I've been spending a lot of time in VGC since I started playing it in 2014 just experimenting with various teams, trying to figure out what works for me. Then I finally figured it out - "You dummy, hyper offense worked for you in Singles! You should try it in VGC." And, sure enough, it worked. Why I didn't see it sooner (or build this team in time for Anaheim) is beyond me, but whatever.
I wanted to use Talonflame. Yeah, Gale Wings got hit badly this gen, but Talonflame has two main selling points: Priority Tailwind and priority
From there, Kartana and Garchomp were must-haves, in my mind. From an experience with a previous team I built, I was never again going to build a team without super effective physical STAB to hit Tapu Fini with. On the other hand, Garchomp got on to have an answer to Arcanine.
I figured since I was building hyper offense, Tapu Koko would be the best fit for the team. It gave me a Taunt user to stop Trick Room setups, while at the same time seeming like the best fit for a Tapu for the team (Tapu Lele was a no-go as it hindered Talonflame, Tapu Fini seemed more defensive, and Tapu Bulu sucks). I, of course, was wrong, but more on that later.
Pheromosa got in for one simple reason: It kept destroying me. I was using the rationale of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," pretty much. Plus, Pheromosa allowed me to OHKO Tapu Koko, and I wasn't seeing very many other ways of handling it on a hyper offensive team, while making sure Porygon2 gets no chance to set up Trick Room.
Porygon2 got in because I was looking for something that could take hits while still being able to deal some form of damage (with the right Download boost). Furthermore, I figured I could use it to reverse Trick Room if that got up somehow.
Porygon2 was not doing what I wanted it to and Pheromosa never managed to survive longer than one or two turns. So, to fix that that, I added Salazzle to the team for Fake Out + Encore pressure, creating free turns for Pheromosa (immobilize one target, Pheromosa takes out the other), while being able to threaten all of the Tapu Pokemon with Sludge Bomb (albeit needing Focus Sash for all of them except Bulu). I got this form of the team ready just in time for the International Challenge, where it did reasonably well, although I didn't play enough games to have any shot of earning CP from it.
From my experiences in the IC, one thing was clear to me: Tapu Koko was a letdown. It seemed good on paper, but it just never dealt enough damage and was too frail to take a hit. I also brought the Koko team to an MSS in San Diego, where I lost a round due to neglecting to bring Tapu Koko to a matchup where I needed it, having been so disappointed in Koko that I wanted to avoid using it. Furthermore, I was having issues with Marowak and Mudsdale, so Tapu Fini just seemed like a better fit. It also had problems dealing damage, but it could at least take hits. I brought the Fini team to an MSS in Phoenix, where I never even dropped a game in Swiss, only to lose to Riley Factura in top cut.
The Team
Cool pkmn (They have TCG cards!)
Ravenclaw (Talonflame) (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Tailwind
- Protect
Okay, here's what I thought would happen: Talonflame was going to be garbage and do nothing but get up Tailwind. I was wrong. It turns out Talonflame can actually do more than that; it's the proud owner of the only priority Z-Move in the game. So, you let Gyarados set up? You dummy. You can still nuke it with Supersonic Skystrike, though. Pheromosa? It's not Protecting against that. You need to deal a lot of damage really fast to something that's outspeeding you? Talonflame can do it. Beyond that, Talonflame can also easily handle Celesteela and Kartana, but WARNING: Flare Blitz is a last resort. You should try your other methods of handling Steel-types first (Salazzle and Pheromosa). Flare Blitz recoil = RIP Gale Wings
Sharkeisha (Garchomp) (F) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Roar
- Protect
Nickname was xdianalust's idea. Blame her. It's her fault.
Anyway, Arcanine is a must-beat Pokemon in this format. Garchomp resists Flare Blitz and is immune to Wild Charge, making it a good call for beating Arcanine. Furthermore, Muk can be a real bitch if it has Minimize... Oh, wait, Tectonic Rage. RIP Muk. This is a pretty standard Garchomp set, with the exception of Roar. Roar was there to stop Trick Room setups when Taunt/Pheromosa wouldn't work (Mental Herb Mimikyu / Oranguru), but whenever I'm not facing Oranguru (or a Mimikyu that's holding Mental Herb), I always wish I had a different move.
Sharkeisha (Garchomp) (F) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
- Protect
As mentioned, Roar is an extremely situational move; Any time I'm not facing a Trick Room setter that both can't be Taunted or Fake Outed (see: Mimikyu or Oranguru holding Mental Herb), I wish I had any other move. In particular, Swords Dance on Garchomp would make my team more threatening offensively, while also making Garchomp care a lot less about Intimidate than it does currently.
