Okay, so... VGC 2016 is crazy. I mean, people complained about CHALK last year, but this metagame has even less variety.
So that's what this team's about. I'm taking a pretty standard team archetype (because let's be real, you can't really use anything else) and adding a slight twist to it. What is that? You'll see, but I'm frankly surprised this team made top cut, given... A certain 'mon choice.
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 236 Def / 212 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Protect
Obligatory Primal, basically. It doesn't seem like you can do much without a Primal, and I picked Kyogre to counter the abundance of Groudon I expected to see. I mean, there's nothing really to go into detail about with Kyogre; you know what it does. I prefer to explain the EVs.
236 Defense lives LO Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent, while 60 Spe outruns Jolly Scarf Landorus-T in Tailwind. There's a big problem with this spread, though, which I overlooked and then realized at Tespa West: This Kyogre is slower than Smeargle outside of Tailwind. With a Modest Nature, I would need 236 Speed EVs to beat Smeargle, which means dropping Defense, Special Attack, or both.
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Extreme Speed
- Overheat
- Protect
RayOgre. Overused as all hell, but effective. Even if the opponent wants to bring out Primal Groudon to get rid of my heavy rain, I can just send out Rayquaza and let Kyogre hit it with Origin Pulse anyway. Dragon Ascent and Extreme Speed are mandatory, while I carry Overheat so I'm not completely worthless against Mega Mawile and Ferrothorn. There's... Not really a whole lot to say about this thing that hasn't already been said.
Furfrou @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fur Coat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Protect
- Helping Hand
- Return
This is the interesting twist I talked about. Thanks to Fur Coat, Furfrou sits up there with the bulkiest walls in the game. With these stats, it has comparable physical bulk to Skarmory... if Skarmory had Intimidate.
So, what you see here is, essentially, a catch-all physical wall. Example: While Kyogre handles special P-Don excellently, it still doesn't like physical sets as Precipice Blades 2HKOes. Add Furfrou into the mix, and all of a sudden Precipice Blades no longer 2-shots thanks to Baby-Doll Eyes while, with Helping Hand support, Kyogre 2HKOes with Ice Beam. And it doesn't stop there - Mega Kangaskhan will 3HKO itself trying to take this thing out, and even then, you can just fuck its offense with Baby-Doll Eyes. Although Furfrou can't defeat Mega Mawile on its own, it still provides support against it by weakening it to where maybe other members can take it on (and Rayquaza has Overheat to handle it.) Honestly, this thing exceeded expectations by a long shot.
Crobat @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Super Fang
- Quick Guard
Crobat here, gets in as my team's anti-Smeargle. It basically just Taunts Smeargle into oblivion and doesn't even have to worry about a Fake Out thanks to Inner Focus. Furthermore, Quick Guard and Tailwind are nice to have for blocking Fake Outs and for speed control, respectively. Unfortunately, outside of anti-Smeargle and anti-Whimsicott+Mega Gengar, Crobat doesn't seem to do much, seeing as the only thing Super Fang is ever taking out is a Sash-activated Smeargle.
Raichu @ Magnet
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Volt Tackle
- Nuzzle
- Protect
Raichu feels like this team's member that's simply way better in theory than in practice. In theory, it's great for redirecting Thunders and Thunderbolts away from Kyogre and Crobat while also providing Fake Out support and further speed control with Nuzzle (aka the untauntable Sash-breaking Thunder Wave.) The problem I have is the fact that it never seems to live very long thanks to the frailty and Volt Tackle's recoil; I don't think I've ever seen Raichu take out more than one Pokemon. Plus, the fact that it's total Groudon bait isn't really much of a help. It may be better if I went ahead and bred one with Encore, or maybe Feint for breaking opposing Protects.
Ferrothorn @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Fuck Xerneas. +2 Xerneas is no problem for this team; basically, just bring Ferrothorn and watch as Xerneas gets Gyro Balled into oblivion. Outside of that, Ferrothorn also helps against Trick Room teams and Kyogre, while also being able to provide speed control with Thunder Wave (Leech Seed didn't seem to be helping a whole lot.) Ferrothorn is basically the glue that holds this whole team together.
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And that's how you get Furfrou into top cut. This team could use quite a lot of tweaking EV and moveset-wise (e.g. giving Kyogre enough Speed to beat Smeargle without Tailwind) but the only Pokemon I'd consider outright replacing is Raichu.
Importable:
Code:
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 236 Def / 212 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Protect
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Air Lock
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Extreme Speed
- Overheat
- Protect
Furfrou (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fur Coat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
- Baby-Doll Eyes
- Protect
- Helping Hand
- Return
Crobat (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Super Fang
- Quick Guard
Raichu (M) @ Magnet
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Volt Tackle
- Nuzzle
- Protect
Ferrothorn (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Atk / 36 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
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