Hey guys, i've recently attended the Italian National Championships. I was a bit nervous the day before it, since it was my first ever official event, but i also wanted to prove myself in something slightly more difficult than Battle Spot (less time in Team Preview, less time for choosing the moves, much more pressure than being at home) and because i was enough confident of my abilities after 6 months of time and passion i dedicated to this game.
I finished Swiss Rounds with a score of 6-3 (photo), not enough to reach the Top Cut (that was 7-2). I was truly disappointed after a game i lost from a 4 vs 2 advantage because of lucky critical hits on his side and unlucky misses on my side. That game put me 3-2 which complicated a lot my situation. From there, i went to 5-2 before facing the third loss against a great M-Gardevoir team (which made it to Top Cut). I wanted to win the last round to finish 6-3, and i did it, but this also frustrated me for that wasted game (even more after discovering that player finished 4-5 in the end, lowering a lot my win% and my rank position among players finishing Swiss Rounds 6-3 like me).
It's been an amazing experience and i really didn't expect to nearly reach the Top Cut of a National on my first time in an event. I met a lot of friendly players, i've faced and won against opponents with much more experience than me and most of them congratuled me for my team ("being difficult to face just from Team Preview" as one of my opponents said) and my sets (also asking me the EV spreads of 2 or 3 of them after the match). All these little but significant things boosted my self-confidence as a pokemon player and teambuilder, that's why i'm looking forward to next year's VGC to start my career in the competitive scene. Definetely, an experience i won't forget.
Anyway this is a Team Report, so.. this is the team preview:
![[Image: rud2u0.jpg]](http://i58.tinypic.com/rud2u0.jpg)
http://www.teammagma.net/teambuilder/?37...57|423|212
..and here's a deep analysis of my team:
![[Image: salamence-mega.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/rubi-omega-zafiro-alfa/sprites/animados/salamence-mega.gif)
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate > Aerilate
EVs: 100 HP / 196 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Salamence is my favorite Mega-evo, the one i tested more in this VGC format and the one i feel more comfortable to play with. Without any doubts, i wanted to start building my team from it. The question was: Special or Physical M-Mence? The Special set is not affected by Intimidate or burns but i felt like a Physical set could put much more offensive pressure thanks to Dragon Dance. In my opinion, the +1 Speed boost is even more relevant than the +1 Attack boost for its ability to outspeed everything else on the field.
I knew that i wanted some bulk on it, as i really value its presence on the field. For this reason, Return was the obvious choice, as the recoil of Double-Edge makes any bulk quite useless. I was satisfied about the damage output of Return, and i didn't feel the need of a stronger attack. The second move is Dragon Dance, not a surprise. Being able to outspeed a Scarfed Land-T and its stupid Rock Slide flinch factor in particular is the reason why i appreciate the Speed boost more than the Attack boost. I'm not saying that i don't like a +1 Return though :P With this EV Spread, Return is supposed the get most of the OHKOs only at +1, but i could also play around it just putting in KO range things for a +0 (or possibly -1) Return with the rest of my team to allow M-Mence to clean up everything in late game thanks to its speed, which is the tactic i've used in most of my games. The third move is Roost which is somehow not as common as it should be. Thanks to Roost, i can avoid any Sucker Punch while recovering in the meanwhile, which is fantastic in complicated 1on1 with M-Kang. A well-timed Roost also makes Rock hit x1, Ice x2 and Electric x1/2. It's an amazing utility move and it won me Round 1 (stalling 2 Thunderbolts from Rotom-W). The fourth move is obviously Protect.
