Hey guys! Recently got a bit bored of playing VGC and all, so i went back to Battle Spot Doubles for a bit of workout with my old VGC'15 team, which will be the team that i'll be reviewing now. This team got me 2 top cut finishes on my last 2 Premier Challenges, and i thought it would be nice to share it up before i focus completely into VGC'16. So, let's get into the team!
This also happened to be my 500th post so i'll have to throw in shoutouts and everything before people start killing me but oh well...
Teambuilding Process
Virizion was my starting point because i wanted to build around Virizion. This Pokemon got featured on multiple teams i teambuilt during VGC'15 and i fell in love with it. Wanted to make a dedicated team around it.
Virizion + Milotic core is something i've always used since i started to use Virizion. Virizion's biggest downside is its lack of damage potential, meaning that after an Intimidate Virizion does pitiful damage to the point it can't OHKO Mega Kangaskhan. Milotic acted as an anti-Intimidate tool which was appreciated for Virizion, while Virizion was capable of getting rid of bulky Water-types getting in the way of Virizion, specially doing heavy damage to Rotom-W.
Something to complete the Fire + Grass + Water core was needed, and what does that better than Mega Charizard? Mega Charizard Y's huge damage output was somewhat needed as Virizion and Milotic lack damage output. Plus, it limits the amount of switch-ins that my opponent had, and Virizion + Milotic already covered a lot of the list for Pokemon that check Mega Charizard Y.
Aegislash was the bread and butter Wide Guard user, Mega Kangaskhan switch-in, and Mega Gardevoir counter. Aegislash provided the needed answer for Landorus-T + Mega Gardevoir cores that already left me in a bad spot, and is a pretty goood partner for Mega Charizard Y and Virizion.
Added Landorus-T as the main Electric-type check that my team was desperately asking for, as the Assault Vest set can take most Hidden Power Ice and retaliate back with a strong Earthquake. Intimidate was also appreciated as most of my Pokemon were physically frail. A Ground-type inmunity, and a back-up Landorus-T answer was also somewhat required for my team.
So the team's synergy was overall amazing, so without many possible partners, i decided to add Mega Kangaskhan. Mega Kangaskhan's typing and gigantic damage output was the thing that i was looking for, and the dual mega combination of Mega Charizard Y + Mega Kangaskhan was already scary in the team preview.
The final version of the team, i found myself bringing Mega Kangaskhan way more often than Mega Charizard, and i also felt like lacking physical attackers. Entei was an amazing addition for the team as it provided a good Mega Charizard Y answer while providing that physical offense i felt myself lacking. Sacred Fire burns were also pretty clutch as well!
The Team:
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 164 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
Behold, the strongest Mega Evolution of any doubles format! The moveset is pretty straight-forward, but i'll make some explanations. I was running a max/max EV spread and a classic Low Kick + Fake Out set and did decently, but i was looking for something that allowed Kangaskhan to hang on more in the field and become a threat that opponents should have to get rid of. Then i read a report from a friend of mine (_LightCore) and i fell in love with his set, as it was just what i was looking for! As this set has bulk to withstand multiple attacks, you can freely set up with Power-Up Punch, and once the opponent realizes that they have a big threat that they should get rid of as soon as possible, Protect will block any attack directed to Mega Kangaskhan. Quite smart, isn't it? As for the EV spread, you survive Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick 100% of the time while creeping Adamant Landorus-T by 2 points.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Taunt
- Protect
The main star of the team, Virizion. Virizion's ability to check many common Pokemon in the metagame was what called my attention to begin with. Unlike Breloom, Virizion provides an amazing Speed tier that allows it to outspeed the common base 100s, and it has a decent special bulk which allows it to take many common hits in the VGC metagame, even super effective ones. The moveset is pretty simple, really. Close Combat is your strongest move, and it OHKOs many Fighting-type weak Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan, Heatran, Hydreigon, and others. Leaf Blade is Virizion's other STAB, a reliable move that will be used most of the time against neutral targets, and it hits bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Milotic, Suicune and Swampert for huge damage, although it misses the OHKO on many of them. Taunt is the 3rd slot, which used to be many multiple moves such as Helping Hand, Stone Edge and even Zen Headbutt. At the last, i noticed that Taunt would be useful for shutting down Trick Room teams, and helping agaisnt Amoonguss, a relatively troublesome Pokemon for my team.
