I think we all know by now that I'm probably the most Drought-obsessed person ever to live, and have finally found a title I like, so I'm officially self-titled now \o/
I've actually decided to deviate from my infamous Pledge Core; it still works just fine, I'm just trying other team structures I found interesting since my visit to Kansas City Regionals in May.
That said, my mind is so centeralized around my own core that I have trouble thinking outside that small box, so I'm posting here to hopefully nab ideas and share notes on what I have, to see if that inspires anything. It's a bit experimental right now, so basically everything except Char-Y is negotiable.
Ok, /intro, let's a go
Yes, I'm quite serious here. The first four are my main pairings: Char-Y + ChloroSaur, Char-Y + Landog, and Rotom-H has great synergy with both Megas and Landog. Togekiss is my often overburdened suport, and Heracross, often called "Our Lord and Savior Heracross has snatched victory from sure defeat once again" has been hilarious, I should of been using this thing since, idk, the original Ruby/Sapphire? Now for sets:
Charizard (f) @ Charizardite-Y
EVs: 124 HP, 12 Def, 212 Sp. Atk, 36 Sp. Def, 124 Speed
Nature: Modest
Ability: Blaze (Drought)
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Fire Pledge
- Ancientpower
Karst here has been very good to me for a while; only recently did I adjust the EV spread, moving away from a very slow, bulky spread to a more balanced one favoring Speed since getting outsped is an issue for me, and since the attacks I designed it to survive have gone become rather obscure. The bulk investment survives most common Thunderbolts, such as Sitrus Berry/Saftey Goggles Zapdos and Thundurus, while also having a small chance to survive Jolly Mamoswine/Garchomp's Rock Slide (43.8% chance to OHKO + 50% chance to flinch, ~85% chance I'm fucked). It's been pretty solid for me so far. Speed outruns Jolly, Max Speed Mega TTar (Breloom + creepers, basically), with a sizable investment in Sp. Atk for Charizard's legendary killing power. Most matches of mine feature the sovereign lord of the sun, to spread fire and death against all who oppose.
Ancientpower is the only not-obvious move here, so I'll explain. It's used as a silver bullet for problematic pokemon such as opposing Char-Y, Talonflame, Volcarona, etc. while nailing Mence and Gyarados. I've killed more Char-Y than I can count with my own (since it walls itself, but mine actually counters), so I'm quite adamant on the moveset.
Venusaur (m) @ Venusaurite
EVs: 252 HP, 132 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 36 Sp. Def, 84 Speed
Nature: Bold
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
- Grass Pledge
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
Double Mega with Venusaur is a tricky business; one that I have trouble teaching people interested in my cores. There are two ways to run Venusaur in this situation: Modest and offensive, or Bold and defensive. I have found defensive Venusaur very useful all-around, moreso than the offensive Modest variant I ran previously. Not only does it function much better in Mega form, it also proves to be a stalwart ally as Chlorosaur, fast and tough, enabling Charizard (and previously Swampert) to unleash catastrophic damage to more than make up for the lack of Modest Leaf Storm thanks to Grass Pledge.
EV spread is tricky, so bear with me:
Non-Mega outruns max Speed Jolly Gyarados with Chlorophyll active, and everything slower (including Adamant Scarf Landog). There's no point to outrunning Hydreigon (can't KO it) or compensating bulk for the odd Jolly Scarf Landog. Bulk, survives MegaKhan's Adamant Double-Edge and LO Hydreigon's Draco Meteor (Specs is a 50/50 OHKO). Chlorophyll + Tailwind is impossible to outspeed without opposing Scarf+Tailwind, and even when Parayzed has decent speed.
Mega Venusaur is much bulkier, fearing basically nothing that isn't super-effective or very powerful like MegaKhan's +1 Double-Edge (which is a 39.1% chance to OHKO). Speed outruns the same as its non-Mega form with Tailwind doing the same thing Chlorophyll does. Even unboosted, it outruns Rotom-W and most bulky mons like cress and Suicune. It comes in handy :P
Overall, it's used for great synergy with Char-Y, and Grass+Fire Pledge is hands-down the best nuke in the game. Mega Venusaur is used as a secondary team mode, usually against Rain or Sand that Char-Y looks bad against. Been great with the rise in Politoed + Ludicolo usage and fall of Mega Metagross.