EV spread explanation:
I've created this EV spread starting from the Speed. Thanks to a Jolly Nature and 196 Speed EVs, this M-Salamence hits 181 Speed, which is enough to outspeed Timid Thundurus (179) while speed creeping any other M-Salamence sitting at 180 Speed. Then, i've added enough bulk to survive a -1 Choice Scarf Jolly Mamoswine Icicle Crash, which is 100 HP EVs + 12 Def EVs. Only a few calculations later i realized that i could also survive a -1 Adamant M-Mawile Play Rough and an HP Ice from a non-Life Orb Timid 252 SpA Thundurus, with just those particular 100 HP EVs. At this point, i had 196 EVs to put into Attack: surprisingly a +1 Return is able to OHKO a 4 HP M-Kangaskhan 87,5% of the times.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
![[Image: aegislash.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/aegislash.gif)
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
Comments and Set explanation:
Aegislash is hands down the best partner for M-Salamence in my opinion. It can switch into any Dragon, Fairy and Ice type attack and it offers Wide Guard support for any incoming Rock Slide and Hyper Voice to protect M-Mence and Thundurus, but it also protects Blaziken from EQ. The moves are standard, as Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball STABs hit everything hard, while King's Shield is mandatory. I was using a Life Orb Aegislash in previous tests (with different members) to OHKO most of the Fairy types and to win any Aegislash mirror match, but i had to give Life Orb to Blaziken and Leftovers seemed the best item at that point, for two reasons: 1) Leftovers allows Aegislash to stay around for a longer time (for example against Rain teams) and to slowly recover health after every neutral attack such a Thunderbolt or a Scald making it really hard to take down Aegislash without supereffective hits. Staying on the field for more turns also means i have more turns of Wide Guard support. 2) My team features another Steel type (Scizor), which is why i don't have to rely only on Aegislash to deal with Fairy types, so that i don't need a particular damage booster on Aegislash.
EV spread explanation:
It's a standard Quiet Nature with 0 Speed IVs to hit any faster Aegislash in Blade Forme and OHKO it. There are bulkier sets for Aegislash and in retrospect i would have invested more in SpD instead of running 252 SpA, but i can't complain since i also like to attack with it as many turns as possible playing some minds games
![[Image: thundurus.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/thundurus.gif)
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 236 HP / 168 Def / 76 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Swagger
- Thunder Wave
Comments and Set explanation:
Thundurus did not perfomed as well as i thought but i still consider it as an important member of this team and i cannot think about a pokemon which can fulfull its role better. Sitrus Berry is the best item on a bulky support Thundurus, as it's not easy to take it down due to its great typing. It has the ability to disrupt many strategies (such as Tailwind) and to slow down any non-Ground/Electric threat with Thunder Wave. Thundurus Electric coverage with Thunderbolt also improves my match ups against M-CharY and Water types. I could hit them hard even without EV investment thanks to its high SpA base stat. Thundy is also a great answer to an opposing M-Salamence thanks to HP Ice and its Flying resistance. For the last move i've chosen Swagger. Yes, it's mean, but at least i could count on a last chance move to turn a difficult game into a possible win or to switch momentum in my favor buying 1 or 2 turns. Another reason for choosing Swagger instead of Taunt was Gengar threatening my team. A fast Shadow Ball + Icy Wind user could be a problem for my team as it has no Ghost resistance, so i had the chance to use Swagger instead of TWave to potentially brake its Focus Sash giving M-Salamence a way to OHKO it the following turn.
EV spread explanation:
This Thundurus runs 28 Speed EVs to outspeed by a Jolly Breloom by 1 point. The overall bulk is balanced to take both physical and special hits without many problems. A Calm nature is worth more than a Bold one for the +10% boost being more effective.
As i said before, i've not invested in SpA because Thundurus already reaches a comfortable 145 Special Attack stat even without investment, which is more than enough to put offensive pressure.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
![[Image: gastrodon.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/gastrodon.gif)
Gastrodon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 204 HP / 100 Def / 196 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Why am i using West Sea Gastrodon? Because it looks better than the East Sea variant in Team Preview, at least in this team :P This is the famous offensive Expert Belt set you can find in any forum nowadays, but it still works, as nobody will ever bother to EV build something to survive this particular set. Gastrodon is a great teammate for Scizor, Aegislash and Blaziken because it puts an opposing Suicune, Milotic or Politoed in the weird condition of not being able to use a Water type attack to hit Gastrodon's partner, often forcing a switch, but i could also switch Gastrodon into an obvious Scald to get a nice SpA boost too. This pokemon improves my match ups against Rain teams a lot. During testing, i found out Scizor + Gastrodon lead against Poli + Ludi lead would cause a predictable sequence of Turn 1 and Turn 2 events (Turn 1 Fake Out on Scizor while i use Protect on Gastrodon. On Turn 2 Ludicolo HAS to switch out to avoid Bug Bite, but at the same time Politoed can't risk to use Scald on Scizor because Gastrodon can also stay in; at that point i just have to predict what pokemon is going to switch into Ludicolo slot and switch Gastrodon out accordingly to keep momentum in my favor) . Many players underestimate Gastrodon, but it's a beast and it gives amazing coverage. Every other member of my team has a resistance to Grass and/or Fighting type, meaning my opponents would hardly bring Breloom, Amoonguss or Virizion, because it wouldn't be worth the risk. In general, Gastrodon helps me also against Land-T + Thundurus lead and it deals with Heatran, Rotom-W and Rotom-H, all threats for my team. Scald and Earth Power are its best STABs, while Ice Beam offers the typical and always amazing coverage.
