Reign of the King (A VGC 2012 RMT)
Introduction
In the history of the VGC metagame, there has been a Pokémon, that single one, that has been featured on every team you have faced. In the case of the Video Game Championships in the years 2011 and 2012, that Pokémon that was VERY common, arguably the most used and the most well-known Pokémon in VGC '11 and VGC '12 is Terrakion; the king.
In the history of the VGC metagame, there has been a Pokémon, that single one, that has been featured on every team you have faced. In the case of the Video Game Championships in the years 2011 and 2012, that Pokémon that was VERY common, arguably the most used and the most well-known Pokémon in VGC '11 and VGC '12 is Terrakion; the king.
This team is balanced and well-diversed, and very few teams can stand before the terror that is my team. I have went 74-14 with this team, and I have never lost against any of my close friends (who are unfortunetly not members of this site). This team is my pride and joy, the best of my VGC teams. I have included some familiar faces, and I have also added a touch of surprise. So, without furthur ado, I present you my team.
* - changed moves
Team Building Process
I wanted to build my team around Terrakion for several reasons. Terrakion is a deadly Pokémon, with a powerful base 129 attack, and is fast enough to speed tie with the likes of Infernape and other base 108 speed Pokemon.
The next addition to my team was the beast that goes by the name "Hydreigon". He has an awkward base speed of 98, but he made up for it with an uber-strong special attack stat. He complimented Terrakion because with his ability, Levitate, Terrakion could freely use Earthquake. He could also take down the physical walls that haunted Terrakion.
Another great add-on to my team was Thundurus. Thundurus was the fastest 'mon on my team so far, and with his ability, Prankster, he could T-Wave his opponents before they could attack him. Thundurus helped take down Terrakion's arch-rival, Jellicent.
With 3 fast Pokémon on the team so far, it is of no doubt I had trouble with the ever-so-common Trick Room teams. If my opponent ever manages to get Trick Room up, I will be able to switch in Reuniclus, who can either A. Sweep because of his high SpAtk or B. Use Trick Room to counter the effects and twist the dimensions back to normal.
Along with Reuniclus, the next addition to my team, Escavalier, was an extraordinary counter to Trick Room. With a horribly slow 20 Base Speed, He works as an excellent counter to Trick Room, and can usually win a match for me.
The last 'mon to be included on my team is Hariyama, a Trick Room counter/sweeper. Reuniclus and Hariyama have excellent synergy together, and destroyed Trick Room Teams. Hariyama was also usually the last addition if my opponent didn't use Trick Room.
Hariyama was not really working for me, especially in regular conditions (no Trick Room). Instead, to solve the problem, I chose Conkeldurr, with a priority Mach Punch. With a Guts boost from Flame Orb, Conkeldurr was a threat to be reckoned with.
This was a big time of change in my newly-found team. My team fell to a common 'mon in VGC, Latios, often. Hydreigon was too slow, and so was Terrakion. Thundurus was a tad frail, and usually died before they sent out Latios. To solve this problem, I sent in a Latios of my own, where he could speed tie and win against the opposing Latios, or Protect and let another Pokémon on my team deal with Latios. Latios was very fast, and could usually take out opposing Terrakion. Reuniclus had trouble taking out some common Trick Room users, so I switched to Chandelure, who with the highest SpAtk stat in the VGC metagame was an excellent addition to my team.
As you can see, my team had a problem against Weather Teams, which I didn't solve until this point in the Team Building Process. I didn't want to use T-Tar, for sand teams would be able to sweep freely. Nor would I use Abomasnow, I didn't want unnescessary damage from hail. Rain was FAR too common, he wasn't even a choice. The answer was Lickilicky and Cloud 9. Now, weather was not much of a threat to my team any more. Swift Swimmers, Chlorophyll users, and Excadrill users fell to my team. My team was almost at it's final and complete form.
Thundurus was with my team, all to the final stage. But, he didn't really fit with the new guys that much anymore. If Lickilicky fell to Weather, I could usually Tailwind with Crobat to counter Kingdra, Jumpluff, Venusaur, Excadrill and co. Along with Tailwind, I had some trouble with fighting-types, so I brought in Crobat to solve the problem.
After submitting this team, the most-appreciated comments and constructive-criticism on this team has helped a lot. Thanks to TheMantyke, I decided to replace my Lickilicky with a Rotom-W. Just like he said, Rotom-W worked much better than my previous team slot, Lickilicky.