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
- Protect
As mentioned, Roar is an extremely situational move; Any time I'm not facing a Trick Room setter that both can't be Taunted or Fake Outed (see: Mimikyu or Oranguru holding Mental Herb), I wish I had any other move. In particular, Swords Dance on Garchomp would make my team more threatening offensively, while also making Garchomp care a lot less about Intimidate than it does currently.
Aphrodite (Salazzle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Bomb
- Encore
Salazzle was bad... Then it got Fake Out, and now it's great. It's the third fastest Fake Out user in the meta, beaten out only by Weavile and Alolan Raichu (in Electric Terrain). However, this metagame is much kinder to Salazzle than it is to Weavile; it basically threatens the meta. Kartana? RIP. Celesteela? 2HKOed by Flamethrower. Tapus? Well, maybe Sash Koko does well if it comes in when Fake Out isn't active.
As I already mentioned, Salazzle serves an important purpose on this team: Make free turns for Pheromosa. On turn one, Salazzle immobilizes a Pokemon with Fake Out, allowing Pheromosa to handle the other one without worrying about getting OHKOed. If an opponent Protects? That's great too. Lock 'em into Protect and now Pheromosa (and other teammates, but especially Pheromosa) can just ignore it for a few turns.
The No-TCG-Card Squad :angry:
Kartana @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 164 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Night Slash
As I mentioned before, Kartana was an easy pick for me. It gave me a strong physical Grass attack to use to pummel Tapu Fini. I gave it an Assault Vest to allow it to actually take hits from Tapu Fini and also pretty consistently handle Tapu Lele (until you see Scarf HP Fire). Also, Sash Kartana is dix, don't use it. Furthermore, Kartana has an additional Fighting-type attack, giving me ways to hit P2 and Snorlax even if Pheromosa goes down (which happens a lot). Overall, AV Kartana is good, and if you struggle against Tapu Fini, I'd try it out.
Tapu Fini @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 172 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
Once upon a time, we all thought Tapu Fini was bad. Oops
Anyway, when I made the decision to replace Koko with Fini, I wanted to keep Taunt as that was too important for stopping Trick Room and opposing Tailwind. So, there was no room for Calm Mind, and Specs was out. So I kind of just slapped this together. If I'm being totally honest, I'd rather have Choice Specs Fini on a team like this, but this set still does what I need it to. Muddy Water gives me a nice spammable spread move (can't spam Earthquake when your only immunity is the flimsy-ass Talonflame) and can cheese games with accuracy drops and Moonblast eats Garchomp. Plus, Fini gives the team some kind of defensive backbone, which I was really lacking before.
These EVs outspeed uninvested Arcanine. There are probably some bulk benchmarks I should look into, but I'm a lazy fuck.
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Poison Jab
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Interesting scenario: On this team, I'm using both Talonflame... And the reason this was a really bad time to nerf Talonflame. But seriously though, you would think that a Pokemon as flimsy as Pheromosa is would be bad, but Pheromosa is overall a really strong meta call given that everyone and their mothers run Porygon2, which survives everything...
252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa High Jump Kick vs. 244 HP / 76 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 218-260 (114.1 - 136.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
... Almost everything, at least.
Beyond kneeing P2 into nonexistence, Pheromosa is also good for checking the Tapu Pokemon with Poison Jab, OHKOing all of them except for Tapu Fini and bulky variants of Tapu Lele. Also, remember how I mentioned how Salazzle supports it by immobilizing opponents with Fake Out and Encore? Pheromosa's no freeloader. Pheromosa supports Salazzle too; Garchomp is one of the biggest threats to Salazzle, but Pheromosa just Ice Beams it to death.
Threats
Scarf Garchomp: Pheromosa can bail Salazzle out of the Garchomp matchup... Unless Garchomp packs a Choice Scarf. Overall, nothing on the team really threatens Scarf Chomp outside of Tapu Fini (even then, Garchomp has Poison Jab), meaning you're gonna have to get Tailwind up and make sure they don't get Tailwind up.
Trick Room: This team has ways of preventing Trick Room setup, so usually, you can count on Trick Room not happening. However, if Trick Room does get set up, have fun.
Tapu Koko: I don't tend to struggle against this, seeing as Pheromosa can just outspeed and Poison Jab it into oblivion. The problem here comes from the fact that nothing on the team wants to switch in, so Koko can be a real problem if you don't play carefully.