EV spread explanation:
204 HP + 100 Def makes a Jolly M-Kang Double-Edge a 2HKO, but i did not run any other defensive calculation in particular other than this (knowing that in general i should try to avoid powerful hits such Double-Edge from M-Mence or a Zen Headbutt from M-Metagross if possible). A Modest nature and 196 SpA EVs allow Gastrodon to put a lot of offensive pressure even with neutral attacks, still providing a solid OHKO on M-Salamence, 252 HP M-Mawile and Landorus-T and many other important 2HKO.
Relevant offensive calculations:
![[Image: scizor-f.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/scizor-f.gif)
Scizor @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Atk / 4 Def / 104 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Bug Bite
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
I've always thought that a team featuring M-Salamence should always provide 2 things in particular: an effective way to scare away any Fairy type and a way to deal with Rain teams. In previous teams i usually run Heatran and/or Bisharp, but it ended up being weak to Azumarill or to combinations of Hydreigon + Sylveon or M-Kang + Sylveon and so on. So i had to think about a new double Steel core. Aegislash has been the first choice, but i couldn't think about another Steel type to add in my team, until i added Gastrodon: the threat of Ludicolo made me think about a way to deal with it. Bug type was the answer! And immediatly Scizor came to my mind. Scizor is an incredible added value to this team, because it adds another good check to Rain teams and solid way to deal with M-Gardevoir and Sylveon thanks to its strong Bullet Punch, in addiction to Aegislash. A priority move such as Bullet Punch is also what i really needed to deal that necessary chip damage to put in KO range things i couldn't OHKO with M-Salamence. Bug Bite STAB helps against Ludicolo and also against Hydreigon. I chose to run Knock Off to hit M-Metagross, Aegislash or to punish any switch instead of running Sword Dance, because i felt a Dark type coverage could also be useful, and i could also hit pokemon such as Thundurus for more damage. Finally, Lum Berry helps against potential Scald burns against Rain Teams.
Scizor did its job and performed well in every match i needed it, i'm really happy about this since Scizor looks so good on paper but i was skeptical of his utility in game. I was wrong.
EV spread explanation:
An Adamant Nature and 148 Atk EVs are more than enough to OHKO a 4 HP Hydreigon or any common bulky Ludicolo, but the reason behind those 148 EVs is the 100% chance to 2HKO a bulky Sylveon even with a -1 Bullet Punch. The rest was put into HP to maximize its overall bulk and into SpD to reduce any Scald, Hyper Voice, Thunderbolt or Dark Pulse damage.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
![[Image: blaziken-f.gif]](http://www.pkparaiso.com/imagenes/xy/sprites/animados/blaziken-f.gif)
Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 196 Atk / 68 SpA / 244 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Overheat
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Possibly the scariest and hardest pokemon to predict of my team, as the Blaziken + Thundurus + Gastrodon core could also suggest Blaziken as a possible 2nd Mega, making my Team Preview and possible lead more difficult to anticipate. Blaziken has great synergy with most of its teammates: Scizor and Aegislash deal with Fairy and Psychic types and the latter also offers Wide Guard support for Earthquake, Storm Drain Gastrodon and Thundurus protect and deal with any Water type while the Intimidate support from Salamence compensates for its lack of physical bulk, also dealing with M-Venusaur which is able to easily survive 2 Overheats otherwise. I've always wanted to try the Life Orb set, but i didn't realize its true potential until recent damage calculations.
