[RATE MY TEAM] We are the Machampions, My Friends

[MetaMeta]

I'll admit it right now, this team build post is both biased and with a misleading title; so Yay for two flaws already!

First, Machamp is indeed one of my top favorite Pokemon so at first I was building this team with a "screw the meta; I just want to use Machamp."
Second, although the title of this post suggests Machamp would be the Freddie Mercury of all the battles it was brought into, quite frankly Machamp ended up playing more of the role of John Deacon (if you got the Queen references, bless your soul).

In simpler terms, Machamp was a seriously good core to the team and an excellent support 'mon, basically due to the fact that a majority of my opponents were trapped under the preconception that it would be the team's physical sweeper and thus #1 on their list of my 'mons to KO. Many players are simply clueless to what Machamp could bring in its arsenal, and the Superpower Pokemon's surprisingly wide array of awesome moves it could learn made it a great asset to the team. It is incredibly difficult to defeat the unknown and unpredictable, and due to Machamp fitting this description perfectly, it quickly became the star of my team.

To truly help Machamp (and the other 'mons I decided to bring) shine, I decided to design a Trick Room team. I also noticed that the frequency of TR teams I was going up against was pretty low these days on Rating Doubles, so I believed I could be able to provide a nice wake-up-call to the soooooo many Tailwind players littering the battleground. Also, nothing feels better than to zap Trick Room onto the field on the same turn your opponent uses Tailwind.


Machamp @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: No Guard
Level 50
Adamant Nature
EVs: 212 HP / 92 ATK / 60 DEF / 144 SDEF
IVs: 0 Speed
-Knock Off
-Dynamic Punch
-Helping Hand
-Wide Guard

Machamp's stats are actually quite well-developed, boasting base 90 HP / 130 ATK /80 DEF / 85 SDEF with its only catch being its 55 based speed. Because of this, Machamp is often outclassed by the "superior" bulky fighting type, Conkeldurr, due to the concrete beam wielding monster's access to  stab recovery & priority, slightly higher attack stats, better bulk, and slower speed. However, Conkeldurr, in my opinion, suffers from being too predictable with an Assault Vest and geared to being a strong physical tank, sponging hits and dishing out heavy blows. Because of this, many Conkeldurrs are simpy not given the opportunity to fill a different role in the team, despite getting equal access to moves like Wide Guard which Machamp just loves to use.

Because Machamp wasn't going to be the one hogging all the KOs I chose its two attacks to by Dynamic Punch and Knock Off. When calculating damage output, I knew that a Guts Close Combat variant would be able to dish out more damage, being able to one-shot the bulkiest of M-Kang and Heatran (also being able to not fear getting burned), but in the long-run D-Punch with its still explosive power and guaranteed confusion helped me out so much. Knock Off was only chosen to be able to hit Aegislash and Cress for decent damage.

I mainly EV trained Machamp to survive the big hits from the 'mons it would be able to OHKO after surviving a hit if he needed to trade blows, those including:
252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 212 HP / 140 SpD Machamp: 152-179 (79.1 - 93.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 212 HP / 60 Def Machamp: 154-184 (80.2 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 212 HP / 60 Def Machamp: 181-216 (94.2 - 112.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus recovery

The 0 Speed IV and Adamant nature might seem a bit peculiar to some, but this was done in order to still outspeed Adamant 31 Speed IV Conkeldurr (which along with Iron Fist seemed to be gaining popularity for some reason) in Trick Room, while outspeeding Brave 0 Speed IV Conk outside of Trick Room. Even without a Brave nature, I found Machamp to be plenty slow enough to outspeed everything in Trick Room as the meta right now seemed to be pretty speedy.

Other than D-Punch and Knock Off, Wide Guard and Helping Hand were probably one of the best moves I could ask for regarding the rest of my team, able to provide excellent synergy and change the momentum of the battle when needed. After looking at the remaining Pokemon in this team, you would also understand why these two particular support moves were necessary


Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy / Parental Bond
Level 50
Brave Nature
EVs: 212 HP / 208 ATK / 44 DEF / 44 SDEF
IVs: 0 Speed
-Fake Out
-Sucker Punch
-Double-Edge
-Power-Up Punch

I tried to resist (I really did), but I just couldn't stay away from using what is widely regarded as the Mega Pokemon in the game. If I had one word to describe M-Kang it would be "consistent." Nothing dishes out constant heavy hits as well as M-Kang right now, and for that reason I had to include it on my team.

