ORAS Doubles OU Varamyr 6 Skins says, "No."

[The.Lost.Hylian]

I'm relatively new to the Doubles format. I say relatively because I started in 2006, but I have only hundreds of hours of play time in the format compared to the thousands of hours in singles.

I was attracted to the format at first because the official rules for Nintendo are doubles, but I disliked the limitations, so I was happy when I saw Smogon introduced Doubles OU. I haven't been as active in the community as I was in my teens, and the community has changed quite a bit in my absence. I have a great many questions to ask, as I'm looking to become more active again, but those questions are best saved in another board. However, I was wondering when an official doubles tiering system was going to get introduced, and I only ask because I realized Pokemon considered Uber in Singles were running around in doubles. But since some pretty OP tactics are available, I figured I'd build a team around abusing luck.

"Abomination. That had always been Haggon's favorite word. Abomination, abomination, abomination. To eat of human meat was abomination, to mate as wolf with wolf was abomination, and to seize the body of another man was the worst abomination of all. Haggon was weak, afraid of his own power. He died weeping and alone when I nripped his second life from him. Varamyr had devoured his heart himself. He taught me much and more, and the last thing I learned from him was the taste of human flesh." - Prologue, A Dance With Dragons

Seeing as Varamyr Sixskins was an abomination as a warg, I use the Pokemon tactics that would be considered an abomination by many: luckhax.

Serene Grace is probably one of my favorite abilities in Pokemon, and in the theme of saying "No" to my opponent, Flinch moves are necessary. Togekiss has been a favorite of mine since house her inception for this reason, so I felt she was an auto include on my team.

Togekiss (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Ancient Power
- Flamethrower

Air Slash is the primary attack. Flying type is, in my opinion, a great offensive type, but the 95% accuracy can be unreliable at crucial moments. I mean, really, wtf with Game Freak's choices for accuracy on some attacks, but I digress. The rest of the attacks are for coverage and guaranteed KOs on certain Pokemon, namely Charizard, Tyranitar, Greninja, and Scizor. Also, that 20% chance on AP is real. Hate Stone Missing? I love that same chance for it to miss being the same chance stats go CHOOCHOO! I personally play with Item Clause in all formats, and I wanted to make up for Togekiss' average speed to help in Flinch locking, so Choice Scarf got the nod.

Suggested by Yellow Paint:

Ban Air Slash (Togekiss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpD
Bold Nature
- Follow Me
- Air Slash
- Encore
- Protect

Suggested by Yellow Paint to replace Togekiss:

Ban Flinches (Jirachi) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 80 SpD / 108 Spe
Careful Nature
- Follow Me
- Iron Head
- Icy Wind
- Protect

When looking up Serene Grace in databases, I noticed Shaymin-S had the ability and some pretty stupid good stats. I saw it was available in Doubles OU, so hell, why not?

Shaymin-Sky @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Shaymin has enough Speed to beat most of the Speed tier unless they held a Scarf. To give longevity, I chose Assault Vest. Seed Flare wrecks anything neutral or Super Effective, and is a great attack to toss at a predicted switch, as 80% chance to harshly lower Special Defense means even NVE attacks are going to put a dent in stuff. Air Slash for Flinch lock, Earth Power for Fires and Steels. I'm in the air on the fourth move. I like being able to take out Charizard Y then abuse his Sun after he's gone, but I bet there's a better option.

Suggested by Yellow Paint:

Ban Skymin (Shaymin-Sky) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Protect

Since this team is based on saying, "No," I like removing options. So I chose Mega Gengar to prevent my opponent from switching from unwanted matchups.

Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Shadow Ball

I originally had Perish Song and Substitute, but I was unable to abuse to set the way I wanted. I chose a bulky set because I felt it was playing more a support role, and being able to survive longer allows it to prevent switching for longer, and it already has stupid Special Attack. Really just has basic STAB and coverage, with Protect for dodging attacks and guaranteeing Mega Evolution.

Suggested by Yellow Paint:

Ban Shadow Tag (Gengar-Mega) @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 208 HP / 44 Spa / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Disable
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Darkrai has been a favorite of mine in concept and design, and I was pleased to see it was available in Doubles OU. I first encountered it against me recently, and figured my opponent used Hypnosis instead of Dark Void because the latter must have been banned. I decided to try him anyway.

Darkrai @ Wide Lens
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hypnosis
- Substitute
- Dark Pulse
- Charge Beam

Wide Lens for increased Hypnosis accuracy, though I admit even with the boost, it still misses often. With Flinch lock companion, it can shut down the other half of my opponent's pair with a damage over time Sleep. I was pretty boggled there is no Sleep Clause, so that makes saying, "No," even better. Charge Beam is a great offensive boosting attack, and Dark Pulse has (lol) Flinch chance to prevent them from doing something should they maybe wake up. Substitute is for protection from status. Maybe I should have a different item?

Suggested by Yellow Paint to replace Darkrai:

Actually Balanced (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Spa / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect

I wanted a late game cleaner, so my first thought came to The Bird.

Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance

Eh, it does it's job, but sometimes I want something more. 5 move set syndrome... wish I had room for Roost.

Suggested by Yellow Paint:

Ban Talonflame (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Protect

Suggested by Yellow Paint to replace Talonflame:

Heatranne Frank (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Spa / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Garchomp is a filler.

Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

I chose to go bulky to give it more procs on Rough Skin. Typical Choice Band set. Is there something better that can go here?

