Right, so I was holding off on posting this for awhile since I was unsure of it, but now that I've gotten above 1620 on Showdown and top cut a couple PCs with it I guess it must be decent. Like the title says, it's a Tailwind-based hyper offense team since apparently that's the only playstyle I'm good at.
Tapu Lele @ Psychium Z
Ability: Psychic Surge
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Protect
Tapu Lele forms part of the core that the team was originally built around. It's the standard offensive Z-Psychic set, with the main difference being that I'm running both Psychic and Psyshock. The reason for this is that Tapu Lele's Psychic is a very common benchmark to survive and a lot of things this year are trained to be Specially defensive anyway, so I wanted to be able to surprise its typical special walls by hitting their lower Physical defense. I still have Psychic, though, for things like Gigalith and Kartana, and for the stronger Shattered Psyche. I am still considering running Dazzling Gleam over Psyshock, though while playing the team the number of times I wished I had Gleam was roughly equal to the number of times I was glad I had Psyshock, so I'm unsure.
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Adamant Nature
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Atk / 52 Def / 36 SDef / 164 Spe
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
Choice Band Metagross. I will confess to stealing the Lele/Metagross duo from Aaron's Road to Ranked series, but it is just so good. Banded Metagross hits so hard even with the little Attack investment I'm running. It was probably my single biggest contributor at the Premier Challenges I used this team at because most of my opponents were ill-prepared for it, and it doesn't have very many true counters in the current meta. The EV spread lets it outspeed Scarf Lele in Tailwind and survive Flare Blitz from Adamant 252 Arcanine, a benchmark that was incredibly useful when one Flare Blitzed me at Oregon Regionals, and then got the burn. The SDef EVs are there to survive two Celesteela Flamethrowers (I think?).
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
- Tailwind
- Sky Drop
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Tailwind Setter #1, and I swear to God that Aerodactyl is so much fun to use. I probably lead it in 80% of my games and either Tailwind or Sky Drop on turn 1. Sky Drop is great for creating free turns since it protects Aerodactyl from danger and also shuts down an opponent for a turn, often resulting in free damage for Aero's partner. Rock Slide is Rock Slide, good for damage and evil 30% flinches. I feel like on this team in particular it's one of those moves where using it when you're already winning makes you win more, and using it when you're losing can potentially turn a match around. Unnerve is also awesome for countering all the Pinch berries running around in 2017. All in all, Aerodactyl is one of my two favourite Pokemon to use in VGC 2017, the other one being...
Porygon-Z @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
Modest Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Tri Attack
- Hyper Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
...Life Orb Porygon-Z. An unorthodox mon for sure, but it fits really well onto this team. I feel like most people just see Porygon-Z as a somewhat gimmicky win condition with Z-Conversion, but with 135 SAtk, Adaptability, a Life Orb, and Tailwind support, it's a great attacker on its own. I went with Adaptability instead of Download because most things are built to be Specially defensive and it's more reliable, especially since I'm going to be using Tri Attack and Hyper Beam most of the time anyway. Tri Attack chunks everything in the game while Hyper Beam is the button I press when I really need something to be dead. Thunderbolt is mainly there forSloth Celesteela.
Mandibuzz @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Overcoat
Bold Nature
EVs: 244 HP / 140 Def / 4 SAtk / 108 SDef / 12 Spe
- Tailwind
- Roost
- Foul Play
- Snarl
Tailwind setter #2. This thing can be pure evil in the games I bring it. It never dies and can harass the opponent with Foul Play and Snarl. I took the EV Spread from Hayden McTavish (2013 Seniors World Champ) after he destroyed me and everyone else he played at a Midseason Showdown awhile back; according to him it's mostly just to hit an 11n number for Defense and outspeed Pheromosa in Tailwind.
Garchomp @ Soft Sand
Ability: Rough Skin
Adamant Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
Finally, I wanted a strong spread attacker, and since my three favourites (Mega Gardevoir, Chandelure, Excadrill) are banned, Garchomp is the next best thing. Nothing much to see here; just spams Earthquake and Rock Slide. It also gets good synergy with Aerodactyl and Mandibuzz since they're immune to Ground. If I were to change one thing I would replace Dragon Claw with Poison Jab to have an extra weapon against the Tapus, especially Tapu Bulu.