Blaziken is one of the best anti-meta pokemon in this moment, as it is able to OHKO 3 of the strongest Mega-evos in just one powerful blow (M-Metagross with Overheat, M-CharY with Rock Slide and M-Kang with Superpower). I've chosen to run a slighty more physical set with Rock Slide instead of Hidden Power Ice for a simple reason: to improve my matchup against Fire types but in particular against M-CharY (threatening Aegislash and Scizor with Overheat but also Gastrodon with Solar Beam) because i felt M-Mence (susceptible to Intimidates) and a 0 SpA Thundurus were not enough to handle it. I chose Superpower instead of Low Kick because it offers a consistent way to deal some more serious damage to threats such as Rotom-W or Scrafty (even at -1) and it is also a powerful finisher if i can't afford to miss an Overheat or Rock Slide.
EV spread explanation:
With an Hasty Nature and 244 Spe, Blaziken is able to outspeed a Choice Scarf Adamant Land-T after one Speed Boost by 1 point. Then, i wanted Rock Slide to get a straight OHKO on a 252 HP / 4 Def M-CharY and 196 Atk EVs accomplish this goal along with the OHKO on any bulky M-Kang with Superpower. The rest was put into SpA. 68 SpA EVs are enough to OHKO M-Metagross, M-Mawile and even a bulky Ferrothorn in rain.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Strong points:
- It's not easy to anticipate the leads of this team.
- M-Salamence, Blaziken and Gastrodon are able to shut down most of the common pokemon in the current metagame, thanks to their unique capabilities and offensive potential.
- The Steel duo usually scares off Sylveon, Breloom, Virizion and Amoonguss most of the times, giving M-Salamence and Gastrodon more action in most of the matches.
- The team composition is solid enough to provide a match up advantage just from Turn 1 most of the times (if the correct leads have been chosen).
- This team features many different answers to each of the Top5 used Megas (M-Kang: Blaziken, M-Salamence, Aegislash. M-CharY: Blaziken, M-Salamence, Thundurus. M-Metagross: Blaziken, Aegislash, Scizor, Gastrodon. M-Salamence: Thundurus, Gastrodon, Scizor, Aegislash. M-Venusaur: M-Salamence, Scizor, Aegislash) and to the common team archetypes (Rain teams: Aegislash, Scizor, Gastrodon, Thundurus. Sun teams: Blaziken, M-Salemence, Thundurus, Aegislash. Jap Sand teams: Scizor, Gastrodon, M-Salamence and Blaziken + Aegislash lead)
- This team doesn't suffer too much from particular forms speed controls such as Tailwind or Trick Room: (TAILWIND) M-Salamence has access to Dragon Dance, Blaziken boosts its speed every round. (NEUTRAL) Thundurus has Prankster while Scizor has priority Bullet Punch. (TRICK ROOM) Gastrodon and Aegislash are enough slow to work even better in TR, even if Aegislash doesn't really like to attack before its opponents.
Weak points:
- Heatran is not easy to face if paired with Sylveon or M-Gardevoir, because both Blaziken and Gastrodon take too much damage from any Hyper Voice without Wide Guard support from Aegislash and i have no safe switches for a Heatwave + Hyper Voice combo expect maybe for Thundurus. It is preferable to slow Heatran down with TWave so that Gastrodon can outspeed and OHKO it any turn later, giving Scizor or Aegislash a free switch to stop the Fairy. Swagger on Sylveon/M-Gardevoir is also 50/50 option.
- Gengar is free to spam Icy Wind or hit anything with a strong Shadow Ball without fear of Blaziken and M-Mence attacks due to the Focus Sash. Also in this case, Thundurus must solve the problem with TWave or Swagger.
- Bulky Water types are not easy to KO, being Thunderbolt the only supereffective move at my disposal and M-Mence afraid of Ice Beams. This team needs to play around Milotic or Suicune many turns to put them in KO range for Return, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball or Superpower. M-Swampert and Gastrodon are even harder to take down.
- An offensive Life Orb Thundurus with Thunderbolt, HP Ice and Grass Knot can outspeed and deal some serious damage or OHKO most of my team. Blaziken can outspeed it after one turn, but if Thundurus it not at 90% health (1 turn of Life Orb recoil), it cannot OHKO it easily with Overheat (but also in this case, there's only a 75% chance to OHKO a 90% health 4 HP Thundurus).