Suggested by Yellow Paint to replace Garchomp:

Ban Rock Slide (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-Turn
- Superpower
__________________________________________________________________________
Varamyr 6 Skins is my username I use when I play a serious team. I'm a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, and will eventually naming the team accordingly. I noticed I'm weak to entry hazards and Prankster Pokemon. Suggestions? Thanks.


Edit 1: Added pictures and the suggested spreads by others.

 

[Yellow Paint]

Not sure what to say except I'm sad you've got misconceptions about doubles from the ladder after hundreds of hours of play, so apologies for the bad start. Firstly, dubs isn't a tier about gimmicks, no matter how many there are on the ladder. Since you're posting in a competitive forum, I'll assume you want your team to be competitive. I guess you can use double serene grace viably, but your other sets are pretty much bad. A short list of bad sets on the ladder includes non sun garchomp, non hail greninja, scizor, dragonite, roost talonflame, hypnosis oml, entry hazards, and most importantly, lack of protect. Anyways, I edited your team to be as viable as possible while trying to preserve your team goal of being really annoying and haxy.

Ban Air Slash (Togekiss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpD
Bold Nature
- Follow Me
- Air Slash
- Encore
- Protect

Togekiss's niche is as a redirector. I kept air slash and added encore, since your team's goal is to be annoying. Spread lives a life orb bisharp iron head.

Ban Skymin (Shaymin-Sky) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Protect

AV skymin is just not the best choice since skymin can't take many hits and it really needs protect.

Ban Shadow Tag (Gengar-Mega) @ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 208 HP / 44 Spa / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Disable
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

I chose to build your team around mega gengar, with the goal of crippling and removing threats while they are trapped. Disable can be used alongside togekiss encore to completely gimp opponents, while any of your other partners can be used to take out the opponent. Spread lives three adamant lando rock slides in case you get super haxed.

Ban Talonflame (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Protect

SD tflame is a really cool set with gengar trap, but roost is generally too passive for a doubles format. On most other teams, life orb tailwind would be the better choice, but gengar trap helps by lowering the opponent's offense and taking advantage of forced protects. Sharp beak brave bird gives a good chance at ohkoing lando t at+1 and amoonguss at neutral while still preserving recoil hp. Also, tflame doesn't need to be jolly since it generally uses priority moves. Neutral 252 is all you need to outspeed positive base 110s like mega metagross.

From here on out, I'm gonna have to replace team members.

Actually Balanced (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Spa / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect

Hydreigon is often used over darkrai for its resists as a dragon and levitate. In this case, you're way too weak to bisharp, heatran, and aegislash, so this checks them nicely. Spread outspeeds jolly breloom, with the rest in HP.

Ban Rock Slide (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-Turn
- Superpower

With intimidate, scarf lando outclasses garchomp in every way except a fire resist. U-Turn can be used to bring back momentum and cycle intimidate. Combined with gengar, it's great at removing and weakening threats. Also, scarf rock slide adds to your flinch theme, earning the motto: "When there's a rock slide, there's a way." Spread outspeeds base 135s like mega gengar and has a high chance of surviving a +1 lo bisharp sucker.

I hope you enjoy your team, and if you ever need help, just ask in the doubles room on ps! or look up references in the DOU forums.

Edit: whoops lol you have no steels or rock resists. Either replace togekiss with jirachi, talonflame with heatran, or both. Otherwise, you get steamrolled by lando+tflame.

Ban Flinches (Jirachi) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 80 SpD / 108 Spe
Careful Nature
- Follow Me
- Iron Head
- Icy Wind
- Protect

Use rachi pretty much like how you'd use togekiss, except now it resists rock and you can use icy wind to slow the opponent. Spread outspeeds jolly breloom and has a good chance to live specs hydreigon dark pulse, while also living lo bisharp sucker punch (not knock off). Also beware of icy winding in front of bish, it gets +2 from defiant.

Heatranne Frank (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Spa / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Subtran is a great set, allowing you to take extra hits, block status, and take advantage of opponent protects. This mon adds a bit of bulk to your team and helps against bisharp, amoonguss, and talonflame. Spread outspeeds adamant bisharp and gives a lefties number.

 

[deoxys speed]

needs pictures D:
http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/xyani/

Edit: I'll give some suggestions l8r

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

I'm on mobile atm, as soon as I'm off work I'll put the pictures!

 

[Yellow Paint]

Deo :D tbh my version was heavily inspired by the teams you used vs las. Also, I will play you for dugcup at our scheduled time even though I found time to make a rate lol.

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

So I edited the original post with images and Yellow Paint's suggestions. I'll be updating the original post with suggestions, and then I'll swap around my mons for the suggested sets and reply accordingly with my results.

Also, I'll have it known that I'm not that well versed with Doubles, I just build stuff and generally have fun. However, I do want to take it more seriously, and my favorite way to play is with frustrating tactics. I think my lack of Protect generally comes from me... not needing it where I am in the tier, and my unfamiliarity with the hyper-competitive scene of doubles.

 

[deoxys speed]

After looking at Yellow Paint's rate I don't really have anything to change lol
sexy sprites n_n

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

What of the Togekiss/Jirachi or Talonflame/Heatran scenarios?

 

[Yellow Paint]

Personally, I would replace both, but that's mostly for beating bisharp and aegislash harder at the cost of a stupidly large keldeo weakness. Also, I can never seem to beat talonflame with one resist plus lando, so I like tran for absorbing hits.

For use on the ladder, jirachi+tflame would work better for their type balance and matchup against rain and trick room. It's really all up to personal preference, though.