Sponges Spore, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seeds. Speaking of which; why Leech Seed? Number one, it makes the defensive nature of the set far more dangerous, since it lacks Giga Drain, and two, one-turn sleeps are useless, Sleep Powder was really harsh on me.
Landorus-Therian (m) @ Assault Vest
EVs: 140 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def, 112 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Intimidate
IVs: 31/31/31/7/31/30
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice
- U-Turn
- Rock Slide
I'll explain that thing that looks painfully retarded in just a bit.
Landoggy is the #2 most used pokemon in VGC15, present on damn near every team that isn't a Rain team (and even then, I've seen it) and for good reason: it's just amazing in the metagame despite every team having 2+ counters. Synergy with Char-Y is solid: Heat Wave + Earthquake is a horrifying combo to stomach, and the few things that do (like Char-Y, Rotom-H, Gyarados, etc) really hate eating Rock moves. Char-Y greatly appreciates Intimidate support, enabling her to survive MegaKhan's dreaded Adamant Double-Edge and opposing Landog Rock Slides. Hits things like Thundurus, Terrakion, TTar, Hydreigon, Salamence, and Heatran hard, and thanks to AV, it doesn't fear opposing HP Ice nearly as much.
EVs outrun Adamant Bisharp / non-Mega Metagross, Atk is maxed, and the remainder dumped into HP for bulk. Lazy spread, I admit, so I'm open to suggestions.
Now, HP Ice with an Adamant Nature, 7 Sp. Atk IVs, and no boosting item looks pretty fucking retarded, I agree. But the point of it is beautifully simple: even with such pitiful power, it still 2HKOs every 4x weak mon I want to hit bar opposing AV Landog - but it still does more to them than they do to me. It doesn't aim to OHKO; that takes great investment and a very hard to find Landorus. He's my main experiment, replacing Swampert. Helps Mega Venusaur with Intimidate (fucking trying to kill Mega venu with anything at -1 or -2 atk) and swatting Mega Gardevoir / Mega Salamence, Talonflame, and Cresselia to an extent.
Rotom-H @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 HP, 196 Sp. Atk, 60 Speed
Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- HP Ice
- Overheat
That's right: after hating, and respecting, LO Rotom-H for so long, I decided to break down and give it a shot after I could no longer deny the amazing synergy it had with the above core. It took months, but it happened. Rotom-H excels in sunlight, with LO + STAB + Sun Overheat being very painful, and Electric being a great offensive (and defensive) typing lets it function well against Mega Salamence, Gyarados (in Sun, non-Mega) Thundurus, Mega Metagross, Talonflame, Mega Gardevoir, Heatran, and all kinds of pains in the ass. Levitate lets me spam EQ more too, Heatran distinctly lacks that utility.
Speed outruns Scarf Modest Hydreigon in Tailwind, and most opposing Rotom/Suicune/Cresselia. Max HP because Rotom has 0 bulk without max HP, and I'm using it for things like Resistances after all. Rest goes in Sp. Atk, allowing it to OHKO vital targets like MegaMence, Garchomp, non-AV Landog, Amoonguss, Char-Y, Talonflame, Gyarados, etc. Coverage is great, but imo LO > Expert Belt because I like to hit incoming switchins hard, and very important for Mega Gardevoir. Rotom-H also makes an excellent status sponge, immune to Burn and Paralysis, the two most common status conditions in our meta. Sleep, well, Venusuar is mostly immune and Dark Void / Sing aren't that prevalent and I'd rather not lose to Mega Mence and Gardevoir with Saftey Goggles. Moveset should be obvious; STABS + Ice coverage for notable threats and great SE coverage. Tried TrickSpecs before this one; failed really bad. Not going back.