Entei @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 124 Atk / 44 Def / 52 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Snarl
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Entei's EV spread was also Lightcore's, which is a really good EV spread. According with what i recall from his report, which is sadly now impossible to see, the bulk investment allows it to survive Adamant Landorus-T's Earthquake 100% of the time while the Special Defense survives 60 SpA Rotom-W's Hydro Pump. The max speed investment, together with the Jolly nature, was incredibly helpful to outspeed Base 100 speed Pokemon that usually like to invest a bit more in bulk or are just running an unboosting nature, which helps Entei to beat Mega Charizard Y more reliably before it starts dealing crazy damage to my other Pokemon. Sacred Fire is Entei's main attacking move, and you click it to just do damage and burn fishing on neutral targets. Stone Edge as coverage helps with Mega Charizard Y, Thundurus and Volcarona. Finally, Snarl hinders special attackers which sometimes help with Pokemon with natural low damage output such as Cresselia and Clefairy, for example.
Milotic (F) @ Maranga Berry
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpA / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Protect
Maranga Berry Milotic is just an amazing set, specially against leads like Landorus-T + Thundurus as it doesn't let the Thundurus attack freely while Landorus is still on a bad spot, Scald is the main STAB as Milotic doesn't have any other move with the properties of Scald, this meaning reliableand useful for hax. Ice Beam was chosen over Icy Wind because the latter missed on some KOs and wasn't any helpful agaisnt Milotic + Mega Salamence, a combination my team struggled against. Recover, together with Milotic's amazing natural bulk and Maranga Berry, allows it to hang on the battlefield for long enough, and if it gets a Competitive boost that's kind of the thing Milotic wants to do. I don't recall what the EV spread specifically achieves, but it can definitely take Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge.
Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 148 Atk / 44 Def / 12 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
- Superpower
Assault Vest Landorus-T. The speed investment allows you to outspeed positive nature base 70s, while the defensive investment allows you to survive Bisharp's Sucher Punch 100% of the time. I don't recall what 148 Atk does, but the 12 SpD overall increases Landorus-T special bulk. You can take Life Orb Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice, so don't worry about other attacks. Moveset is rather simple, Earthquake as the only STAB move on the set hits for decent damage, while Rock Slide hits Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Thundurus. Knock Off is an amazing supportive tool that i find myself going to pretty often, as it does remove a Pokemon's item and once an item is gone some Pokemon can't do remotely what they're supposed to do. Superpower is a move that you want to use against opposing Mega Kangaskhan or if you fear a Shuca Berry Heatran.
Aegislash (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
A pretty simple, straight-forward Aegislash. This is a very classic EV spread designed to survive Choice Specs Modest Hydreigon's Dark Pulse 100% of the time. Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon being STAB moves, Wide Guard being a supportive option against the so common spread moves in this metagame. King's Shield is pretty much mandatory on any good Aegislash and if you're running one without it you should honestly be slamming your head against a wall.
Common Leads
One of my favorite leads, as i've already explained this is pretty much the anti-CHALK thing that i had. I had in mind if a Landorus-T + Kangaskhan lead appeared, i'd just have Landorus-T in the back to switch-in for Virizion and Protect Milotic which was a pretty good play most of the time.
This lead is pretty old, you basically handle everything bar bulky Water-types. Milotic + physical attacker is a pretty good lead, i swear!
Yep, another Milotic lead. Landorus-T increases Milotic's already amazing bulk thanks to Intimidate, while Milotic scares Intimidate for Landorus-T.
Achievements
If popular demand requires it i'll do a mini warstory about the 2 Premier Challenges i went to with this team, but for time's sake...
3rd and Top 8 placings on Premier Challenges. Not exactly that huge of a deal but i'm pretty sure i could have managed to do more with this team if '15 stuck on for a year more...
Also, with this team i did manage to beat some of the strongest players in my country, so there's that too...
Bad Matchups
Even with all my tools the CHALKT matchup is just very tricky. Any mistake you make can cost you games if you aren't careful enough.
Trick Room teams are a pain... yep. Taunt Virizion and Aegislash are my only tools against it.
The worst matchup my team has, all my loses are to blame on these two. Salamence + Rotom-W is a very difficult combination to break as my answer for bulky Water-types is useless against Mega Salamence. To make it even worse, as Milotic is my main answer to Mega Salamence, Rotom-W makes the matchup too complicated. Playing smart with Kangaskhan, Milotic and Virizion is what you'd try to do, while you're kinda forced to have Aegislash so you can wall Salamence.