#Finally, i want to thank @Black117 for helping me with a previous team. I really appreciated your suggestions and i'm sorry that team didn't have enough success during testing, but you gave me important tips to start building my new team (such as to focus on beating M-Kang, M-Metagross, Aegislash and the Jap Sand teams, which brought me to the fantastic Blaziken + Aegislash + Gastrodon core)
I finished Swiss Rounds with a score of 6-3 (photo), not enough to reach the Top Cut (that was 7-2). I was truly disappointed after a game i lost from a 4 vs 2 advantage because of lucky critical hits on his side and unlucky misses on my side. That game put me 3-2 which complicated a lot my situation. From there, i went to 5-2 before facing the third loss against a great M-Gardevoir team (which made it to Top Cut). I wanted to win the last round to finish 6-3, and i did it, but this also frustrated me for that wasted game (even more after discovering that player finished 4-5 in the end, lowering a lot my win% and my rank position among players finishing Swiss Rounds 6-3 like me).
It's been an amazing experience and i really didn't expect to nearly reach the Top Cut of a National on my first time in an event. I met a lot of friendly players, i've faced and won against opponents with much more experience than me and most of them congratuled me for my team ("being difficult to face just from Team Preview" as one of my opponents said) and my sets (also asking me the EV spreads of 2 or 3 of them after the match). All these little but significant things boosted my self-confidence as a pokemon player and teambuilder, that's why i'm looking forward to next year's VGC to start my career in the competitive scene. Definetely, an experience i won't forget.
Anyway this is a Team Report, so.. this is the team preview:
http://www.teammagma.net/teambuilder/?37...57|423|212
..and here's a deep analysis of my team:
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate > Aerilate
EVs: 100 HP / 196 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Salamence is my favorite Mega-evo, the one i tested more in this VGC format and the one i feel more comfortable to play with. Without any doubts, i wanted to start building my team from it. The question was: Special or Physical M-Mence? The Special set is not affected by Intimidate or burns but i felt like a Physical set could put much more offensive pressure thanks to Dragon Dance. In my opinion, the +1 Speed boost is even more relevant than the +1 Attack boost for its ability to outspeed everything else on the field.
I knew that i wanted some bulk on it, as i really value its presence on the field. For this reason, Return was the obvious choice, as the recoil of Double-Edge makes any bulk quite useless. I was satisfied about the damage output of Return, and i didn't feel the need of a stronger attack. The second move is Dragon Dance, not a surprise. Being able to outspeed a Scarfed Land-T and its stupid Rock Slide flinch factor in particular is the reason why i appreciate the Speed boost more than the Attack boost. I'm not saying that i don't like a +1 Return though :P With this EV Spread, Return is supposed the get most of the OHKOs only at +1, but i could also play around it just putting in KO range things for a +0 (or possibly -1) Return with the rest of my team to allow M-Mence to clean up everything in late game thanks to its speed, which is the tactic i've used in most of my games. The third move is Roost which is somehow not as common as it should be. Thanks to Roost, i can avoid any Sucker Punch while recovering in the meanwhile, which is fantastic in complicated 1on1 with M-Kang. A well-timed Roost also makes Rock hit x1, Ice x2 and Electric x1/2. It's an amazing utility move and it won me Round 1 (stalling 2 Thunderbolts from Rotom-W). The fourth move is obviously Protect.