You know it's cute
Heracross (m) @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Moxie
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
By far the weirdest member of the crew, Our Lord and Savior Heracross has been an impressively useful oddball. I'm sure you've noticed by now the above four are very weak to Kangaskhan and Hydreigon, and Cresselia is also a pain in the ass (especially CM >_>). Most Fighting types are outsped and easily KO'd by Khan, and those bulky enough to withstand it (read: Throh, Scrafty, and Conkeldurr) are a tad slow for Tailwind. My team lacked a reliable, fast attacker since Venusaur kinda hits like a slingshot against a concrete wall, and was very threatened by faster pokemon like Terrakion, Mega Salamence, Weavile, and Gengar. Scarf Heracross outspeeds everything slower than max Speed, non-Mega Aerodactyl, hits very hard, and offers just the right coverage despite both STABs being walled by Ghost, Flying, Poison, and Fairy. Spread and set are very simple. Max Speed, max Attack, Adamant because outrunning Landog is moot since it walls me anyway, and 4 def just to slightly increase the odds of surviving Psyshock.
Megahorn 2HKOs, at worst, even the bulkiest Cresselia, and nails Ludicolo as well. Scarf Knock Off is just obnoxious, and really hammers Gengar. Sash? No prob, outsped, can't KO, and just gets picked off next turn. Mega? No prob, outsped and 2HKO'd just the same. Also good to click when I'm uncertain of a switchin, nothing likes losing an item. Scarf Rock Slide is the single most feared thing in the VGC metagame, winning battles you have absolutely no right winning, crushing all hopes and dreams, and pissing off Char-Y forever. Close Combat decimates Terrakion, Kangaskhan, Aerodactyl, Heatran, TTar, Blissey, and all kinds of things on my shit list.
Moxie seems very odd, I know. But think, for a moment. We have Rotom-H, who gives approximately 0 fucks about almost every Status spammer like <insert Prankster mon here>, Venusaur who laughs at Breloom for eternity, and its not like Amoonguss ever had hope against me anyway. So, since switching into WoW wasn't important, and Paralysis/Sleep will completely fuck it anyway, AND we have a switchin for every Status between Venusaur and Rotom-H, Guts wasn't so important. Swarm is shit, let's be serious. So we have Moxie, which works quite well with Heracross being reserved for revenge kills and smashing shit in general, and is also pretty funny when you get 2 kills in one turn with Rock Slide. Helps offset Intimidate too.
Plus, when you think of Guts - has Heracross not been the posterchild of Guts since 3rd gen? Something that every experienced battler knows "burning it only makes it mad". Moxie's worked a hell of a lot more than Guts has lol. Thanks to cannibal for the suggest :P
Oh, fun fact: Scarf Hydreigon can't OHKO Heracross thanks to naturally good 80/95 special bulk, and non-Scarf variants are just demolished by CC / Megahorn. Also good enough to take out Rotom-W, etc by tanking a hit and tapping it twice. Very useful mon, much better than Terrakion was imo.
Togekiss (m) @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 252 HP, 60 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 116 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Calm
Ability: Serene Grace
- Air Slash
- Follow Me
- Tailwind
- Thunder Wave
I'm not 100% sure about Kiss here - too many weaknesses stacked just for killer support and a Hydreigon immunity.
EVs survive 252+ MegaMence's Double Edge, and Char-Y's Overheat in Sun. Speed outruns the same as Venusaur. Sitrus Berry lets you live MegaKhan and just bulky as possible.
Moveset is simple. Air Slash is the chosen STAB for its cringeworthy 60% flinch chance and 0 immunities, and also reliably torments Fighting types bar Terrakion who is hit pretty well already by the rest of the team. Combine this with Thunder Wave, and you can pull victory straight out of your ass in nearly any situation with pure hax. Tailwind provides the main Speed support this team is built around, while Follow Me redirects annoying, threatening, or nuclear moves away from teamates so the main attackers (Char-Y, Heracross, Rotom-H) can kill more shit. Also makes the entire team immune to Hydreigon.
Thunder Wave counteracts opposing Tailwind teams, adds more hax, and takes out Mega Salamence so it doesn't just setup and laugh. Mence + Clefairy seems to of died out so I don't have to run Dazzling Gleam anymore. Also pretty funny against Politoed + Ludicolo, despite the Ice weakness. Ludicolo really hates ParaFlinch Air Slash.
The team absolutely needs Tailwind, and so far Kiss has been an able-bodied supplier, the Ice / Rock weaknesses really hurt but eh. Suicune in Sun is just so... offensively useless and doesn't have T-Wave / hax.