Shoutouts
Ok so after five hundred posts in Smogon i've already gained quite the reputation, specially on the VGC subforum. I'm currently an organizer of the VGC biweeklies, while also helping out a lot in other threads in the forums. I rate some VGC'16 teams, not too good on that as I'm not that familiar with the metagame so far, but once i get on track i'll surely get back on rating. I've made very good friends on these forums, and these guys have definitely put me where I am. I wouldn't be anything without them. Currently i'm 13rd on my country's CP count, which is quite an honor already, and I have defeated top players of my country and gained their respect, putting myself between one of the most recognized VGC players in my country. Nothing of these would have happened without these amazing guys:
Ksh13. Technically our only moderator, you have done an amazing work with the VGC forums, C&C and everything. You got yourself into too many things and you still manage to keep on track with the forums, biweeklies and everything. Thanks for the daily effort you put in the forums.
DaAwesomeDude1. You were basically the one that got me into VGC and doubles in general. You are a really awesome person, just like your username tells, and whenever i play you in VGC or I kick your ass at Sm4sh, you're a very good friend of mine. Thanks for supporting me on every choice i make.
Serapis. You're my daily inspiration of a player to become, and i've literally tried to mimic you on everything. I've tried to understand your playstyle, your teams, your way of playing VGC in general with little to no success on adapting it to my playstyle, but that taught me that i must follow a different path. If I'm making Worlds this years, it's only to prove that i'm not just a guy that thinks that knows a lot of VGC but to prove that i'm on par in you. Congrats on being one of the top players on what comes to CP at a global level, and i hope you keep up the good work!
Mudvayne. Knowing you, you might not even know why you're on the list. You were one of my first friends when i came to PS!, and we've been constantly on each one's side. One day, you just got bored of VGC and we kinda took different paths, but even to this day, i consider you a valuable friend that i wouldn't like to lose. I still miss Wid btw, i wonder where the fuck he went.
Kyle Ayala for being one of my closest friends and partners on what comes to VGC, now you are definitely not on my level but way above it, and i hope you make Worlds so i hopefully can meet you at San Francisco.
_LightCore if it wasn't obvious enough i was heavily inspired by your Lancaster team. LOL
Also shoutouts to Demantoid, Mishimono, ProjectTitan313, Yuga42, lucariojr, Derivatives and many other people from the VGC subforum that give the subforums activity and give me a reason to hop into the Smogon Forums every day and let myself still prefer this platform over Nugget Bridge.
Also shoutouts to GiraGoomy and FloristtheBudew for being people that i can practice with (in the times i have the chance to find you guys, that is), and to GradeAGarchomp and ClaimingRobin for being good chat partners.
With that said, Steven Stone, who you all know better as SkarmSteel, is finally out.
(Also i did make the shoutouts this long because a certain member that i won't mention told me to, so blame him if you wanna blame someone)...
This also happened to be my 500th post so i'll have to throw in shoutouts and everything before people start killing me but oh well...
Teambuilding Process
Virizion was my starting point because i wanted to build around Virizion. This Pokemon got featured on multiple teams i teambuilt during VGC'15 and i fell in love with it. Wanted to make a dedicated team around it.
Virizion + Milotic core is something i've always used since i started to use Virizion. Virizion's biggest downside is its lack of damage potential, meaning that after an Intimidate Virizion does pitiful damage to the point it can't OHKO Mega Kangaskhan. Milotic acted as an anti-Intimidate tool which was appreciated for Virizion, while Virizion was capable of getting rid of bulky Water-types getting in the way of Virizion, specially doing heavy damage to Rotom-W.
Something to complete the Fire + Grass + Water core was needed, and what does that better than Mega Charizard? Mega Charizard Y's huge damage output was somewhat needed as Virizion and Milotic lack damage output. Plus, it limits the amount of switch-ins that my opponent had, and Virizion + Milotic already covered a lot of the list for Pokemon that check Mega Charizard Y.
Aegislash was the bread and butter Wide Guard user, Mega Kangaskhan switch-in, and Mega Gardevoir counter. Aegislash provided the needed answer for Landorus-T + Mega Gardevoir cores that already left me in a bad spot, and is a pretty goood partner for Mega Charizard Y and Virizion.
Added Landorus-T as the main Electric-type check that my team was desperately asking for, as the Assault Vest set can take most Hidden Power Ice and retaliate back with a strong Earthquake. Intimidate was also appreciated as most of my Pokemon were physically frail. A Ground-type inmunity, and a back-up Landorus-T answer was also somewhat required for my team.
So the team's synergy was overall amazing, so without many possible partners, i decided to add Mega Kangaskhan. Mega Kangaskhan's typing and gigantic damage output was the thing that i was looking for, and the dual mega combination of Mega Charizard Y + Mega Kangaskhan was already scary in the team preview.
