A Competitive M-Sceptile Team!?

[DanielJames]

I'm back with another team build and I'm excited about this one because I've put together a competitive team featuring Mega Sceptile. Sceptile is a great Pokémon, but it's often overlooked because it does need a lot of support. Every Pokémon on this team supports Sceptile in some way or another, but is still able to stand alone in case he goes down. Without further ado, here is my team. Have any feedback or suggestions? Let me know!

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow/Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Energy Ball
- Dragon Pulse
- Quick Guard
- Protect

Mega Sceptile has power and utility. Having Quick Guard support is worth giving up Hidden Power Fire or Focus Blast because it catches priority users off guard and allows my Rotom-W to use Discharge, damaging both opponents and raising Sceptile's already high special attack thanks to Lightning Rod. Of the three matches I played on Showdown, Quick Guard was instrumental in all three of them. Some people might prefer to use Giga Drain or Leaf Storm over Energy Ball, but I have a good reason for choosing Energy Ball. I went with Energy Ball over Giga Drain because it has a base power of 90 over Giga Drain's 75 and even though Leaf Storm is more powerful, I didn't want the drop in special attack. The strategy for Sceptile is to increase it's special attack and hit hard, not boost it just to lower it.

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 80 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Discharge
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Rotom-W is essential for this team to work. Discharge is a nice spread move, but it's main purpose is to increase Mega Sceptile's special attack via Lightning Rod. Having Will-O-Wisp support is also beneficial to Sceptile, as it's defense is relatively frail. Hydro Pump hits Fire-types that are super effective against Sceptile hard while Protect can be used for longevity or mind games.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 176 HP / 252 SpA / 80 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Heatran has great synergy with both Sceptile and Rotom-W. Heatran resists both of Sceptile's and Rotom-W's weaknesses while also having Flash Fire to absorb Fire-type attacks. Earth Power deals with Steel-types like Bisharp and other Heatran that would otherwise wall Sceptile. Substitute and Protect, along with Leftovers, helps Heatran stay on the field longer. Heatran is great because it applies offensive pressure whenever it's on the field, which takes the heat off Sceptile.

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt
- Icy Wind
- Protect

So after I constructed my core of M-Sceptile, Rotom-W, and Heatran, I wanted to fill any holes I had. Gengar came to mind because of how versatile it is. Whether you use Gengar as an offensive threat, for support, or both, Gengar is always a great choice when looking to compensate for any shortcomings. In this case, I needed a Taunt user and and option for speed control. Mega Sceptile also doesn't like Fairy-type attacks from Gardevoir or Sylveon so adding a Poison-type to my roster was needed.

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 20 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch

Conkeldurr is used for overall bulk and move coverage. Drain Punch is mainly meant to deal with M-Kangaskhan, but also serves to increase Conkeldurr's longevity on the field. Knock Off can be used to hit Psychic-types like Cresselia super effectively and also deal with bulky Pokémon that rely on items. I needed a Pokémon that could use Rock Slide because, let's face it, every VCG team should have at least one Rock Slide user. Ice Punch is used mainly for Landorus-T.

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 188 HP / 68 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock
- Hyper Beam

Other Dragon-types threaten Mega Sceptile so I figured a good Fairy-type Pokémon would balance out the team. There's not much originality to this set, but you can't go wrong with Choice Specs Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice.

[Marcusube]

The Discharge + Lightning Rod strategy is a very good idea for a Mega Sceptile team; I'm digging the gimmick. I do believe, however, that you need to have more Pokemon immune to Discharge, either by typing or ability.

On Sceptile, other than to stop Talonflame from Brave Birding you or Mamoswine/Donphan/Abomasnow from Ice Sharding you to pick up a KO, you really don't need the move. Not to mention that Quick Guard reduces the chances of Protect working the consecutive turn. It'd be more practical to run either Substitute + Giga Drain, Focus Blast, Hidden Power Ice/Fire/Ground, Rock Slide or Earthquake for more coverage.

It's also worth mentioning that neutral nature Choice Scarfed Mamoswine outspeeds Mega Sceptile by 1 point when Modest, positive nature Mega-Gengar outspeeds by 3 points, neutral nature Choice Scarfed Landorus-T by 17 points and neutral nature Blaziken outspeeds 1 point as well after one speed boost. All of these are common threats in VGC and threats to your team. I would recommend going for a Timid/Naive nature.

Since this Rotom's niche is to fire off Discharges, I think it'd be better to run it as a Choice Scarfer with Discharge, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch and Hidden Power Ice with a more offensive EV spread. Other suitable item choices are Life Orb and Choice Specs.

