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VGC 2011 Team Idea - Total Trickery

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Hello! Those of you who remember me might know me for my Pokémon trade-giveaways years ago, but I doubt anybody knows me for competitive battling. Well, that’s because I’ve never given it too much thought! This year however I’ve decided to try this year’s VGC, and I thought that a Trick Room team would be the way to go.

:518:
Musharna @ Mental Herb
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Def
Nature: Sassy
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Helping Hand
- Yawn / Moonlight

When I first heard about the ability Telepathy, I instantly thought “I could easily exploit Earthquake and Selfdestruct / Explosion without worrying about my own partner.” Sadly, I despised Musharna’s terrible speed, and for a while, the idea was dropped. Brought up again now that I can see that many slow-mons have been introduced this generation, Musharna is meant to be partnered with Gigalith for the best results.

The max EVs in HP and Special Defense are meant to help survive a possible Shadow Ball from threats, that way I can at least set up Trick Room (I could also focus more on Defense instead or divide them). The Helping Hand is there to boost up the eventual Explosion, but Yawn and Moonlight are troubling for me. Yawn would be great to force switches, but Moonlight helps it live another turn. The Mental Herb is another precaution, as everybody I know who’s going to VGC this year has something with Taunt, especially that horrible Prankster Whimsicott.

:526:
Gigalith @ Normal Gem
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Sp Def
Nature: Brave
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Explosion

Rarely do I find Pokémon with chemistry like Gigalith and Musharna. The two work so well together, helping the other set up or attack, without any collateral damage. Sadly, a love like this can never last, as poor Gigalith is destined for doom. Although Explosion lacks that defense-halving benefit it had before, the boost from both the Normal Gem and Helping Hand are meant to say “Ha! How worthless is it now?”

Once again a Speed-hindering nature is seen, but it’s pretty much a must for this team. The HP boost could have been exchanged for more EVs in defensive areas, but either way Gigalith is meant to die eventually. Protect and Sturdy help keep it alive for Musharna to start up Trick Room, and the other attacking moves help prevent any Pokémon like Chandelure from ruining my Trick Room / Explosion.

:609:
Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sp Atk / 4 Sp Def
Nature: Quiet
- Trick Room
- Heat Wave / Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp / Minimize

Musharna isn’t destined to live forever either, and once it goes down, Chandelure is next in line to keep up the Trick Room. Heat Wave isn’t the most reliable move, but hitting both opponents is somewhat worth it. Shadow Ball is its go-to move, and has the potential to take out a lot of opponents. Will-O-Wisp is meant to hurt physical attackers (I’m looking at you Conkeldurr), but Minimize is great considering that the Evasion clause doesn’t exist here in VGC. It gets hurt more by Steamroller, but I have doubts that I’ll find that many Scolipedes at VGC, let alone with Steamroller (which would only do ¼ damage anyway).

In my opinion Chandelure has great chemistry with many other Pokémon. With any of the bottom three Pokémon, it demonstrates great partnership, as any combo can counter many threats. My problem is its actually average speed, which I will discuss further down the list

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Possible 4th Party Members~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I'm not sure if you're allowed to bring six pokemon and just choose four, or if you can only bring four. Assuming the former is allowed, here are the options I'm considering:

:598:
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Occa Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 ATK / 4 Def
Nature: Brave
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock / Toxic / Substitute

I expect to hear a bunch of “How could you NOT put max EVs in Ferrothorn’s defenses?” but this set is meant to hit hard on teams who don’t expect it. Its defenses are intense enough as is, and I highly doubt anything is going to be able to take it down in one hit. A fire attack might, but if Chandelure isn’t out yet, a Flame Body switch could prove effective. If not, there’s always the Occa Berry (If I ever find one in DW).

Power Whip and Gyro Ball are musts, being incredibly powerful, and Protect is valuable in staying alive as Trick Room is reset. The fourth slot however, can go a couple different ways. Sub prevents status, but overall isn’t great without Leech Seed; Stealth Rock would be great in hurting Volcarona, but with four Pokémon per match and the Musharna + Gigalith strategy almost always leading, the odds are they’re final two Pokémon will be out before Ferrothorn is. Finally, Toxic is just an annoyance and makes a tiny dent in this fast-paced game, but better than Paralysis if Gyro Ball wants to be effective

:565:
Carracosta @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Sp. Def
Nature: Sassy
- Curse
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Focus Blast

The EV spread is pretty self explanatory. High HP is good for living and to keep Life Orb from draining too much, Special Defense is way too low so the boost is a must, and the rest is dumped into attack for a tiny little “oomph.” Curse is great for Trick Room since it’s really boosting Speed too, Stone Edge is an all around great STAB move, and Focus Blast is good for beating those pesky and prevalent Dark and Fighting types. While Aqua Jet isn’t all that powerful, I think it can be useful in attacking during that brief and eventual period when Trick Room dies out.

:534:
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 ATK / 4 Sp. Def
Nature: Brave
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Conkeldurr was one of the reasons I considered a Trick Room team, as Fighting types practically rule the metagame, taking out many unwanted Dark and Steel types. Excadrill and Hydreigon would never be problems with Conkeldurr. The HP investment is for life, keeping Burn from becoming too big of a hassle (necessary nonetheless for Guts activation), and attack is self-explanatory. Conkeldurr is meant to hit fast, and hit harder than most any Pokémon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So that’s my team! However, after talking to my friend, I’ve begun to worry if Chandelure is too fast, even if I bred it to have low IVs and a poor nature for Speed. I need a Pokémon who can keep Trick Room alive, so I think that if it has to be replaced, this Cofagrigus might be the way to go.