The Team
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP/244 Atk/4 Def/4 SpDef/252 Spe
~Rock Slide
~Earthquake
~Close Combat
~Protect
Why this move? I chose the move Rock Slide because it is a STAB move for Terrakion, an awesome spread move, and an excellent move overall. It hits Thundurus, Tornadus, and other Flying-types super-effectively, along with Fire-types.
Why this move? The next move I chose was Earthquake. Earthquake was for Excadrill, Rock-Types in general, and to hit Infernape super-effectively. It compliments my team well because 2 of my members are Flying-types or have Levitate.
Why this move? Close Combat is the STAB move of choice for Terrakion. It hits T-Tar 4x effectively, and my favorite move overall to use on 'Kion. Not many Pokémon can survive a Close Combat from Terrakion. After a Close Combat, the Def and SpDef drop is not important, for the Focus Sash keeps me intact.
Why this move? Protect/Detect is a standard move for all 'mons in the VGC metagame. It protects Terrakion from attacks, and moves such as Earthquake fired off from his allies.
More:
I almost always lead with Terrakion, he is sort of an "anti-lead."
I run pretty standard EVs on Terrakion, EVs in HP, Def and SpDef to help withstand attacks, max EVs in Speed for obvious reasons, and 244 in Atk to put large dents in almost anything. The Jolly Nature is to boost Terrakion's already tremendous speed. His item, Focus Sash, allows Terrakion to withstand moves that would normally OHKO him.
Latios @ Dragon Gem
Nature: Timid
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/4 Def/248 SpAtk/248 Spe
~Draco Meteor
~Psychic
~Hidden Power (Fire)
~Protect
Why this move? Draco Meteor is Latios' strongest attack. Boosted by the Dragon Gem it holds, it can even KO a Specially Defensive Amoonguss. Draco Meteor is usually a last-ditch effort kind of move, or if I get a chance to do something that I will not be able to do later in the game.
Why this move? I ran Psychic or moves such as Surf and Thunderbolt to help me counter Fighting-Type Pokemon, who give me moderate trouble. It is a reliable STAB move that I use against low-health Pokémon, and a good move overall.
Why this move? I chose Hidden Power Fire to get rid of Steel-types that resist Draco Meteor and Psychic, for the most part.
Why this move? Protect/Detect is standard for Pokémon in the VGC metagame, and no exception here.
More:
I lead with Latios 90% of the time, because it has great synergy with Terrakion.
The EVs in HP and Def are to help me survive attacks, while 248 SpAtk and Speed are to be a great special sweeper and a jet at the same time. I use a Dragon Gem to boost Draco Meteor, and I have a chance to kill bulkier Pokémon. I ran Timid to outspeed Modest Latios, and to outspeed a majority of 'mons over all.
Crobat @ Flying Gem
Nature: Jolly
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
~Acrobatics*
~Tailwind
~Super Fang
~Protect
Why this move? Brave Bird is a strong move, the move of choice on my Crobat. I chose Brave Bird over Acrobatics for the Power Boost, which is neccesary in some situations.
Why this move? Tailwind is an excellent move to counter swift-swimmers if Lickilicky faints. It is used to counter other Tailwind teams, too.
Why this move? Super Fang is the move of choice if there is a threat that Crobat cannot really harm, such as steel-types. Super Fang effectively takes out half of the Pokémon's HP, and it helps put the opposing 'mon into KO range.
Why this move? Protect/Detect is a standard move in the VGC metagame. It is an invaluable move overall.
More:
Crobat is usually one of my subs, I run him when I see a majority of Fighting-Types or when I see fast teams.
Pretty standard EVs, Max Attack and Speed to maximize effectiveness, with 4 in HP to prolong lifetime. I use a Flying Gem to strengthen the first use of my Brave Bird. Jolly is to maximize my Speed, pretty standard.
Chandelure @ Fire Gem
Nature: Modest
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 126 HP/252 SpAtk/124 Spe
~Heat Wave
~Shadow Ball
~Trick Room
~Imprison
Why this move? A Fire Gem boosted Heat Wave puts a dent in anything that doesn't resist it or is named Blissey or Chansey. It is my STAB move of choice, although the 90% accuracy can let me down at times, I would most definetly run this move for being able to hit both opponents at once.
Why this move? If the opposing 'mon resists Heat Wave, Shadow Ball is my secondary move. A few Pokémon resist both of Chandelure's STABs, but Chandelure's partners can usually help him out.
Why this move? Trick Room is an important move on Chandelure. If the team I am facing is faster than mine, I can set up Trick Room.This has helped me on many occasions. Another reason why I run Trick Room is to reverse the effects if my opponent is able to set it up.