The final version of the team, i found myself bringing Mega Kangaskhan way more often than Mega Charizard, and i also felt like lacking physical attackers. Entei was an amazing addition for the team as it provided a good Mega Charizard Y answer while providing that physical offense i felt myself lacking. Sacred Fire burns were also pretty clutch as well!
The Team:
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 164 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
Behold, the strongest Mega Evolution of any doubles format! The moveset is pretty straight-forward, but i'll make some explanations. I was running a max/max EV spread and a classic Low Kick + Fake Out set and did decently, but i was looking for something that allowed Kangaskhan to hang on more in the field and become a threat that opponents should have to get rid of. Then i read a report from a friend of mine (_LightCore) and i fell in love with his set, as it was just what i was looking for! As this set has bulk to withstand multiple attacks, you can freely set up with Power-Up Punch, and once the opponent realizes that they have a big threat that they should get rid of as soon as possible, Protect will block any attack directed to Mega Kangaskhan. Quite smart, isn't it? As for the EV spread, you survive Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick 100% of the time while creeping Adamant Landorus-T by 2 points.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Taunt
- Protect
The main star of the team, Virizion. Virizion's ability to check many common Pokemon in the metagame was what called my attention to begin with. Unlike Breloom, Virizion provides an amazing Speed tier that allows it to outspeed the common base 100s, and it has a decent special bulk which allows it to take many common hits in the VGC metagame, even super effective ones. The moveset is pretty simple, really. Close Combat is your strongest move, and it OHKOs many Fighting-type weak Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan, Heatran, Hydreigon, and others. Leaf Blade is Virizion's other STAB, a reliable move that will be used most of the time against neutral targets, and it hits bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Milotic, Suicune and Swampert for huge damage, although it misses the OHKO on many of them. Taunt is the 3rd slot, which used to be many multiple moves such as Helping Hand, Stone Edge and even Zen Headbutt. At the last, i noticed that Taunt would be useful for shutting down Trick Room teams, and helping agaisnt Amoonguss, a relatively troublesome Pokemon for my team.
Entei @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 124 Atk / 44 Def / 52 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Snarl
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Entei's EV spread was also Lightcore's, which is a really good EV spread. According with what i recall from his report, which is sadly now impossible to see, the bulk investment allows it to survive Adamant Landorus-T's Earthquake 100% of the time while the Special Defense survives 60 SpA Rotom-W's Hydro Pump. The max speed investment, together with the Jolly nature, was incredibly helpful to outspeed Base 100 speed Pokemon that usually like to invest a bit more in bulk or are just running an unboosting nature, which helps Entei to beat Mega Charizard Y more reliably before it starts dealing crazy damage to my other Pokemon. Sacred Fire is Entei's main attacking move, and you click it to just do damage and burn fishing on neutral targets. Stone Edge as coverage helps with Mega Charizard Y, Thundurus and Volcarona. Finally, Snarl hinders special attackers which sometimes help with Pokemon with natural low damage output such as Cresselia and Clefairy, for example.
Milotic (F) @ Maranga Berry
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpA / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Protect
Maranga Berry Milotic is just an amazing set, specially against leads like Landorus-T + Thundurus as it doesn't let the Thundurus attack freely while Landorus is still on a bad spot, Scald is the main STAB as Milotic doesn't have any other move with the properties of Scald, this meaning reliable
Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 148 Atk / 44 Def / 12 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
- Superpower
Assault Vest Landorus-T. The speed investment allows you to outspeed positive nature base 70s, while the defensive investment allows you to survive Bisharp's Sucher Punch 100% of the time. I don't recall what 148 Atk does, but the 12 SpD overall increases Landorus-T special bulk. You can take Life Orb Thundurus's Hidden Power Ice, so don't worry about other attacks. Moveset is rather simple, Earthquake as the only STAB move on the set hits for decent damage, while Rock Slide hits Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Thundurus. Knock Off is an amazing supportive tool that i find myself going to pretty often, as it does remove a Pokemon's item and once an item is gone some Pokemon can't do remotely what they're supposed to do. Superpower is a move that you want to use against opposing Mega Kangaskhan or if you fear a Shuca Berry Heatran.
Aegislash (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
A pretty simple, straight-forward Aegislash. This is a very classic EV spread designed to survive Choice Specs Modest Hydreigon's Dark Pulse 100% of the time. Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon being STAB moves, Wide Guard being a supportive option against the so common spread moves in this metagame. King's Shield is pretty much mandatory on any good Aegislash and if you're running one without it you should honestly be slamming your head against a wall.