I'd love to hear people's feedback on it! Again it feels solid when I use it and there's no one member that stays on the bench for the majority of the time, so I feel comfortable with these six Pokemon. That said, I think it can be improved; I'm just not sure how.
Tapu Lele @ Psychium Z
Ability: Psychic Surge
Timid Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Protect
Tapu Lele forms part of the core that the team was originally built around. It's the standard offensive Z-Psychic set, with the main difference being that I'm running both Psychic and Psyshock. The reason for this is that Tapu Lele's Psychic is a very common benchmark to survive and a lot of things this year are trained to be Specially defensive anyway, so I wanted to be able to surprise its typical special walls by hitting their lower Physical defense. I still have Psychic, though, for things like Gigalith and Kartana, and for the stronger Shattered Psyche. I am still considering running Dazzling Gleam over Psyshock, though while playing the team the number of times I wished I had Gleam was roughly equal to the number of times I was glad I had Psyshock, so I'm unsure.
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Adamant Nature
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Atk / 52 Def / 36 SDef / 164 Spe
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
Choice Band Metagross. I will confess to stealing the Lele/Metagross duo from Aaron's Road to Ranked series, but it is just so good. Banded Metagross hits so hard even with the little Attack investment I'm running. It was probably my single biggest contributor at the Premier Challenges I used this team at because most of my opponents were ill-prepared for it, and it doesn't have very many true counters in the current meta. The EV spread lets it outspeed Scarf Lele in Tailwind and survive Flare Blitz from Adamant 252 Arcanine, a benchmark that was incredibly useful when one Flare Blitzed me at Oregon Regionals, and then got the burn. The SDef EVs are there to survive two Celesteela Flamethrowers (I think?).
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
- Tailwind
- Sky Drop
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Tailwind Setter #1, and I swear to God that Aerodactyl is so much fun to use. I probably lead it in 80% of my games and either Tailwind or Sky Drop on turn 1. Sky Drop is great for creating free turns since it protects Aerodactyl from danger and also shuts down an opponent for a turn, often resulting in free damage for Aero's partner. Rock Slide is Rock Slide, good for damage and evil 30% flinches. I feel like on this team in particular it's one of those moves where using it when you're already winning makes you win more, and using it when you're losing can potentially turn a match around. Unnerve is also awesome for countering all the Pinch berries running around in 2017. All in all, Aerodactyl is one of my two favourite Pokemon to use in VGC 2017, the other one being...
Porygon-Z @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
Modest Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
- Tri Attack
- Hyper Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
...Life Orb Porygon-Z. An unorthodox mon for sure, but it fits really well onto this team. I feel like most people just see Porygon-Z as a somewhat gimmicky win condition with Z-Conversion, but with 135 SAtk, Adaptability, a Life Orb, and Tailwind support, it's a great attacker on its own. I went with Adaptability instead of Download because most things are built to be Specially defensive and it's more reliable, especially since I'm going to be using Tri Attack and Hyper Beam most of the time anyway. Tri Attack chunks everything in the game while Hyper Beam is the button I press when I really need something to be dead. Thunderbolt is mainly there for
Mandibuzz @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Overcoat
Bold Nature
EVs: 244 HP / 140 Def / 4 SAtk / 108 SDef / 12 Spe
- Tailwind
- Roost
- Foul Play
- Snarl
Tailwind setter #2. This thing can be pure evil in the games I bring it. It never dies and can harass the opponent with Foul Play and Snarl. I took the EV Spread from Hayden McTavish (2013 Seniors World Champ) after he destroyed me and everyone else he played at a Midseason Showdown awhile back; according to him it's mostly just to hit an 11n number for Defense and outspeed Pheromosa in Tailwind.
Garchomp @ Soft Sand
Ability: Rough Skin
Adamant Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Dragon Claw
- Protect
Finally, I wanted a strong spread attacker, and since my three favourites (Mega Gardevoir, Chandelure, Excadrill) are banned, Garchomp is the next best thing. Nothing much to see here; just spams Earthquake and Rock Slide. It also gets good synergy with Aerodactyl and Mandibuzz since they're immune to Ground. If I were to change one thing I would replace Dragon Claw with Poison Jab to have an extra weapon against the Tapus, especially Tapu Bulu.
I'd love to hear people's feedback on it! Again it feels solid when I use it and there's no one member that stays on the bench for the majority of the time, so I feel comfortable with these six Pokemon. That said, I think it can be improved; I'm just not sure how.
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