==============================================================================
Team's been doing good, despite my low 1400's ranking. My Curse is in full swing again, so I'm losing matches to hax and shit like Geomancy + Dark Void + Heart Swap Smeargle next to Sub MegaMence. I can tell from my videos that "had I not double missed Rock Slide and Heat Wave in the same turn, he'd of lost" so I know the team / me isn't the issue.
Basic issues: MegaMence, even with Rotom-H and AV HP Ice Landog, is pretty problematic. PoliColo + Mega Gardevoir seems very popular among the Japanese atm, and lemme tell you, they don't sleep, work, or go to school, doesn't matter if its 3am, 5am, 4pm, 2pm, or 11pm Tokyo time, they're all I see on Battle Spot. The trio is pretty harsh on me, since Mega Venu doesn't stand against Mega Gardevoir for long, and PoliColo kinda eats everyone else for breakfast. Heracross goes miles to help, but he can't OHKO Mega Gardevoir since most run max Def, nor can he singlehandedly win 1v4. VenuZard demolishes, but only if I win the weather war, and if it's Mega Mence instead of Mega Gardevoir I am so fucked.
Togekiss may not be the best Tailwind mon; like I said the team is flexible (I'd even remove Venusaur with enough reason) so I'm pretty open even if it's a radical change.
Rotom-H, I may be better off with Rotom-W, because better resistances, but the lesser matchup against Electric types is bad for Charizard and LO Hydro Pump still sucks in Sun. And fuck missing 50% of the time, Heracross is bad enough on accuracy.
Cresselia may be able to provide enough Speed support with Icy Wind / T-Wave / Trick Room to justify the lack of Tailwind; Scrafty + Cress over Heracross + Kiss could work? Slow Tailwind teams is mostly what I've used but they certainly have faults so I'm good to experiment.
Heracross, I adore, so that may be hard to change on me. I'm ok with Terrakion and Mienshao though.
If someone has a neat AV Landog spread toss it at me, mine is working fair enough but I'm open on it.
edit: images are from deviantart and wikipedia, the animated gifs are http://www.pkparaiso.com/xy/sprites_pokemon.php . Absolutely no images are mine. It's all on the first page of google images. :P
I've actually decided to deviate from my infamous Pledge Core; it still works just fine, I'm just trying other team structures I found interesting since my visit to Kansas City Regionals in May.
That said, my mind is so centeralized around my own core that I have trouble thinking outside that small box, so I'm posting here to hopefully nab ideas and share notes on what I have, to see if that inspires anything. It's a bit experimental right now, so basically everything except Char-Y is negotiable.
Ok, /intro, let's a go
Yes, I'm quite serious here. The first four are my main pairings: Char-Y + ChloroSaur, Char-Y + Landog, and Rotom-H has great synergy with both Megas and Landog. Togekiss is my often overburdened suport, and Heracross, often called "Our Lord and Savior Heracross has snatched victory from sure defeat once again" has been hilarious, I should of been using this thing since, idk, the original Ruby/Sapphire? Now for sets:
Charizard (f) @ Charizardite-Y
EVs: 124 HP, 12 Def, 212 Sp. Atk, 36 Sp. Def, 124 Speed
Nature: Modest
Ability: Blaze (Drought)
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Fire Pledge
- Ancientpower
Karst here has been very good to me for a while; only recently did I adjust the EV spread, moving away from a very slow, bulky spread to a more balanced one favoring Speed since getting outsped is an issue for me, and since the attacks I designed it to survive have gone become rather obscure. The bulk investment survives most common Thunderbolts, such as Sitrus Berry/Saftey Goggles Zapdos and Thundurus, while also having a small chance to survive Jolly Mamoswine/Garchomp's Rock Slide (43.8% chance to OHKO + 50% chance to flinch, ~85% chance I'm fucked). It's been pretty solid for me so far. Speed outruns Jolly, Max Speed Mega TTar (Breloom + creepers, basically), with a sizable investment in Sp. Atk for Charizard's legendary killing power. Most matches of mine feature the sovereign lord of the sun, to spread fire and death against all who oppose.
Ancientpower is the only not-obvious move here, so I'll explain. It's used as a silver bullet for problematic pokemon such as opposing Char-Y, Talonflame, Volcarona, etc. while nailing Mence and Gyarados. I've killed more Char-Y than I can count with my own (since it walls itself, but mine actually counters), so I'm quite adamant on the moveset.