EV spread explanation:
I've created this EV spread starting from the Speed. Thanks to a Jolly Nature and 196 Speed EVs, this M-Salamence hits 181 Speed, which is enough to outspeed Timid Thundurus (179) while speed creeping any other M-Salamence sitting at 180 Speed. Then, i've added enough bulk to survive a -1 Choice Scarf Jolly Mamoswine Icicle Crash, which is 100 HP EVs + 12 Def EVs. Only a few calculations later i realized that i could also survive a -1 Adamant M-Mawile Play Rough and an HP Ice from a non-Life Orb Timid 252 SpA Thundurus, with just those particular 100 HP EVs. At this point, i had 196 EVs to put into Attack: surprisingly a +1 Return is able to OHKO a 4 HP M-Kangaskhan 87,5% of the times.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
Comments and Set explanation:
Aegislash is hands down the best partner for M-Salamence in my opinion. It can switch into any Dragon, Fairy and Ice type attack and it offers Wide Guard support for any incoming Rock Slide and Hyper Voice to protect M-Mence and Thundurus, but it also protects Blaziken from EQ. The moves are standard, as Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball STABs hit everything hard, while King's Shield is mandatory. I was using a Life Orb Aegislash in previous tests (with different members) to OHKO most of the Fairy types and to win any Aegislash mirror match, but i had to give Life Orb to Blaziken and Leftovers seemed the best item at that point, for two reasons: 1) Leftovers allows Aegislash to stay around for a longer time (for example against Rain teams) and to slowly recover health after every neutral attack such a Thunderbolt or a Scald making it really hard to take down Aegislash without supereffective hits. Staying on the field for more turns also means i have more turns of Wide Guard support. 2) My team features another Steel type (Scizor), which is why i don't have to rely only on Aegislash to deal with Fairy types, so that i don't need a particular damage booster on Aegislash.
EV spread explanation:
It's a standard Quiet Nature with 0 Speed IVs to hit any faster Aegislash in Blade Forme and OHKO it. There are bulkier sets for Aegislash and in retrospect i would have invested more in SpD instead of running 252 SpA, but i can't complain since i also like to attack with it as many turns as possible playing some minds games
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 236 HP / 168 Def / 76 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Swagger
- Thunder Wave
Comments and Set explanation:
Thundurus did not perfomed as well as i thought but i still consider it as an important member of this team and i cannot think about a pokemon which can fulfull its role better. Sitrus Berry is the best item on a bulky support Thundurus, as it's not easy to take it down due to its great typing. It has the ability to disrupt many strategies (such as Tailwind) and to slow down any non-Ground/Electric threat with Thunder Wave. Thundurus Electric coverage with Thunderbolt also improves my match ups against M-CharY and Water types. I could hit them hard even without EV investment thanks to its high SpA base stat. Thundy is also a great answer to an opposing M-Salamence thanks to HP Ice and its Flying resistance. For the last move i've chosen Swagger. Yes, it's mean, but at least i could count on a last chance move to turn a difficult game into a possible win or to switch momentum in my favor buying 1 or 2 turns. Another reason for choosing Swagger instead of Taunt was Gengar threatening my team. A fast Shadow Ball + Icy Wind user could be a problem for my team as it has no Ghost resistance, so i had the chance to use Swagger instead of TWave to potentially brake its Focus Sash giving M-Salamence a way to OHKO it the following turn.
EV spread explanation:
This Thundurus runs 28 Speed EVs to outspeed by a Jolly Breloom by 1 point. The overall bulk is balanced to take both physical and special hits without many problems. A Calm nature is worth more than a Bold one for the +10% boost being more effective.
As i said before, i've not invested in SpA because Thundurus already reaches a comfortable 145 Special Attack stat even without investment, which is more than enough to put offensive pressure.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
Gastrodon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 204 HP / 100 Def / 196 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Why am i using West Sea Gastrodon? Because it looks better than the East Sea variant in Team Preview, at least in this team :P This is the famous offensive Expert Belt set you can find in any forum nowadays, but it still works, as nobody will ever bother to EV build something to survive this particular set. Gastrodon is a great teammate for Scizor, Aegislash and Blaziken because it puts an opposing Suicune, Milotic or Politoed in the weird condition of not being able to use a Water type attack to hit Gastrodon's partner, often forcing a switch, but i could also switch Gastrodon into an obvious Scald to get a nice SpA boost too. This pokemon improves my match ups against Rain teams a lot. During testing, i found out Scizor + Gastrodon lead against Poli + Ludi lead would cause a predictable sequence of Turn 1 and Turn 2 events (Turn 1 Fake Out on Scizor while i use Protect on Gastrodon. On Turn 2 Ludicolo HAS to switch out to avoid Bug Bite, but at the same time Politoed can't risk to use Scald on Scizor because Gastrodon can also stay in; at that point i just have to predict what pokemon is going to switch into Ludicolo slot and switch Gastrodon out accordingly to keep momentum in my favor) . Many players underestimate Gastrodon, but it's a beast and it gives amazing coverage. Every other member of my team has a resistance to Grass and/or Fighting type, meaning my opponents would hardly bring Breloom, Amoonguss or Virizion, because it wouldn't be worth the risk. In general, Gastrodon helps me also against Land-T + Thundurus lead and it deals with Heatran, Rotom-W and Rotom-H, all threats for my team. Scald and Earth Power are its best STABs, while Ice Beam offers the typical and always amazing coverage.