I understand the reason for using Gengar but in my opinion Aegislash would do a better job on this team. The speed control method you're using may be inefficient since the opponent can easily just swat Gengar, switch out to reset the stats then come back in and clean up, not to mention the threats from Pokemon like Bisharp and Milotic who not only wall out Gengar completely but take pleasure from getting hit by Icy Wind. Taunt Gengar is good but if the opponent realizes the set you're running, it's not hard to play around. Aegislash would be a better option for if in the case Sceptile gets fainted and you still have your Rotom-W, you can use Wide Guard to prevent Aegislash from getting hit by Discharge, paralyze the opponent and have Aegislash clean up. Also Wide Guard checks Sylveon, Gardevoir and Landorus-T who are major threats to this team. Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball are essential STABs in dealing with the Fairies, the Psychics (especially Cresselia), other Ghosts, and...well you know your type chart. I recommend running this with Life Orb if you consider it.

Conkeldurr is a really slow user of Rock Slide which makes him ineffective seeing as how the main reason to use the move is to damage flying types and other Pokemon weak to it as well as to flinch the opponent. Your team would still appreciate the priority from Mach Punch since it allows you to break sashes on Terrakion, Breloom etc., one shot Bisharp who is a threat to your team if you don't bring Heatran and any kills you missed out on with your other attacks, you can compensate by getting in a hit before the opponent can retaliate.

Not a bad start for a team but the synergy isn't fully developed and the choice of Pokemon for this team is still questionable as some of them don't support Mega Sceptile enough to give it much of a fighting chance.

By the way, can you post the three battle videos on the thread?

[DanielJames]

(Jul 18, 2015, 07:28 AM)Marcusube Wrote: The Discharge + Lightning Rod strategy is a very good idea for a Mega Sceptile team; I'm digging the gimmick. I do believe, however, that you need to have more Pokemon immune to Discharge, either by typing or ability.

On Sceptile, other than to stop Talonflame from Brave Birding you or Mamoswine/Donphan/Abomasnow from Ice Sharding you to pick up a KO, you really don't need the move. Not to mention that Quick Guard reduces the chances of Protect working the consecutive turn. It'd be more practical to run either Substitute + Giga Drain, Focus Blast, Hidden Power Ice/Fire/Ground, Rock Slide or Earthquake for more coverage.

It's also worth mentioning that neutral nature Choice Scarfed Mamoswine outspeeds Mega Sceptile by 1 point when Modest, positive nature Mega-Gengar outspeeds by 3 points, neutral nature Choice Scarfed Landorus-T by 17 points and neutral nature Blaziken outspeeds 1 point as well after one speed boost. All of these are common threats in VGC and threats to your team. I would recommend going for a Timid/Naive nature.

Since this Rotom's niche is to fire off Discharges, I think it'd be better to run it as a Choice Scarfer with Discharge, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch and Hidden Power Ice with a more offensive EV spread. Other suitable item choices are Life Orb and Choice Specs.

I understand the reason for using Gengar but in my opinion Aegislash would do a better job on this team. The speed control method you're using may be inefficient since the opponent can easily just swat Gengar, switch out to reset the stats then come back in and clean up, not to mention the threats from Pokemon like Bisharp and Milotic who not only wall out Gengar completely but take pleasure from getting hit by Icy Wind. Taunt Gengar is good but if the opponent realizes the set you're running, it's not hard to play around. Aegislash would be a better option for if in the case Sceptile gets fainted and you still have your Rotom-W, you can use Wide Guard to prevent Aegislash from getting hit by Discharge, paralyze the opponent and have Aegislash clean up. Also Wide Guard checks Sylveon, Gardevoir and Landorus-T who are major threats to this team. Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball are essential STABs in dealing with the Fairies, the Psychics (especially Cresselia), other Ghosts, and...well you know your type chart. I recommend running this with Life Orb if you consider it.

Conkeldurr is a really slow user of Rock Slide which makes him ineffective seeing as how the main reason to use the move is to damage flying types and other Pokemon weak to it as well as to flinch the opponent. Your team would still appreciate the priority from Mach Punch since it allows you to break sashes on Terrakion, Breloom etc., one shot Bisharp who is a threat to your team if you don't bring Heatran and any kills you missed out on with your other attacks, you can compensate by getting in a hit before the opponent can retaliate.

Not a bad start for a team but the synergy isn't fully developed and the choice of Pokemon for this team is still questionable as some of them don't support Mega Sceptile enough to give it much of a fighting chance.

By the way, can you post the three battle videos on the thread?

Thanks for the detailed response! All of your suggestions make sense. The team went 6-4 so there's definitely room for improvement. I like the idea of using Aegislash instead of Gengar. I was also thinking of taking Conkeldurr out and replacing him with Terrakion so I'd have a faster Rock Slide user that can still deal with M-Kangaskhan while providing Quick Guard support since I'll be replacing that move on Sceptile. I'm also digging the Rotom-W build.

I can post the videos if I find a way to get the links back!