Venusaur (m) @ Venusaurite
EVs: 252 HP, 132 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 36 Sp. Def, 84 Speed
Nature: Bold
Ability: Chlorophyll (Thick Fat)
- Grass Pledge
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
Double Mega with Venusaur is a tricky business; one that I have trouble teaching people interested in my cores. There are two ways to run Venusaur in this situation: Modest and offensive, or Bold and defensive. I have found defensive Venusaur very useful all-around, moreso than the offensive Modest variant I ran previously. Not only does it function much better in Mega form, it also proves to be a stalwart ally as Chlorosaur, fast and tough, enabling Charizard (and previously Swampert) to unleash catastrophic damage to more than make up for the lack of Modest Leaf Storm thanks to Grass Pledge.
EV spread is tricky, so bear with me:
Non-Mega outruns max Speed Jolly Gyarados with Chlorophyll active, and everything slower (including Adamant Scarf Landog). There's no point to outrunning Hydreigon (can't KO it) or compensating bulk for the odd Jolly Scarf Landog. Bulk, survives MegaKhan's Adamant Double-Edge and LO Hydreigon's Draco Meteor (Specs is a 50/50 OHKO). Chlorophyll + Tailwind is impossible to outspeed without opposing Scarf+Tailwind, and even when Parayzed has decent speed.
Mega Venusaur is much bulkier, fearing basically nothing that isn't super-effective or very powerful like MegaKhan's +1 Double-Edge (which is a 39.1% chance to OHKO). Speed outruns the same as its non-Mega form with Tailwind doing the same thing Chlorophyll does. Even unboosted, it outruns Rotom-W and most bulky mons like cress and Suicune. It comes in handy :P
Overall, it's used for great synergy with Char-Y, and Grass+Fire Pledge is hands-down the best nuke in the game. Mega Venusaur is used as a secondary team mode, usually against Rain or Sand that Char-Y looks bad against. Been great with the rise in Politoed + Ludicolo usage and fall of Mega Metagross.
Sponges Spore, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seeds. Speaking of which; why Leech Seed? Number one, it makes the defensive nature of the set far more dangerous, since it lacks Giga Drain, and two, one-turn sleeps are useless, Sleep Powder was really harsh on me.
Landorus-Therian (m) @ Assault Vest
EVs: 140 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def, 112 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Intimidate
IVs: 31/31/31/7/31/30
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice
- U-Turn
- Rock Slide
I'll explain that thing that looks painfully retarded in just a bit.
Landoggy is the #2 most used pokemon in VGC15, present on damn near every team that isn't a Rain team (and even then, I've seen it) and for good reason: it's just amazing in the metagame despite every team having 2+ counters. Synergy with Char-Y is solid: Heat Wave + Earthquake is a horrifying combo to stomach, and the few things that do (like Char-Y, Rotom-H, Gyarados, etc) really hate eating Rock moves. Char-Y greatly appreciates Intimidate support, enabling her to survive MegaKhan's dreaded Adamant Double-Edge and opposing Landog Rock Slides. Hits things like Thundurus, Terrakion, TTar, Hydreigon, Salamence, and Heatran hard, and thanks to AV, it doesn't fear opposing HP Ice nearly as much.
EVs outrun Adamant Bisharp / non-Mega Metagross, Atk is maxed, and the remainder dumped into HP for bulk. Lazy spread, I admit, so I'm open to suggestions.
Now, HP Ice with an Adamant Nature, 7 Sp. Atk IVs, and no boosting item looks pretty fucking retarded, I agree. But the point of it is beautifully simple: even with such pitiful power, it still 2HKOs every 4x weak mon I want to hit bar opposing AV Landog - but it still does more to them than they do to me. It doesn't aim to OHKO; that takes great investment and a very hard to find Landorus. He's my main experiment, replacing Swampert. Helps Mega Venusaur with Intimidate (fucking trying to kill Mega venu with anything at -1 or -2 atk) and swatting Mega Gardevoir / Mega Salamence, Talonflame, and Cresselia to an extent.