However, M-Kang with its base 100 Speed is actually quite a naturally speedy 'mon to be using in Trick Room (sometimes 'mons like Rotom would still attack first in Trick Room even with 0 speed IVs and a hindering nature). But again, I believe my success with Trick Room M-Kang comes from the current meta being so speed oriented, actually M-Kang was able to flourish in Trick Room; getting easy knock-outs and still applying priority pressure with Sucker Punch. Because I wasn't going for a fast Kang I was able to dump all those EVs which would have gone into speed into its bulk, and as a result, bulky M-Kang was able to catch many people off guard when moves that are supposed to OHKO 4HP/252Atk/252Spe Kang weren't able to get those KOs; leaving Kangaskhan to do what it does best: KO them back.

The defensive EV spread I actually was inspired by Pure Fool's Gold's blogpost, and the rest were simply dumped into its already fabulous attack stat. The blog and the subsequent damage calcs on M-Kang's defenses can actually be found here: http://purefoolsgold.blogspot.com/2014/0...pread.html


Heatran @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flash Fire
Level 50
Modest Nature
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SATK / 204 SPE
-Earth Power
-Heat Wave
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power [Ice]

Assault Vest Heatran is AWESOME. Nothing more needs to be said. It allows Heatran to become a guaranteed 3HKO from most Jellicents, Milotics, and even Suicune's Scald. Also, this helps Heatran be able to completely shut down any Sylveons or Gardevoirs that are not running HP Ground, as they would run out of of PP before they are able to take out 'Tran. Also, the 204 Speed is to outspeed Adamant 252 Speed Breloom and Bisharp. Although this speedy 'Tran does not enjoy Trick Room that much, the main thing thing Heatran has been able to accomplish almost 100% of the time when given the opportunity is to get the OHKO on M-Salamence and Landorus by subsequently outspeeding them in Trick Room.

Okay, giving up Protect actually came to bite me in the @$$ a couple times, but to help cover this flaw one Pokemon in particular really came in handy. If you haven't guessed which one it is, simply look at the title.

Heatran currently lives in fear of Landorus's Earthquake (Superpower not really being a threat unless your opponent is REALLY playing some hard mind games, and even with that this EV spread allows Heatran to survive Adamant 252 ATK Superpower from Landorus 62.5% of the time). To help with that weakness Machamp becomes an excellent partner for Heatran with its ability to just spam Wide Guard until either Landorus falls from an OHKO HP Ice or the opponent is smart enough not to spam EQ and retreats. HP Ice also helps cover M-Salamence, which it OHKOs 100% of the time if the opponent is running the standard 4HP Salamence with no defensive investments.


Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
Level 50
Adamant Nature
EVs: 228 HP / 232 ATK / 44 SPE
-Rock Slide
-Ice Punch
-Assurance
-Low Kick

Quite honestly, Tyranitar was the weakest link of my team, but there were way too many times during a battle when I regretted not bringing it. The current meta for Ttar is to run speedy, choice scarf, with some special attacks like Ice Beam in its arsenal, but I guess I just refuse to go with the flow. Choice Band Ttar is actually a monster to be remembered, and I think some people quite often forget the reason Ttars are able to run special variants and still use Rock Slide is its monstrous base 134 Attack and stab for Rock and Dark moves, which are actually not that common. By capitalizing fully on this set Ttar did actually gain weaknesses to Intimidate and Burns, but when playing with the right conditions and with Machamp's support with Helping Hand, it is able to dish out monstrous hits. Also, the weakness to M-Gardevoir and Sylveon's Hyper Voice along with EQ from Landorus-T were able to be checked with Wide Guard, proving why Machamp was such a good side-kick to its teammates in need. Ttar was also my only check to countering weather, so that was a nice touch as well.

Ttar's EV spread was designed to survive a 252+ ATK Choice Band Bisharp Iron Head 100% of the time, inspired by when I was running a Choice Band Bisharp in the past and failed to get the KO on an enemy Ttar, thinking... "wow that is nasty!" Because I wasn't investing in speed that much, which I really didn't need to due to Trick Room, I only invested enough so that I would be able to outspeed the speedy Aegislash variants which seemed to be gaining popularity outside of Trick Room. The EVs in attack are designed to get the OHKO on 252 HP / 44 DEF bulky Heatran and Speedy M-Kang 100% of the time with Low Kick and OHKO onto 4HP Landorus-T 100% of the time or 68.8% of the time at -1 ATK with Ice Punch. Of course, when successfully receiving a Helping Hand Boost from Machamp, these calcs meant nothing as it was able to basically secure solid KOs onto anything super-effective.


