On July 1st Canada will be holding its first ever VGC Nationals event and it's safe to say that I'm definitely entering. While my goal is to do as well as possible at the tournament, fun comes first, and I think it'd be fun to keep going with my Sandstorm team.
I haven't made a serious doubles team since Gen 3, so all help refining this potential team for the VGC12 metagame is muchly appreciated.
Storm Drain
Calm
252 HP EVs, Split Defenses
Scald/Surf
Earth Power
Ice Beam
Protect/Recover
My usage for this guy for be quite simple: protect my other Pokemon from Water-type attacks while boosting its own Sp. Attack. Recover is tempting, but I'm thinking that Protect + Left Overs + Storm Drain may be the better way to goes for Doubles. I'm also leaning towards Surf over Scald for the range, but Scald's burn effect is nice. I considered an HP as my third attacking move, but Earth Power is decent enough to deal with most other Water-types and anti Flying/Dragon-type support given by Ice Beam is always welcome.
Tyranitar @ Focus Sash/Chople Berry
Sand Stream
Brave
252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Special Defense
Crunch
Rock Slide
Superpower/Low Kick/Brick Break
Protect
Doubles Tyranitar is much different from my usual Tyranitar set. Crunch and Rock Slide are great STAB, and Superpower/Low Kick assist with Rock/Steel-types and other Tyranitar. I'm leaning towards Low Kick here verses Superpower due to the stat losses with the latter, and I have a hunch that Low Kick would be more effective than Brick Break due to the opponents I'm likely to face. I've gone for a Brave nature here because I'd want Tyranitar to have all the power it could get, and being slower may help slip up other Weather inducing Pokemon.
Garchomp @ Yache Berry/Dragon Gem/Ground Gem
Sand Veil
Jolly
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Earthquake
Dragon Claw/Dual Chop
Rock Slide/Substitute
Protect
I love Garchomp in a sandstorm. Hells, I just love Garchomp in general. It has good speed, great power, and fairly nice resistances aside from that pesky x4 Ice. Earthquake is a given, but I'm not sure which Dragon-type STAB to choose. Dragon Claw is more reliable, but Dual Chop could assist with subbers. The next move choice I'm a bit unsure about. My Singles Garchomp loves Substitute, but does Doubles favour it as much? It's handy to have when predicting a Draco Meteor from Latios (unless the bugger hits first), but would you use it for much else is the question. Rock Slide gives me something to hit multiple Flying-types and possibly flinch 'em in the process. What do you guys think?
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
Modest
252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp. Attack
Psyshock
HP Fire/Energy Ball/Shadow Ball
HP Fire/Energy Ball/Shadow Ball
Thunder Wave/Protect
Psyshock is a given. The other three moves aren't so much. Since I'm anticipating Water-type opponents I'm heavily leaning towards Energy Ball, but Shadow Ball would be handy if other Reuniclus, Cresselia or Latios show up. Then there's HP Fire, which could be useful against the likes of Abomasnow, Ferrothorn, and Metagross (it'd be a bit suicidal going up against Scizor). As for the final choice... Do I go the usual route of Protect, or do I give this guy Thunder Wave? I'm pretty sure its the only Pokemon on my proposed team that can use Thunder Wave and it's obvious how useful the attack can be... but is it worth restricting my other Pokemon who spam Earthquake/Surf?
Metagross @ Air Balloon/Occa Berry
Clear Body
Adamant
252 HP, 252 Att, 4 Speed
Bullet Punch
Meteor Mash/Zen Headbutt
Earthquake/Ice Punch
Protect
I was debating which Pokemon to add that has access to a priority attack, and Metagross seemed like a good choice (not to mention that I have one IV bred/trained on SoulSilver). Bullet Punch and Protect are easy choices here. The rest... not so much. Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt both provide a more powerful STAB attack, but Meteor Mash is the more powerful attack and has a better added effect considering Metagross' lower speed. The only issue with Meteor Mash is its accuracy. As for the third attack choice, I'm leaning towards Earthquake for the extra coverage but Ice Punch would make for an interesting anti-Dragon/Flying choice. If I used a Bullet Punch/Meteor Mash/Earthquake set, I'd have nothing decent on Metagross to counter Zapdos or Thundurus. In this situation I'd also rather a 100% accurate attack like Ice Punch verses a rather inaccurate move like Stone Edge. Thoughts from you guys?