Rotom-H @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 HP, 196 Sp. Atk, 60 Speed
Nature: Modest
Ability: Levitate
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- HP Ice
- Overheat
That's right: after hating, and respecting, LO Rotom-H for so long, I decided to break down and give it a shot after I could no longer deny the amazing synergy it had with the above core. It took months, but it happened. Rotom-H excels in sunlight, with LO + STAB + Sun Overheat being very painful, and Electric being a great offensive (and defensive) typing lets it function well against Mega Salamence, Gyarados (in Sun, non-Mega) Thundurus, Mega Metagross, Talonflame, Mega Gardevoir, Heatran, and all kinds of pains in the ass. Levitate lets me spam EQ more too, Heatran distinctly lacks that utility.
Speed outruns Scarf Modest Hydreigon in Tailwind, and most opposing Rotom/Suicune/Cresselia. Max HP because Rotom has 0 bulk without max HP, and I'm using it for things like Resistances after all. Rest goes in Sp. Atk, allowing it to OHKO vital targets like MegaMence, Garchomp, non-AV Landog, Amoonguss, Char-Y, Talonflame, Gyarados, etc. Coverage is great, but imo LO > Expert Belt because I like to hit incoming switchins hard, and very important for Mega Gardevoir. Rotom-H also makes an excellent status sponge, immune to Burn and Paralysis, the two most common status conditions in our meta. Sleep, well, Venusuar is mostly immune and Dark Void / Sing aren't that prevalent and I'd rather not lose to Mega Mence and Gardevoir with Saftey Goggles. Moveset should be obvious; STABS + Ice coverage for notable threats and great SE coverage. Tried TrickSpecs before this one; failed really bad. Not going back.
You know it's cute
Heracross (m) @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Speed
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Moxie
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
By far the weirdest member of the crew, Our Lord and Savior Heracross has been an impressively useful oddball. I'm sure you've noticed by now the above four are very weak to Kangaskhan and Hydreigon, and Cresselia is also a pain in the ass (especially CM >_>). Most Fighting types are outsped and easily KO'd by Khan, and those bulky enough to withstand it (read: Throh, Scrafty, and Conkeldurr) are a tad slow for Tailwind. My team lacked a reliable, fast attacker since Venusaur kinda hits like a slingshot against a concrete wall, and was very threatened by faster pokemon like Terrakion, Mega Salamence, Weavile, and Gengar. Scarf Heracross outspeeds everything slower than max Speed, non-Mega Aerodactyl, hits very hard, and offers just the right coverage despite both STABs being walled by Ghost, Flying, Poison, and Fairy. Spread and set are very simple. Max Speed, max Attack, Adamant because outrunning Landog is moot since it walls me anyway, and 4 def just to slightly increase the odds of surviving Psyshock.
Megahorn 2HKOs, at worst, even the bulkiest Cresselia, and nails Ludicolo as well. Scarf Knock Off is just obnoxious, and really hammers Gengar. Sash? No prob, outsped, can't KO, and just gets picked off next turn. Mega? No prob, outsped and 2HKO'd just the same. Also good to click when I'm uncertain of a switchin, nothing likes losing an item. Scarf Rock Slide is the single most feared thing in the VGC metagame, winning battles you have absolutely no right winning, crushing all hopes and dreams, and pissing off Char-Y forever. Close Combat decimates Terrakion, Kangaskhan, Aerodactyl, Heatran, TTar, Blissey, and all kinds of things on my shit list.
Moxie seems very odd, I know. But think, for a moment. We have Rotom-H, who gives approximately 0 fucks about almost every Status spammer like <insert Prankster mon here>, Venusaur who laughs at Breloom for eternity, and its not like Amoonguss ever had hope against me anyway. So, since switching into WoW wasn't important, and Paralysis/Sleep will completely fuck it anyway, AND we have a switchin for every Status between Venusaur and Rotom-H, Guts wasn't so important. Swarm is shit, let's be serious. So we have Moxie, which works quite well with Heracross being reserved for revenge kills and smashing shit in general, and is also pretty funny when you get 2 kills in one turn with Rock Slide. Helps offset Intimidate too.