EV spread explanation:
204 HP + 100 Def makes a Jolly M-Kang Double-Edge a 2HKO, but i did not run any other defensive calculation in particular other than this (knowing that in general i should try to avoid powerful hits such Double-Edge from M-Mence or a Zen Headbutt from M-Metagross if possible). A Modest nature and 196 SpA EVs allow Gastrodon to put a lot of offensive pressure even with neutral attacks, still providing a solid OHKO on M-Salamence, 252 HP M-Mawile and Landorus-T and many other important 2HKO.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Scizor @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Atk / 4 Def / 104 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Bug Bite
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
I've always thought that a team featuring M-Salamence should always provide 2 things in particular: an effective way to scare away any Fairy type and a way to deal with Rain teams. In previous teams i usually run Heatran and/or Bisharp, but it ended up being weak to Azumarill or to combinations of Hydreigon + Sylveon or M-Kang + Sylveon and so on. So i had to think about a new double Steel core. Aegislash has been the first choice, but i couldn't think about another Steel type to add in my team, until i added Gastrodon: the threat of Ludicolo made me think about a way to deal with it. Bug type was the answer! And immediatly Scizor came to my mind. Scizor is an incredible added value to this team, because it adds another good check to Rain teams and solid way to deal with M-Gardevoir and Sylveon thanks to its strong Bullet Punch, in addiction to Aegislash. A priority move such as Bullet Punch is also what i really needed to deal that necessary chip damage to put in KO range things i couldn't OHKO with M-Salamence. Bug Bite STAB helps against Ludicolo and also against Hydreigon. I chose to run Knock Off to hit M-Metagross, Aegislash or to punish any switch instead of running Sword Dance, because i felt a Dark type coverage could also be useful, and i could also hit pokemon such as Thundurus for more damage. Finally, Lum Berry helps against potential Scald burns against Rain Teams.
Scizor did its job and performed well in every match i needed it, i'm really happy about this since Scizor looks so good on paper but i was skeptical of his utility in game. I was wrong.
EV spread explanation:
An Adamant Nature and 148 Atk EVs are more than enough to OHKO a 4 HP Hydreigon or any common bulky Ludicolo, but the reason behind those 148 EVs is the 100% chance to 2HKO a bulky Sylveon even with a -1 Bullet Punch. The rest was put into HP to maximize its overall bulk and into SpD to reduce any Scald, Hyper Voice, Thunderbolt or Dark Pulse damage.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Relevant defensive calculations:
Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 196 Atk / 68 SpA / 244 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Overheat
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Protect
Comments and Set explanation:
Possibly the scariest and hardest pokemon to predict of my team, as the Blaziken + Thundurus + Gastrodon core could also suggest Blaziken as a possible 2nd Mega, making my Team Preview and possible lead more difficult to anticipate. Blaziken has great synergy with most of its teammates: Scizor and Aegislash deal with Fairy and Psychic types and the latter also offers Wide Guard support for Earthquake, Storm Drain Gastrodon and Thundurus protect and deal with any Water type while the Intimidate support from Salamence compensates for its lack of physical bulk, also dealing with M-Venusaur which is able to easily survive 2 Overheats otherwise. I've always wanted to try the Life Orb set, but i didn't realize its true potential until recent damage calculations.
Blaziken is one of the best anti-meta pokemon in this moment, as it is able to OHKO 3 of the strongest Mega-evos in just one powerful blow (M-Metagross with Overheat, M-CharY with Rock Slide and M-Kang with Superpower). I've chosen to run a slighty more physical set with Rock Slide instead of Hidden Power Ice for a simple reason: to improve my matchup against Fire types but in particular against M-CharY (threatening Aegislash and Scizor with Overheat but also Gastrodon with Solar Beam) because i felt M-Mence (susceptible to Intimidates) and a 0 SpA Thundurus were not enough to handle it. I chose Superpower instead of Low Kick because it offers a consistent way to deal some more serious damage to threats such as Rotom-W or Scrafty (even at -1) and it is also a powerful finisher if i can't afford to miss an Overheat or Rock Slide.