Now, my final choice. I can't decide on which Pokemon to choose so I'll give both as suggestions and see what you guys think.
Landorus @ Yache Berry/Expert Belt
Sand Force
Naive/Jolly
252 Speed, and ????
Earthquake/Earth Power
Rock Slide
Grass Knot/HP Flying/U-Turn
Protect/Rock Polish
I'd like a mixed set on this guy because I know he can handle, but it all depends on which three attacks that I end up choosing. Earthquake is better in the doubles arena range-wise but Earth Power can hit hard against Steel/Rock-types with lower Special Defenses. Rock Slide is a given, made even better if Sand Force is activated. Then I have a choice... Grass Knot could assist against Water-types and any very heavy Pokemon (but if I'm being honest, I'm not sure which Pokemon fall into that category). HP Flying would be for STAB but it'd also assist against Fighting-types like Hitmontop. U-Turn is strictly hit and run. If I could get a super effective hit out of it then all the better. Final decision is between Protect and Rock Polish. While Protect is always useful, Rock Polish could give me the edge if pulled off at the right time. I'm not sure which of the two to choose.
Gliscor @ Flying Gem/Yache Berry
Sand Veil
Adamant
252 HP, 252 Attack, 4 Speed
Tailwind
Earthquake
Acrobatics/U-Turn
Protect
Tailwind is incredibly tempting and is the only reason I'd potentially choose Gliscor over Landorus. Gen IV Gliscor misses out on Poison Heal but still gets Sand Veil which fits my team (assuming I can keep up the Sandstorm). Earthquake is the best STAB choice it has. Acrobatics matched with Flying Gem is pretty nasty and likely the better choice, but U-Turn could be fun once Tailwind was up. I think I'd likely aim for a different nature/EV spread if I picked U-Turn over Acrobatics.
Which Pokemon do you guys think would fair better in VGC12? If neither seem like the best choice, what other Pokemon might you recommend? I'm open to suggestions.
I haven't made a serious doubles team since Gen 3, so all help refining this potential team for the VGC12 metagame is muchly appreciated.
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Gastrodon @ Leftovers/Grass Damage Down BerryStorm Drain
Calm
252 HP EVs, Split Defenses
Scald/Surf
Earth Power
Ice Beam
Protect/Recover
My usage for this guy for be quite simple: protect my other Pokemon from Water-type attacks while boosting its own Sp. Attack. Recover is tempting, but I'm thinking that Protect + Left Overs + Storm Drain may be the better way to goes for Doubles. I'm also leaning towards Surf over Scald for the range, but Scald's burn effect is nice. I considered an HP as my third attacking move, but Earth Power is decent enough to deal with most other Water-types and anti Flying/Dragon-type support given by Ice Beam is always welcome.
Tyranitar @ Focus Sash/Chople Berry
Sand Stream
Brave
252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Special Defense
Crunch
Rock Slide
Superpower/Low Kick/Brick Break
Protect
Doubles Tyranitar is much different from my usual Tyranitar set. Crunch and Rock Slide are great STAB, and Superpower/Low Kick assist with Rock/Steel-types and other Tyranitar. I'm leaning towards Low Kick here verses Superpower due to the stat losses with the latter, and I have a hunch that Low Kick would be more effective than Brick Break due to the opponents I'm likely to face. I've gone for a Brave nature here because I'd want Tyranitar to have all the power it could get, and being slower may help slip up other Weather inducing Pokemon.
Garchomp @ Yache Berry/Dragon Gem/Ground Gem
Sand Veil
Jolly
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Earthquake
Dragon Claw/Dual Chop
Rock Slide/Substitute
Protect
I love Garchomp in a sandstorm. Hells, I just love Garchomp in general. It has good speed, great power, and fairly nice resistances aside from that pesky x4 Ice. Earthquake is a given, but I'm not sure which Dragon-type STAB to choose. Dragon Claw is more reliable, but Dual Chop could assist with subbers. The next move choice I'm a bit unsure about. My Singles Garchomp loves Substitute, but does Doubles favour it as much? It's handy to have when predicting a Draco Meteor from Latios (unless the bugger hits first), but would you use it for much else is the question. Rock Slide gives me something to hit multiple Flying-types and possibly flinch 'em in the process. What do you guys think?