Plus, when you think of Guts - has Heracross not been the posterchild of Guts since 3rd gen? Something that every experienced battler knows "burning it only makes it mad". Moxie's worked a hell of a lot more than Guts has lol. Thanks to cannibal for the suggest :P
Oh, fun fact: Scarf Hydreigon can't OHKO Heracross thanks to naturally good 80/95 special bulk, and non-Scarf variants are just demolished by CC / Megahorn. Also good enough to take out Rotom-W, etc by tanking a hit and tapping it twice. Very useful mon, much better than Terrakion was imo.
Togekiss (m) @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 252 HP, 60 Def, 4 Sp. Atk, 116 Sp. Def, 76 Speed
Nature: Calm
Ability: Serene Grace
- Air Slash
- Follow Me
- Tailwind
- Thunder Wave
I'm not 100% sure about Kiss here - too many weaknesses stacked just for killer support and a Hydreigon immunity.
EVs survive 252+ MegaMence's Double Edge, and Char-Y's Overheat in Sun. Speed outruns the same as Venusaur. Sitrus Berry lets you live MegaKhan and just bulky as possible.
Moveset is simple. Air Slash is the chosen STAB for its cringeworthy 60% flinch chance and 0 immunities, and also reliably torments Fighting types bar Terrakion who is hit pretty well already by the rest of the team. Combine this with Thunder Wave, and you can pull victory straight out of your ass in nearly any situation with pure hax. Tailwind provides the main Speed support this team is built around, while Follow Me redirects annoying, threatening, or nuclear moves away from teamates so the main attackers (Char-Y, Heracross, Rotom-H) can kill more shit. Also makes the entire team immune to Hydreigon.
Thunder Wave counteracts opposing Tailwind teams, adds more hax, and takes out Mega Salamence so it doesn't just setup and laugh. Mence + Clefairy seems to of died out so I don't have to run Dazzling Gleam anymore. Also pretty funny against Politoed + Ludicolo, despite the Ice weakness. Ludicolo really hates ParaFlinch Air Slash.
The team absolutely needs Tailwind, and so far Kiss has been an able-bodied supplier, the Ice / Rock weaknesses really hurt but eh. Suicune in Sun is just so... offensively useless and doesn't have T-Wave / hax.
==============================================================================
Team's been doing good, despite my low 1400's ranking. My Curse is in full swing again, so I'm losing matches to hax and shit like Geomancy + Dark Void + Heart Swap Smeargle next to Sub MegaMence. I can tell from my videos that "had I not double missed Rock Slide and Heat Wave in the same turn, he'd of lost" so I know the team / me isn't the issue.
Basic issues: MegaMence, even with Rotom-H and AV HP Ice Landog, is pretty problematic. PoliColo + Mega Gardevoir seems very popular among the Japanese atm, and lemme tell you, they don't sleep, work, or go to school, doesn't matter if its 3am, 5am, 4pm, 2pm, or 11pm Tokyo time, they're all I see on Battle Spot. The trio is pretty harsh on me, since Mega Venu doesn't stand against Mega Gardevoir for long, and PoliColo kinda eats everyone else for breakfast. Heracross goes miles to help, but he can't OHKO Mega Gardevoir since most run max Def, nor can he singlehandedly win 1v4. VenuZard demolishes, but only if I win the weather war, and if it's Mega Mence instead of Mega Gardevoir I am so fucked.
Togekiss may not be the best Tailwind mon; like I said the team is flexible (I'd even remove Venusaur with enough reason) so I'm pretty open even if it's a radical change.
Rotom-H, I may be better off with Rotom-W, because better resistances, but the lesser matchup against Electric types is bad for Charizard and LO Hydro Pump still sucks in Sun. And fuck missing 50% of the time, Heracross is bad enough on accuracy.
Cresselia may be able to provide enough Speed support with Icy Wind / T-Wave / Trick Room to justify the lack of Tailwind; Scrafty + Cress over Heracross + Kiss could work? Slow Tailwind teams is mostly what I've used but they certainly have faults so I'm good to experiment.
Heracross, I adore, so that may be hard to change on me. I'm ok with Terrakion and Mienshao though.
If someone has a neat AV Landog spread toss it at me, mine is working fair enough but I'm open on it.
edit: images are from deviantart and wikipedia, the animated gifs are http://www.pkparaiso.com/xy/sprites_pokemon.php . Absolutely no images are mine. It's all on the first page of google images. :P
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