Gardevoir @ Expert Belt OR Life Orb
Ability: Trace
Level 50
Quiet Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 4 DEF / 252 SATK
IVs: 0 Speed
-Trick Room
-Protect
-Psychic
-Hidden Power [Ice]

So finally, the Trick Room user. This spot was actually quite interchangeable with standard Relaxed 0 Speed IV Cresselia, but after realizing Gardevoir's better offensive potential I started using the magical knight over the lunar swan a bit more. Again, nothing really screams peculiar about this Gardevoir set other than its Hidden Power, but I'll explain that in a lil' bit. the 252/252 Spread allows it the most bulk in my opinion as no matter what the defensive EV combinations are, Gardevoir is simply not able to tank massive hits such as Adamant M-Kang's Double-Edge and M-Salamence's Return that well without giving up its offensive potential. I really needed to preserve Gardevoir's special attack EVs to be able to guarantee the OHKOs on Amoonguss and also check M-Venusaur which was a major issue when I was running Cress. Also, without any investment in SDEF, Gardevoir is still able to take 252+ Flash Cannon from Aegislash and 252 Sludge Bomb from Gengar most of the time, and that was plenty good enough for me.

I guess a lot of people just don't expect Gardevoir to be running Trick Room, and this to me was the greatest weapon this team had to offer me: on team preview, the six Pokemon I would bring, other than maybe Machamp and Jellicent (spoilers), would scream Trick Room. This naturally lulled the opponent to strategize with Trick Room not even as a possibility, and BAM they would be in for a world of hurt.

The reason for Gardevoir's HP Ice was the same reason people ran Ice Beam on Cress: to catch those annoying dragons and Landorus-T running around. The only difference I guess would be that Ice Beam on Cress is predictable and almost expected while HP Ice on Gardevoir is basically unheard of. Expert Belt was able to give Gardevoir just enough fire power to OHKO 4HP Lando and M-Salamence 100% of the time, but I also was playing around with Life Orb for a while when I wanted more consistent damage even with Psychic. I know Moonblast would have been a very viable option as well, able to check even more dragons and even 'mons such as Scrafty, but to the survival of my team, checking Landorus was of #1 priority, and I never regretted my choice. Often times, Dark type 'mons would run away from Gardevoir anyways so I much preferred catching those Landorus-Ts and Salamences off-guard.

Machamp + Gardevoir and M-Kang + Gardevoir were probably my most frequent leads when I knew the opponent had nothing to stop Trick Room immediately as I would be able to transition immediately to hyper-offensive pressure as soon as the dimensions were twisted. Although Gardevoir is not able to survive attacks from physical M-Salamence, which were quite common leads by my opponents to catch the Intimidate onto my suspected Kang lead, I was able to bluff the choice scarf many times, forcing them to Protect while I either Faked Out 'Mence's partner to get TR up, and the next turn the dragon would go crying back to its Pokeball or suffer dearly from

Most Trick Room users in the format are quite defensive, but with Gardevoir I was able to synergize well with any of its teammates to catch unexpected OHKOs for the opponent and set the field for the clean-up crew such as Heatran or Ttar to come sweep up what was left.


Jellicent @ Mental Herb
Ability: Cursed Body
Level 50
Sassy Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 140 DEF / 20 SATK / 96 SDEF
IVs: 0 Speed
-Trick Room
-Recover
-Will-O-Wisp
-Scald

Probably the most standard out of all my six Pokemon. Mental Herb to guarantee Trick Room even when I go up against the so so frequent Taunt Thundurus and the rest of its moves to guarantee longevity by crippling physical attackers. Every team needs a bulky water type, and I couldn't believe how many battles came to an end due to the opponents' simply being unable to take down the Pringles Stache Jelly. Because my team, with its Machamp and M-Kang core really rely on Trick Room being set up to truly flourish, my addition of a safer Trick Room user compared to the offensive and risky-playmaking Gardevoir TR really allowed me to steer battles in a more defensive and stable manner. A lot of the time, the games came down to chip damage and Jellicent was able to guarantee its victory in those situations with being able to recover health and inflict burns on opponents. Also, the 20 EVs in Special Attack allowed it to 2HKO most Landorus-T and speedy Heatran variants. Its defensive spread guaranteed Jellicent's survival against basically any attack known to VGC 2015, even surviving 252+ Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse 100% of the time. Also, Cursed Body came in clutch so many times, especially against choice users. I know relying on RNG is really not a good tactic, but the chance of Cursed Body disabling a move is the same chance as a Scald Burn, and we all know Scald Burns happen basically 100% of the time...


