Pokemon VGC 2015 Metagame Megathread
Dec 18, 2014, 11:56 AM
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Thundur(us) dome! (Part 1)
One of the three Genies! (You may know them as the Kami Trio instead)
Today I want to cover both the Incarnate form, AND the Therian form. Because both forms are definitely viable in this years format.
Confused on who is who? Let's start with the Incarnate form!
![[Image: 642.gif]](http://media.pldh.net/pokemon/gen6/xy-animated/642.gif)
Typing: Electric/Flying
Weaknesses: Rock, Ice (x2)
Resistances: Fighting, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass (1/2)
Immunity: Ground
Ability: Prankster (Non-Damaging moves have +1 priority)
Stats-
HP: 79
Attack: 115
Defense: 70
Special Atk: 125
Special Def: 80
Speed: 111
Starting off you'll notice that Thundurus won't be too hard to take out. Not the greatest HP/Defenses, and weak to two very common typings. Rock, and Ice. So you'll more than likely have to run some bulk. But don't let that get you down, it has a great coverage of resistances, and ground immunity, and a strong ability.
Let's get down to what Thundurus (I) does best in doubles: Abusing that Prankster.
-Bulky Support-
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 192 HP / 76 SpA / 220 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Flying]/[Ice]
I wanted to start off with one of the most effective sets. Most players run special defense over defense for many reasons. One reason is because rock slide is very common. You'd have to run FULL HP and Defensive investment to not get OHKO'd by strong rock slide users like Tyranitar. (and thats assuming you also have 31 defense IV's.) You can also live Draco Meteor's from things like Timid Latios.
Back to the set: This set is good for many reasons. You can speed creep taunt those other Thundurus users with 16 speed. You can taunt those who like to set up trick room, and ruin them. You can thunder-wave all the things. You can deal some good damage with thunderbolt. and finally, the hidden power is up to you. Ice for ground types (and dragons) and flying for that STAB hit. Sitrus Berry for that recovery to continue to annoy your opponent. Don't sleep on this set. Trust me.
-Rain Dance-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Flying]/[Ice]
This set speaks for itself, but there's a few things that you need to know. First off, Thunder hits 100% of the time in the rain. That's why we run it. Count in that SPA, and you have yourself an electric powerhouse. Some people run Protect over Taunt, but I don't know if it's worth losing that Trick Room/set up destroying. Hidden power is once again up to you. STAB for those fighting/grass types, or Ice for ground/dragons?
Common mistake (in my opinion) Some people will try to run damp rock on this. I disagree with this entirely. One being, there are weather wars. If your rain is only up for 2 turns, theres no reason for damp rock. Even if there isn't a weather war, VGC matches don't always last up to 5 turns. Finally, you more than likely have Politoed with you too.
-Special Attacker-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry/Zap Plate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Discharge/Thunderbolt
- Sludge Bomb/?
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute/Protect
This set can be tinkered with if you choose to do so. Discharge is weaker than Thunderbolt, but has a high Paralysis chance and hits both of your opponents pokemon. However, it hits your other pokemon too. So it's good to pair with a ground type. Sludge Bomb can be swapped with anything really. Focus Blast, Psychic, Flash Cannon, and more. Thundurus has a good move pool, play with it. Thunder Wave is almost too good to pass up. In case things get murky, drop your opponent some nice presents. Tis the season. Finally, protect/Sub is also your choice. Protect is nice for obvious reasons. But Substitute has priority. Well, so does Protect. but you know what I mean.
-Nasty Plot-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
Speaks for it self. Part of the reason why this set works so well is that it puts fear into your opponent. They assume you'll taunt/thunder wave them so they switch out/protect/etc. Next thing they know you're +2, behind a sub, and you have a great view to watch them as they cry. It's not the best set because you lose taunt/thunderwave, but priority subs and priority +2 sure is fun to play with. Get real clever and have a follow me user and change thunderbolt to discharge, and hit all the things.
I didn't mean to make this go on so long forgive me ;A;
[[[For the sake of not making this last forever, I'll leave the pair ups/threats for when I do Thundurus Therian, which will be right after this post. Since they appreciate the same partners.]]]
Conclusion:
Thundurus (I) is a monster. It annoys Cresselia, stops fast pokemon, hits hard with it's thunderbolt, loves rain teams, and can have a lot of fun messing with your opponent. Don't sleep on this mon, you may just be cursing his name for the rest of the year. Or praising it! I didn't want to include too many damage calcs on this one, because Thundurus is more about annoying. It can live things like Brave Bird from Talonflame, then drop it with a Thunderbolt. A very good choice for almost every team.