:563:
Cofagrigus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Def
Nature: Sassy
- Trick Room
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Imprison

This Cofagrigus isn’t necessarily meant to hit hard, but rather stay alive and keep Trick Room going. High defenses and slow speed are amazing with Trick Room, and with Imprison any opposing Jellicent or Chandelure can’t undo Trick Room or use their own Shadow Ball.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So should I keep Chandelure? Should it be replaced with Cofagrigus? I’m asking RMT to help figure which is the best option. Remember that this year's VGC allows only Unova pokemon! Thanks for all your help~
 
Gengar makes a good explosion and earthquake partner, what with his ability and ghost typing. Then again he's fast and wouldn't do well with trick room in effect, so you could try Dusknoir. Then again, Dusknoir and Cofagrigus serve similar roles. I noticed that you're using all Unova pokemon, are you limiting yourself to just fifth generation?
 

legendarypokemonmaster

Well-Known Member
^Yes, he said that.
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
pAc0tAc019: It's cool, I figured this year's VGC was fair game at first too xD;
Only Unova pokemon makes this whole thing very repetative, I expect to see the same pokemon over and over again -__-"
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
I really don't want to bump but I still haven't heard any real comments/criticism <:I

Please Rate my Team~
 

Aquadon

TCG Trainer
I'm not going to lie; 252 HP on everything just seems repetitive.... you sure there aren't other ways to maximize Bulk?

Also, I love that Musharna has its DW (Dreamyard) ability. Props.
 

windsong

WEST SIDE
I'm not going to lie; 252 HP on everything just seems repetitive.... you sure there aren't other ways to maximize Bulk?

No, there aren't. You'll always get a significantly better result out of maxing HP before defenses on anything that lacks an absurdly high base HP.
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Yeah I'm with Epic Eevee on this one. These guys have pretty sucky HP, and I wanna focus more on that (and there is some other reasoning for it if you read some of the descriptions I think... I took a lot out for brevity) :p

Still, my greatest concern is whether I should switch Chandelure with Cofagrigus or not. Any suggestions?

EDIT: Sorry I didn't see your second post. Yes I said I could easilly change Musharna's Defensive EVs around. I figured I'd see more Shadow Balls than Crunches... but maybe not xD;
 
Last edited:
Either one can work out well, if you use them right. I would say Cofagrigus if only because Chandelure has a whopping 5 types of attacks that do double damage to it as well as being a little quick, although that can be helpful if you get stuck without. The plus is that is can deal the hurt a lot more than Cofagrigus, especially with Heat Wave. Just weigh the pros and cons and see what you like more. Also, for the 4th Pokemon I recommend Conkeldurr, and if you haven't looked into it, try Escavalier. I have one with my Trick Room team and it ties in nicely.
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
I considered Escavalier, but in the end it got cut for important reasons (myfriendtotallydidn'tberatemeforusingitsinceshecalled"dibs"whatgaveyouthatidea?)

Apparently it is take six and choose four from those, but Conkeldurr was my main choice for fourth choice if I had to

Hmm.. about Cofagrigus and Chandelure... I guess I could just flip a coin o__o"
It's hard to choose!! Do I want to hit hard or keep up defenses? Decisions decisions...

Anybody else have an opinion?
 

dodohead272

Well-Known Member
i would give ferrothron explosion so you have two pokes with it
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Maybe (It wouldn't hurt Chandelure/Cofagrigus anyways)... what would you suggest replacing with it?
I suppose that Stealth Rock isn't all that important seeing how a) fast paced it is and b) Ferrothorn is meant to be sent out third.

SR was mostly for Volcarona protection, which I'm pretty afraid of! Dx
 

xScruffyx

Well-Known Member
Mmm I dont like chandalure on TR teams, hes just too fast. I like cofagrigus for that role a lot better.
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Mmm I dont like chandalure on TR teams, hes just too fast. I like cofagrigus for that role a lot better.

I kinda agree with you, but it's not as though it's too fast for Trick Room. A lot of teams I've seen have included either Chandelure or Jellicent, and in this Generation full of speed-mons, they do pretty well unless facing something terribly slower. :I

There are so many pros and cons for either pokemon. Gosh this is difficult ;__;
 

xScruffyx

Well-Known Member
Id pick jellicent seeing as you have more than one pokemon with above average defense. Jellicent will give you a needed special defense poke.
 

123fakestreet

Metalopolis King
Id pick jellicent seeing as you have more than one pokemon with above average defense. Jellicent will give you a needed special defense poke.

Jellicent also gts water spout which you can abuse very easily in trick room. Good coverage/support options too.
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Id pick jellicent seeing as you have more than one pokemon with above average defense. Jellicent will give you a needed special defense poke.

I thought the whole point of Cofagrigus was to raise Sp.Def since it's Defense is rediculous as it is... :p

Ugh if I get another pokemon into the mix I'll die... Should I really replace either of those two with it? I mean I have a lot of physical mons and I could replace something like... idk Carracosta? -___-"
 

ac333

Squirtle Squirt!
Bumping because I just found a super-big counter when fighting Golurk, and I have no idea how to fix this.

Really need some help! ;___;
 
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