EV spread explanation:
With an Hasty Nature and 244 Spe, Blaziken is able to outspeed a Choice Scarf Adamant Land-T after one Speed Boost by 1 point. Then, i wanted Rock Slide to get a straight OHKO on a 252 HP / 4 Def M-CharY and 196 Atk EVs accomplish this goal along with the OHKO on any bulky M-Kang with Superpower. The rest was put into SpA. 68 SpA EVs are enough to OHKO M-Metagross, M-Mawile and even a bulky Ferrothorn in rain.
Relevant offensive calculations:
Strong points:
- It's not easy to anticipate the leads of this team.
- M-Salamence, Blaziken and Gastrodon are able to shut down most of the common pokemon in the current metagame, thanks to their unique capabilities and offensive potential.
- The Steel duo usually scares off Sylveon, Breloom, Virizion and Amoonguss most of the times, giving M-Salamence and Gastrodon more action in most of the matches.
- The team composition is solid enough to provide a match up advantage just from Turn 1 most of the times (if the correct leads have been chosen).
- This team features many different answers to each of the Top5 used Megas (M-Kang: Blaziken, M-Salamence, Aegislash. M-CharY: Blaziken, M-Salamence, Thundurus. M-Metagross: Blaziken, Aegislash, Scizor, Gastrodon. M-Salamence: Thundurus, Gastrodon, Scizor, Aegislash. M-Venusaur: M-Salamence, Scizor, Aegislash) and to the common team archetypes (Rain teams: Aegislash, Scizor, Gastrodon, Thundurus. Sun teams: Blaziken, M-Salemence, Thundurus, Aegislash. Jap Sand teams: Scizor, Gastrodon, M-Salamence and Blaziken + Aegislash lead)
- This team doesn't suffer too much from particular forms speed controls such as Tailwind or Trick Room: (TAILWIND) M-Salamence has access to Dragon Dance, Blaziken boosts its speed every round. (NEUTRAL) Thundurus has Prankster while Scizor has priority Bullet Punch. (TRICK ROOM) Gastrodon and Aegislash are enough slow to work even better in TR, even if Aegislash doesn't really like to attack before its opponents.
Weak points:
- Heatran is not easy to face if paired with Sylveon or M-Gardevoir, because both Blaziken and Gastrodon take too much damage from any Hyper Voice without Wide Guard support from Aegislash and i have no safe switches for a Heatwave + Hyper Voice combo expect maybe for Thundurus. It is preferable to slow Heatran down with TWave so that Gastrodon can outspeed and OHKO it any turn later, giving Scizor or Aegislash a free switch to stop the Fairy. Swagger on Sylveon/M-Gardevoir is also 50/50 option.
- Gengar is free to spam Icy Wind or hit anything with a strong Shadow Ball without fear of Blaziken and M-Mence attacks due to the Focus Sash. Also in this case, Thundurus must solve the problem with TWave or Swagger.
- Bulky Water types are not easy to KO, being Thunderbolt the only supereffective move at my disposal and M-Mence afraid of Ice Beams. This team needs to play around Milotic or Suicune many turns to put them in KO range for Return, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball or Superpower. M-Swampert and Gastrodon are even harder to take down.
- An offensive Life Orb Thundurus with Thunderbolt, HP Ice and Grass Knot can outspeed and deal some serious damage or OHKO most of my team. Blaziken can outspeed it after one turn, but if Thundurus it not at 90% health (1 turn of Life Orb recoil), it cannot OHKO it easily with Overheat (but also in this case, there's only a 75% chance to OHKO a 90% health 4 HP Thundurus).
#Finally, i want to thank @Black117 for helping me with a previous team. I really appreciated your suggestions and i'm sorry that team didn't have enough success during testing, but you gave me important tips to start building my new team (such as to focus on beating M-Kang, M-Metagross, Aegislash and the Jap Sand teams, which brought me to the fantastic Blaziken + Aegislash + Gastrodon core)