Common Leads
One of my favorite leads, as i've already explained this is pretty much the anti-CHALK thing that i had. I had in mind if a Landorus-T + Kangaskhan lead appeared, i'd just have Landorus-T in the back to switch-in for Virizion and Protect Milotic which was a pretty good play most of the time.
This lead is pretty old, you basically handle everything bar bulky Water-types. Milotic + physical attacker is a pretty good lead, i swear!
Yep, another Milotic lead. Landorus-T increases Milotic's already amazing bulk thanks to Intimidate, while Milotic scares Intimidate for Landorus-T.
Achievements
If popular demand requires it i'll do a mini warstory about the 2 Premier Challenges i went to with this team, but for time's sake...
3rd and Top 8 placings on Premier Challenges. Not exactly that huge of a deal but i'm pretty sure i could have managed to do more with this team if '15 stuck on for a year more...
Also, with this team i did manage to beat some of the strongest players in my country, so there's that too...
Bad Matchups
Even with all my tools the CHALKT matchup is just very tricky. Any mistake you make can cost you games if you aren't careful enough.
Trick Room teams are a pain... yep. Taunt Virizion and Aegislash are my only tools against it.
The worst matchup my team has, all my loses are to blame on these two. Salamence + Rotom-W is a very difficult combination to break as my answer for bulky Water-types is useless against Mega Salamence. To make it even worse, as Milotic is my main answer to Mega Salamence, Rotom-W makes the matchup too complicated. Playing smart with Kangaskhan, Milotic and Virizion is what you'd try to do, while you're kinda forced to have Aegislash so you can wall Salamence.
Shoutouts
Ok so after five hundred posts in Smogon i've already gained quite the reputation, specially on the VGC subforum. I'm currently an organizer of the VGC biweeklies, while also helping out a lot in other threads in the forums. I rate some VGC'16 teams, not too good on that as I'm not that familiar with the metagame so far, but once i get on track i'll surely get back on rating. I've made very good friends on these forums, and these guys have definitely put me where I am. I wouldn't be anything without them. Currently i'm 13rd on my country's CP count, which is quite an honor already, and I have defeated top players of my country and gained their respect, putting myself between one of the most recognized VGC players in my country. Nothing of these would have happened without these amazing guys:
Ksh13. Technically our only moderator, you have done an amazing work with the VGC forums, C&C and everything. You got yourself into too many things and you still manage to keep on track with the forums, biweeklies and everything. Thanks for the daily effort you put in the forums.
DaAwesomeDude1. You were basically the one that got me into VGC and doubles in general. You are a really awesome person, just like your username tells, and whenever i play you in VGC or I kick your ass at Sm4sh, you're a very good friend of mine. Thanks for supporting me on every choice i make.
Serapis. You're my daily inspiration of a player to become, and i've literally tried to mimic you on everything. I've tried to understand your playstyle, your teams, your way of playing VGC in general with little to no success on adapting it to my playstyle, but that taught me that i must follow a different path. If I'm making Worlds this years, it's only to prove that i'm not just a guy that thinks that knows a lot of VGC but to prove that i'm on par in you. Congrats on being one of the top players on what comes to CP at a global level, and i hope you keep up the good work!
Mudvayne. Knowing you, you might not even know why you're on the list. You were one of my first friends when i came to PS!, and we've been constantly on each one's side. One day, you just got bored of VGC and we kinda took different paths, but even to this day, i consider you a valuable friend that i wouldn't like to lose. I still miss Wid btw, i wonder where the fuck he went.
Kyle Ayala for being one of my closest friends and partners on what comes to VGC, now you are definitely not on my level but way above it, and i hope you make Worlds so i hopefully can meet you at San Francisco.
_LightCore if it wasn't obvious enough i was heavily inspired by your Lancaster team. LOL
Also shoutouts to Demantoid, Mishimono, ProjectTitan313, Yuga42, lucariojr, Derivatives and many other people from the VGC subforum that give the subforums activity and give me a reason to hop into the Smogon Forums every day and let myself still prefer this platform over Nugget Bridge.
Also shoutouts to GiraGoomy and FloristtheBudew for being people that i can practice with (in the times i have the chance to find you guys, that is), and to GradeAGarchomp and ClaimingRobin for being good chat partners.
With that said, Steven Stone, who you all know better as SkarmSteel, is finally out.
(Also i did make the shoutouts this long because a certain member that i won't mention told me to, so blame him if you wanna blame someone)...
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