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
Modest
252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp. Attack
Psyshock
HP Fire/Energy Ball/Shadow Ball
HP Fire/Energy Ball/Shadow Ball
Thunder Wave/Protect
Psyshock is a given. The other three moves aren't so much. Since I'm anticipating Water-type opponents I'm heavily leaning towards Energy Ball, but Shadow Ball would be handy if other Reuniclus, Cresselia or Latios show up. Then there's HP Fire, which could be useful against the likes of Abomasnow, Ferrothorn, and Metagross (it'd be a bit suicidal going up against Scizor). As for the final choice... Do I go the usual route of Protect, or do I give this guy Thunder Wave? I'm pretty sure its the only Pokemon on my proposed team that can use Thunder Wave and it's obvious how useful the attack can be... but is it worth restricting my other Pokemon who spam Earthquake/Surf?
Metagross @ Air Balloon/Occa Berry
Clear Body
Adamant
252 HP, 252 Att, 4 Speed
Bullet Punch
Meteor Mash/Zen Headbutt
Earthquake/Ice Punch
Protect
I was debating which Pokemon to add that has access to a priority attack, and Metagross seemed like a good choice (not to mention that I have one IV bred/trained on SoulSilver). Bullet Punch and Protect are easy choices here. The rest... not so much. Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt both provide a more powerful STAB attack, but Meteor Mash is the more powerful attack and has a better added effect considering Metagross' lower speed. The only issue with Meteor Mash is its accuracy. As for the third attack choice, I'm leaning towards Earthquake for the extra coverage but Ice Punch would make for an interesting anti-Dragon/Flying choice. If I used a Bullet Punch/Meteor Mash/Earthquake set, I'd have nothing decent on Metagross to counter Zapdos or Thundurus. In this situation I'd also rather a 100% accurate attack like Ice Punch verses a rather inaccurate move like Stone Edge. Thoughts from you guys?
Now, my final choice. I can't decide on which Pokemon to choose so I'll give both as suggestions and see what you guys think.
Landorus @ Yache Berry/Expert Belt
Sand Force
Naive/Jolly
252 Speed, and ????
Earthquake/Earth Power
Rock Slide
Grass Knot/HP Flying/U-Turn
Protect/Rock Polish
I'd like a mixed set on this guy because I know he can handle, but it all depends on which three attacks that I end up choosing. Earthquake is better in the doubles arena range-wise but Earth Power can hit hard against Steel/Rock-types with lower Special Defenses. Rock Slide is a given, made even better if Sand Force is activated. Then I have a choice... Grass Knot could assist against Water-types and any very heavy Pokemon (but if I'm being honest, I'm not sure which Pokemon fall into that category). HP Flying would be for STAB but it'd also assist against Fighting-types like Hitmontop. U-Turn is strictly hit and run. If I could get a super effective hit out of it then all the better. Final decision is between Protect and Rock Polish. While Protect is always useful, Rock Polish could give me the edge if pulled off at the right time. I'm not sure which of the two to choose.
Gliscor @ Flying Gem/Yache Berry
Sand Veil
Adamant
252 HP, 252 Attack, 4 Speed
Tailwind
Earthquake
Acrobatics/U-Turn
Protect
Tailwind is incredibly tempting and is the only reason I'd potentially choose Gliscor over Landorus. Gen IV Gliscor misses out on Poison Heal but still gets Sand Veil which fits my team (assuming I can keep up the Sandstorm). Earthquake is the best STAB choice it has. Acrobatics matched with Flying Gem is pretty nasty and likely the better choice, but U-Turn could be fun once Tailwind was up. I think I'd likely aim for a different nature/EV spread if I picked U-Turn over Acrobatics.
Which Pokemon do you guys think would fair better in VGC12? If neither seem like the best choice, what other Pokemon might you recommend? I'm open to suggestions.