Why this move? It might seem peculiar that my Chandelure, in the harsh VGC metagame, does not carry Protect. It was a luxury that I declined. Although, in many battles, Imprison has helped me stop the slightest chance of Trick Room. In most battles, Trick Room doesn't even get up. Imprison is a great move, and has saved me on several occasions.
More:
Chandelure is usually one of the 4 I use in a battle, but I replace it with Lickilicky or Crobat depending on the situation.
My Chandelure runs max SpAtk to help me destroy Dusclops and Cresselia. It doesn't run too many Speed EVs, so it works in and out of Trick Room. The HP EVs alllows it to survive attacks. The Fire Gem is to strengthen Heat Wave (I hate Amoonguss). I run Modest over Timid to work in and out of Trick Room, and to strengthen my attacks.
Escavalier @ Lum Berry
Nature: Brave
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpDef IVs: 0 Spe
~Megahorn
~Iron Head
~Double-Edge
~Protect
Why this move? Megahorn is a great STAB move for Escavalier, and most likely the move I choose. It can OHKO Cresselia, and many others that are weak to Bug-Type moves. The 85% accuracy is a bit of a let-down, but it usually pulls through.
Why this move? Iron Head is my secondary move for Pokés that resist my STAB Megahorn. It is reliable, with a chance to flinch (in Trick Room).
Why this move? I chose Double-Edge as my Filler move of choice, for Pokémon that resist both of his STABs. Escavalier has trouble with Steel-Types, but Chandelure's Heat Wave can cripple them.
Why this move? Protect/Detect is a standard move in the VGC metagame; There is no exception here.
More:
I usually put Escavalier in when I see Trick Room teams (which is common). I run max HP so I can survive a majority of non-Fire-type attacks. Max Atk is so that Escavalier can be a brilliant Trick Room sweeper. The 4 EVs in SpDef is to help defend him the normally special Fire-Type moves. Lum Berry might look weird, but it has saved me in a vast number of battles. A burned Escavalier is almost useless, so is a frozen one, and a sleeping one. I run Brave to maximize Atk, and to minimize Speed.
Rotom-W @ Electric Gem
Nature: Modest
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Spe
~Thunderbolt
~Hydro Pump
~Hidden Power (Grass)
~Protect
Why this move? As this is an anti-weather Pokémon, I needed moves to counter weather inducers. The most common of these is Politoed, master of rain. Thunderbolt hits Politoed super-effectively, and always 2HKO him.
Why this move? The next two most common weather inducers in VGC is Tyranitar and Ninetales. Hydro Pump hits both of these Pokémon super-effectively. It also helps against opposing Terrakion.
Why this move? Rotom-W runs HP Grass to hit Pokemon such as Gastrodon and co. for 4x effectiveness.
Why this move? Protect/Detect is an almost essential move for Pokémon in the VGC metagame, and 99% of Pokémon run it. No exception here.
More:
Rotom-W is usually a primary member, unless I need to fill in for a threat on an opponent's team. Max HP EVs are for survivability, and max SpAtk is for smacking weather inducers. 4 EVs in Spe are to outrun Rotoms uninvested. The item of choice is an Electric Gem to furthur hinder rain teams, and I run a Modest Nature over Timid, to strengthen SpAtk , and to add extra powwer, because Rotom can usually at worst survive 1 hit.
Rotom-W is usually a primary member, unless I need to fill in for a threat on an opponent's team. Max HP EVs are for survivability, and max SpAtk is for smacking weather inducers. 4 EVs in Spe are to outrun Rotoms uninvested. The item of choice is an Electric Gem to furthur hinder rain teams, and I run a Modest Nature over Timid, to strengthen SpAtk , and to add extra powwer, because Rotom can usually at worst survive 1 hit.
Conclusion
This team is my favorite, most reliable, and most succesful team I have played with. It is not perfect though, no team is. My team, mostly goodstuffs, can also function decently as a Trick Room team, but I usually stick with Goodstuffs. My team is balanced, but not perfect. There are a few threats, but my worst problems are Sun Teams. Ninetales isn't too hard to handle, but I get annoyed by Sleep Powder Jumpluff and Venusaur. I have some trouble with Trick Room Teams if Chandelure dies, mostly with Hariyama. Heatran can be a problem, too, as only Terrakion can hit it super-effectively, and put a HUGE dent in it, most likely a KO. Anyway, I thank everyone who took the time to read my RMT, The Reign of the King!