What I thought would be a brief post turned out to be a longer draft than most of my college essays that I had to write haha. I know this team is still lacking so much, but just wanted to share this with y'all before anyone else, and I'd love to hear what you guys have in store for me. I'm actually still playing around with basically the same team, with the Machamp TR core, swapping out one or two members at a time, so any suggestions would be awesome as I would be able to try them out and give my input on your input as well! Input-ception!

Please feel free to test out this team or any of the 'mons and spreads I have up there, and Happy battling! Psyched for Worlds!  

PS Machamp is still Bae

MetaMeta

[Black117]

This is probably one of my favorite RMT's I've read from a newcomer to the site, not that you're "new" rather just already have clear experience knowledge of teambuilding for VGC/Battle Spot Doubles so let me get started.

To be honest, Machamp is a great Pokemon given its trollish Dynamic Punch attacks and its surprisingly wide array of support options available to it such as Quick Guard, Wide Guard, and Helping Hand. People often sleep on some of these threats because they don't know what these Pokemon like Machamp have in store, probably the best advantage to your team here (I'll elaborate later). Sometimes I don't recommend building around a niche mon like Machamp but as long as the player provides it the tools and partners it needs to succeed, then its fine honestly. Your team really has so many tricks up it sleeves to the point to where you can already tell what you want to if the time like Trick Room on your Gardevoir, Helping Hand on Machamp, and even the Assault Vest on Heatran which kinda surprises me. I'm pretty certain that team preview is your best friend as I can tell people are usually aren't expecting a full Trick Room team, though Jellicent kinda give it away for me but that doesn't matter. That's probably the best part of your team Metameta given people don't know what to expect from this team when you clearly have a planned out strategy.

Now I notice some weakness to the team when I place it into the team builder here. For starters, you don't have many resistances to Ground, Electric, Grass, Water, Fairy so some common archetypes and Pokemon like Double Genie (Landorus-T/Thundurus), Spore users (Amoonguss, Breloom),  Rain (Politoed/Ludicolo), and Pixilate Hyper Voice users (Mega Gardevoir/Sylveon). While your team does have answers to these Pokemon, I'm point that out because without, say Machamp on the field stopping Earthquakes/Pixilate Hyper Voices with  Wide Guard, or Heatran or Gardevoir stopping Breloom/Amoonguss, or Jellicent handling double genie than these opposing Pokemon can be rather a nuisance. Understandably you aren't able to cover everything so I'm not going to beat you up here as some other RMTers would do since your main plan is to setup Trick Room after all to beat most of the aforementioned mons (plus I really don't want to change any Pokemon here honestly). I do think TR Mega Gardevoir/Amoonguss is the pair that can break this team if played well so preserve Heatran/Machamp as best as possible while trying your best to take out Amoonguss. Honestly Dark Void is probably the only thing that really gives this team issues but I think if the Smeargle user "protects" first turn and they let you setup Trick Room than Kangaskhan can get past those teams.

As far as individual Pokemon are concern, you kinda nail the coffin on most of the team-members here with their sets and EVs spreads here. I do think having some kind of fast mode of this team can help though it will completely change how the team will look and play with a Semi Trick Room so there's that possibility. Now I think Mega Kangaskhan can really shine well with having Low Kick and a bulkier EV spread like 212 HP / 96 Atk / 148 Def / 52 SpD which lets it survive a Terrakion's Close Combat or Modest 44 EVs Char Y's Overheat about 15/16th of the time. You already have Helping Hand from Machamp so Mega Kangaskhan can still hit ridiculously hard with thanks to the Parental Bond boost. Low Kick can help get some immediate KOs for this team against Tyranitar, Focus Sash Bisharp, Hydreigon, Mega Gyarados, Excadrill, etc. However I know how good and clutch the simple Power-Up Punch set can be since it automatically turn Mega Kangakshan into a wallbreaking monster. I would recommend having Shuca Berry instead of Assault Vest on Heatran, but being able to stick around longer against Special hitters and deal with Gardevoir/Amoonguss better to me is more important. If you can setup Trick Room, Heatran or and of its allies can defeat these common EQ users so there's that.

Overall this is a very powerful team since your opponent won't know what's coming literally.  Remember what I said about how Team Preview is your "best friend", basically they won't know whether this is a duel Mega team with Kangaskhan/Gardevoir, or how Gardevoir/Jellicent can actually setup Trick Room for the whole team. Well that's really all I have with this team since its honestly solid on paper and in practice from what I can tell from you so good luck with this team.

[yoloswag831]

gonna give that heatran set a try and also good team. :D