thank you guys, I had no idea Prankster Tailwind/Trick Room works in Psychic Terrain (LOL)

I'm running a Lele on my current team, and it's always a tossup between Dazzling Gleam and Shadow Ball for me. Dazzling Gleam is a really good STAB multi-target attack, but it can be blocked by Wide Guard, but Shadow Ball is a good coverage move, but it's single target and doesn't provide STAB. It all depends on what your team needs. In your case, you have Mega Gengar who runs a STAB Shadow Ball, but also a Dazzling Gleam Togekiss. I would suggest running Dazzling Gleam on Lele over Shadow Ball.

The reason I'm suggesting Dazzling Gleam is that in order to add a Fire-type to your team, you're gonna need to get rid of a team member, and it looks like Togekiss might be a good option for replacement. Whimsicott can work under Psychic Terrain, and it sounds like you like to focus your team around Z-Tailwind Kartana, and it also doesn't make sense to scrap Lele, Lando-T, or M-Gengar either. I like Volcarona, that could be a good replacement for Togekiss. That replacement gets rid of a Poison weakness (currently half your team is weak to Poison) and adds a Water and Rock weakness, which can easily be covered by Kartana and Landorus. I don't like Blacephalon as much, as you already have a Ghost type that can perform well, and I think Mind Blown is just a bit too gimmicky.

 

[EKZ1505]

The Whimsicott set still looks suboptimal, but I agree that Togekiss is the team member that should most likely be replaced with the current sets. Gleam really does not do much for it since it is not an attacker in doubles (Fire Blast really is not even good, but you didn't have another fire move yet), and without the Tailwind+Follow Me combo there are many better options. I would not have 3 z moves on a team eitehr, so if you're looking for a fire type but could also use redirection for Kartana still, I would check out a bulkier Rage Powder Volcarona.

 

[omanyte93]

Thanks again for the suggestions, I did make a few changes.

- Whimsicott now has Dazzling Gleam in place of Trick Room
- Tapu Lele now has Dazzling Gleam in place of Shadow Ball
- Togekiss has been replaced with Volcarona (see my original post)
- Landorus-T now has Life Orb
- Tapu Lele now has Psychium-Z

So far from testing, adding Volcarona has been a huge help. The surprise OHKO's on Cresselia from Savage Spin-Out have been pretty awesome. With Whimsicott not having Trick Room, I have no way of reversing it, and with my team's composition, a TR going off would probably mean certain defeat. Volcarona can take out bulky psychic types that seem to be used most to set up TR. So I don't have 3 Z-moves, I was playing with the idea of giving Tapu Lele Choice Scarf. Any thoughts?