One of the three Genies! (You may know them as the Kami Trio instead)
Today I want to cover both the Incarnate form, AND the Therian form. Because both forms are definitely viable in this years format.
Confused on who is who? Let's start with the Incarnate form!
Typing: Electric/Flying
Weaknesses: Rock, Ice (x2)
Resistances: Fighting, Flying, Bug, Steel, Grass (1/2)
Immunity: Ground
Ability: Prankster (Non-Damaging moves have +1 priority)
Stats-
HP: 79
Attack: 115
Defense: 70
Special Atk: 125
Special Def: 80
Speed: 111
Starting off you'll notice that Thundurus won't be too hard to take out. Not the greatest HP/Defenses, and weak to two very common typings. Rock, and Ice. So you'll more than likely have to run some bulk. But don't let that get you down, it has a great coverage of resistances, and ground immunity, and a strong ability.
Let's get down to what Thundurus (I) does best in doubles: Abusing that Prankster.
-Bulky Support-
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 192 HP / 76 SpA / 220 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Flying]/[Ice]
I wanted to start off with one of the most effective sets. Most players run special defense over defense for many reasons. One reason is because rock slide is very common. You'd have to run FULL HP and Defensive investment to not get OHKO'd by strong rock slide users like Tyranitar. (and thats assuming you also have 31 defense IV's.) You can also live Draco Meteor's from things like Timid Latios.
Back to the set: This set is good for many reasons. You can speed creep taunt those other Thundurus users with 16 speed. You can taunt those who like to set up trick room, and ruin them. You can thunder-wave all the things. You can deal some good damage with thunderbolt. and finally, the hidden power is up to you. Ice for ground types (and dragons) and flying for that STAB hit. Sitrus Berry for that recovery to continue to annoy your opponent. Don't sleep on this set. Trust me.
-Rain Dance-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Flying]/[Ice]
This set speaks for itself, but there's a few things that you need to know. First off, Thunder hits 100% of the time in the rain. That's why we run it. Count in that SPA, and you have yourself an electric powerhouse. Some people run Protect over Taunt, but I don't know if it's worth losing that Trick Room/set up destroying. Hidden power is once again up to you. STAB for those fighting/grass types, or Ice for ground/dragons?
Common mistake (in my opinion) Some people will try to run damp rock on this. I disagree with this entirely. One being, there are weather wars. If your rain is only up for 2 turns, theres no reason for damp rock. Even if there isn't a weather war, VGC matches don't always last up to 5 turns. Finally, you more than likely have Politoed with you too.
-Special Attacker-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry/Zap Plate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Discharge/Thunderbolt
- Sludge Bomb/?
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute/Protect
This set can be tinkered with if you choose to do so. Discharge is weaker than Thunderbolt, but has a high Paralysis chance and hits both of your opponents pokemon. However, it hits your other pokemon too. So it's good to pair with a ground type. Sludge Bomb can be swapped with anything really. Focus Blast, Psychic, Flash Cannon, and more. Thundurus has a good move pool, play with it. Thunder Wave is almost too good to pass up. In case things get murky, drop your opponent some nice presents. Tis the season. Finally, protect/Sub is also your choice. Protect is nice for obvious reasons. But Substitute has priority. Well, so does Protect. but you know what I mean.
-Nasty Plot-
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
Speaks for it self. Part of the reason why this set works so well is that it puts fear into your opponent. They assume you'll taunt/thunder wave them so they switch out/protect/etc. Next thing they know you're +2, behind a sub, and you have a great view to watch them as they cry. It's not the best set because you lose taunt/thunderwave, but priority subs and priority +2 sure is fun to play with. Get real clever and have a follow me user and change thunderbolt to discharge, and hit all the things.
I didn't mean to make this go on so long forgive me ;A;
[[[For the sake of not making this last forever, I'll leave the pair ups/threats for when I do Thundurus Therian, which will be right after this post. Since they appreciate the same partners.]]]
Conclusion:
Thundurus (I) is a monster. It annoys Cresselia, stops fast pokemon, hits hard with it's thunderbolt, loves rain teams, and can have a lot of fun messing with your opponent. Don't sleep on this mon, you may just be cursing his name for the rest of the year. Or praising it! I didn't want to include too many damage calcs on this one, because Thundurus is more about annoying. It can live things like Brave Bird from Talonflame, then drop it with a Thunderbolt. A very good choice for almost every team.