Conclusion
"The female can also release pheromones that attract males of all species, including humans. Additionally, these pheromones may cause opponents to be controlled by this Pokémon's will." (On female Salandit)
"It [Pheromosa] also produces a sort of disarming pheromone which was described as "previously unknown to science" that causes those nearby to become awestruck by its presence."
Huh, no wonder this combination has been working so well. It's basically a double whammy!
Importable
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 172 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
Once upon a time, we all thought Tapu Fini was bad. Oops
Anyway, when I made the decision to replace Koko with Fini, I wanted to keep Taunt as that was too important for stopping Trick Room and opposing Tailwind. So, there was no room for Calm Mind, and Specs was out. So I kind of just slapped this together. If I'm being totally honest, I'd rather have Choice Specs Fini on a team like this, but this set still does what I need it to. Muddy Water gives me a nice spammable spread move (can't spam Earthquake when your only immunity is the flimsy-ass Talonflame) and can cheese games with accuracy drops and Moonblast eats Garchomp. Plus, Fini gives the team some kind of defensive backbone, which I was really lacking before.
These EVs outspeed uninvested Arcanine. There are probably some bulk benchmarks I should look into, but I'm a lazy fuck.
optimize Tapu Fini EVs
Potential change to:
Tapu Fini @ Mago Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
.hide tags fucking suck.
This causes Fini to lose a lot of power, but this spread has the key advantage of never being 2HKOed by Adamant Arcanine's Wild Charge. As I now dodge the 2HKO without a Sitrus Berry, I can give Tapu Fini one of the Super Sitrus Berries instead.
Potential change to:
Tapu Fini @ Mago Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
.hide tags fucking suck.
This causes Fini to lose a lot of power, but this spread has the key advantage of never being 2HKOed by Adamant Arcanine's Wild Charge. As I now dodge the 2HKO without a Sitrus Berry, I can give Tapu Fini one of the Super Sitrus Berries instead.
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Poison Jab
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Interesting scenario: On this team, I'm using both Talonflame... And the reason this was a really bad time to nerf Talonflame. But seriously though, you would think that a Pokemon as flimsy as Pheromosa is would be bad, but Pheromosa is overall a really strong meta call given that everyone and their mothers run Porygon2, which survives everything...
252+ Atk Life Orb Pheromosa High Jump Kick vs. 244 HP / 76 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 218-260 (114.1 - 136.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
... Almost everything, at least.
Beyond kneeing P2 into nonexistence, Pheromosa is also good for checking the Tapu Pokemon with Poison Jab, OHKOing all of them except for Tapu Fini and bulky variants of Tapu Lele. Also, remember how I mentioned how Salazzle supports it by immobilizing opponents with Fake Out and Encore? Pheromosa's no freeloader. Pheromosa supports Salazzle too; Garchomp is one of the biggest threats to Salazzle, but Pheromosa just Ice Beams it to death.
Threats
Scarf Garchomp: Pheromosa can bail Salazzle out of the Garchomp matchup... Unless Garchomp packs a Choice Scarf. Overall, nothing on the team really threatens Scarf Chomp outside of Tapu Fini (even then, Garchomp has Poison Jab), meaning you're gonna have to get Tailwind up and make sure they don't get Tailwind up.
Trick Room: This team has ways of preventing Trick Room setup, so usually, you can count on Trick Room not happening. However, if Trick Room does get set up, have fun.
Tapu Koko: I don't tend to struggle against this, seeing as Pheromosa can just outspeed and Poison Jab it into oblivion. The problem here comes from the fact that nothing on the team wants to switch in, so Koko can be a real problem if you don't play carefully.
Conclusion
"The female can also release pheromones that attract males of all species, including humans. Additionally, these pheromones may cause opponents to be controlled by this Pokémon's will." (On female Salandit)
"It [Pheromosa] also produces a sort of disarming pheromone which was described as "previously unknown to science" that causes those nearby to become awestruck by its presence."
Huh, no wonder this combination has been working so well. It's basically a double whammy!
Importable
Code:
Ravenclaw (Talonflame) (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Tailwind
- Protect
Kartana @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 164 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Night Slash
Sharkeisha (Garchomp) (F) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Roar
- Protect
Tapu Fini @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 172 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
Aphrodite (Salazzle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Bomb
- Encore
Pheromosa @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Poison Jab
- Ice Beam
- Protect
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